Posing with a toy gun was stupid... I’m really sorry
SEBASTIEN Bassong likes to smile. It takes only a few seconds to work out his natural disposition — positive, confident and comfortable talking about uncomfortable issues.
In May, the Norwich defender was fined by his club for posting pictures of himself posing with a toy gun on social networking site Instagram, while shortly before last Christmas he was forced to deal with two separate incidents of racial abuse. Bassong gives a composed response when asked about both.
He comes straight to the point: ‘I want to say sorry. I was in my garden in Norwich and had a fake gun, playing around with my friend. I was being silly, imagining something like James Bond. I wasn’t thinking. At that moment I forgot I was “Sebastien Bassong, Premier League player” and in my head I was “Sebastien Bassong from Paris”.
‘I posted the pictures online and another friend saw them and told me I could get in trouble. I hadn’t realised.
‘Then the gaffer (Chris Hughton) told me off. He was angry.
‘I deleted the images and this is the first time I have spoken about it. I keep saying sorry to people in the street and even my dad, Raymond. If I had been in front of him he would have slapped me. The fine is correct. I shouldn’t have done it. Kids are looking at us so I totally understand why people were really angry.
‘When people ask me about it, I tell them, “I forgot, I’m sorry. I’m human, but I’ve got responsibilities”. That’s why I took the fine and then, hopefully, you can move on.’
Bassong’s reaction to fans’ abuse is equally refreshing. He can forgive the teenage boy who tweeted a racial slur after the central defender scored a last-minute equaliser at Everton in November.
‘He said he was really sorry and sent a couple of letters to the club,’ said Bassong. ‘I forgave this one and sent him a tweet. He is young, he’s never going to do it again.’
Two weeks later, Bassong became embroiled in a dispute with a Swansea fan, who was charged with making a racist gesture at the player. Nothing came of the allegation, but Bassong says: ‘When it happens, you don’t even realise straight away. It takes you a couple of seconds to go, “This is for real”. Then the anger is coming out of you. I was fuming, thinking, “What is going through his head to do such a gesture to me?”
‘I don’t think this country has a problem,’ he stressed. ‘There are some stupid people all around the world. Everyone is trying to get rid of it. Eventually it will disappear.’
The 27-year-old speaks French and English and one of the hundreds of dialects that populate Cameroon. He was raised by his parents in their Parisian neighbourhood. England has been his home since he traded Metz to sign for Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle in 2008. A whirlwind year of four different managers ended in relegation and an £ 8million summer move to Tottenham. He was a regular under Harry Redknapp as Spurs qualified for the Champions League but last summer, with chances of first-team football limited, he rejoined former Newcastle manager Hughton in East Anglia.
‘It was a big step for me and, if the manager were not Chris, I don’t think I would have come. But I took the decision in a split second. I rang my agent saying, “I’m going”. He told me, “You have to be at your best”. I told him, “Do your stuff and I’ll do mine”. I’m a confident player.’ Bassong brought a finesse and composure to the Norwich defence.
‘At the beginning of last season most of the media thought we would go down. That has been my motivation. For me there was no chance, I would have not let it happen.
‘The manager has been a defender and his main objective is to defend well first. Last year was his first year so he didn’t want to go crazy, he wanted to keep us safe.
‘This year he has brought some more attacking players in and he can develop the team. He has added quality to the squad. Nathan Redmond (who joined from Birmingham for £2m) has pace, can keep the ball well, has skills and can still improve. In training you just want to take him down because he is always running.
‘Ricky van Wolfswinkel (an £8.5m recruit from Sporting Lisbon) needs time to get used to the Premier League, but he has great movement. He is creating things, always in the box and making good runs at the right time. He has settled well.
‘Gary Hooper (Celtic, £5m) is a pure goalscorer. In training he hides then shows up when he needs to score. He reminds me a bit of Michael Owen, who I played with at Newcastle.’
Between 13 and 15, Bassong studied the game at France’s Clairefontaine academy, playing alongside Hatem Ben Arfa and Abou Diaby.
‘I moved out at 12 to live there during the week. When you go through that at a young age you come out stronger. By the time I was 15 I had been living by myself for two years already. Some days at Clairefontaine I was crying. You’re away from home and there is competition. It’s a tough routine but I came through. Mentally I was ready to face anything.’
According to Bassong, that is the approach Gareth Bale will need if he enters the Bernabeu dressing room with an £86m price tag. The pair played together at Tottenham.
‘The thing about him was confidence. He’s a shy boy. It’s going to be different if he goes to Madrid. He is going to arrive in another atmosphere and hang out with proper stars, so he has to earn their respect. His price tag is not going to help him out. I don’t think it will be easy for the first couple of months.
‘It’s a team, but full of individuals. He needs good people around him on his bad days but, if he starts scoring goals in his first few games, it will build his confidence and then he will fly. He can’t take the freekicks, though. Not straight away.
‘I remember when my Cameroon team-mate Geremi was playing at Madrid, he was telling me that for a free-kick there was him, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo and Raul. All of them would be around the ball saying, “Who is going to take it?” Gareth isn’t the kind of character to fight like that.’
A Christian who takes his Bible to away games and prays before matches, Bassong is aware of the wider world outside football.
‘I was honoured to be named player of the year,’ he said. ‘It means the fans loved the work I did.
‘The fans are the most important people in a club. They’re the ones who pay my wages. So we’ve got to give something back. The minimum we can do is work our socks off.’
A simple and refreshing message, delivered with another smile.