IT’S ALL FOR FABRICE
PINNED to the wall by the players’ entrance to the Reebok Stadium was a picture of a footballer with a beaming grin. This is Fabrice Muamba as Bolton Wanderers like to see him, smiling his trademark smile, seemingly bursting with energy. Yet this was not the work of a professional photographer, but a nine-year-old boy.
Children can capture the mood perfectly and this was a case in point. Hand-drawn by young Wanderers fan Jack Davies, it was a touching tribute to one of his heroes.
But, as Bolton returned to football for the first time since Muamba’s sudden, shocking collapse in last Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham, it was one of many. There were shirts, scarves, notes, cards, flowers and, strangely, furry dice.
There was a video on the big screen before kick-off, two teams warming up in tops with his name and number and a giant mosaic formed by fans in the Lower East Stand spelling “Muamba 6”.
It was an appreciation of an honest, hard-working player who had overcome incredible adversity, leaving war-torn Congo (then named Zaire) to arrive in the UK without a word of English, to go on and represent his adopted country 33 times at Under-21 level and become a popular Premier League player.
And then, at the age of 23 and appearing at the peak of fitness, he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, placing him in the London Chest Hospital and supporters in a strange state.
Tribal rivalries were suspended, hostilities ceasing as the Reebok Stadium became a shrine to a stricken player who was effectively dead for 78 minutes.
Bathed in unseasonal sunshine, people showed their respect. There was a mood of quiet contemplation, supporters standing silently amid the tapestry of shirts and scarves their fellow fans had created.
They were placed by fans of local rivals, like Blackburn, Burnley and Wigan, of small clubs like Accrington, Rochdale and Hartlepool, and superpowers such as Manchester United and City, Liverpool and Arsenal. There were Rangers and Real Madrid kits, Holland and Turkey tops, a Wasps rugby union shirt. It was a multi-coloured patchwork, a sign of football – sport – coming together.
There were messages, variations on a heartfelt theme: “Get well soon,” “Pray for Muamba,” “Stay strong.” They were personal touches in an electronic era.
“We can’t count the number of emails, texts and messages we have received,” said Bolton chairman Phil Gartside. “It’s been amazing.”
Two nearby primary schools, Ringley and Gaskell, had made boards, allowing the whole class to contribute, writing their own card. So, too, had the Zakariyya Mosque in Bolton.
Muamba is a committed Christian. It mattered not to them. His father, Marcel, and fiancée, Shauna, wanted the game to go ahead but, Wanderers said, he is also part of a footballing family.
“He will be here as long as he wants to be,” said Gartside.
“It is all about Fabrice. It is not a football story. It is a Muamba story.”
To give credit to both sets of supporters, it was.
The choruses of “Fabrice Muamba” were loudest when David Wheater scored each of his matchwinning brace but the Blackburn fans also sang his name. When the final whistle went, when Bolton had clambered out of the relegation zone, Muamba’s name rang around the Reebok.
It was a remarkable end to a traumatic week. Bolton boss Owen Coyle said: “We have to remind everybody that Fabrice is still in a serious condition in intensive care. But his progress has been fantastic.” message on Friday through one of the consultants wishing the lads well in the game. It was great that the lads were able to hear that.”
And Coyle (below) hopes news of Bolton’s victory will be a boost to Muamba in his recovery. “Phil [Gartside], our chairman, has been in touch with Marcel [Muamba, Fabrice’s father].
“Marcel has been sent a text and I am pretty sure that will be passed on to Fabrice.
“There’s nothing more important to us at this club than Fabrice.
“He is not just a team-mate and a colleague, he is a dear friend and a gem of a lad. However good a footballer you are, it’s more important you are a genuinely nice person and he is.”