![]() ![]() Looking back, I can see why a lot of youngsters go astray.”Īs the goals continued to flow, Samba’s name sporadically appeared on the back pages of national newspapers. Manchester United were the first Premier League club to be linked in late 1999. “At 17 I bought a brand new Peugeot for £11,000 just like that. “I was given vouchers to go to Nike Town in central London and I’d come out with four, five grand worth of stuff. There was also an endorsement contract with Nike and countless promises from eager agents. Everyone wanted a piece of a player on the path to stardom. You need to lower your wage demands.’ I used to have a laugh with him about it.” “I remember David Bentley saying to me ‘Bloody hell, I can’t afford you. “When it first came out everyone was going mad and telling me about it. Other footballers were saying to me how amazing I was in the game and they had to buy me. For Samba, the pressure and the hype during his teenage years were enormous.Īfter breaking Michael Owen’s schoolboy goalscoring record with 132 strikes in 32 games for St Joseph’s Academy – “It got to the point where the coach was like, ‘Right, no more goals from you’” – he was signed by Millwall as a 13-year-old.Ī call-up to the England youth teams soon followed, where he progressed from the Under-15s through to the Under-20s alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Bentley, Darren Bent and Glen Johnson. His fame on Championship Manager often preceded him. There are certainly few coaches who possess a greater understanding of what it’s like to be the next big thing. “I think I’m the perfect person to pass on those lessons.” ![]() “I want to educate young players and help them with the pitfalls of the game,” says Samba. The real Samba never reached the heights predicted in virtual reality, but the actual story is far more intriguing than any imagined career path. It is a journey of enormous early promise, missed opportunity, adventure overseas, and now, as he moves into coaching after retiring last year, a yearning to share his wealth of experience with young footballers trying to find a footing. Perhaps he led the line for your all-conquering Arsenal side, spearheaded a Champions League challenge with Rushden & Diamonds, or formed a formidable partnership with Maxim Tsigalko at Barcelona. Whatever the tale, the striker’s statistics guaranteed success. ![]() Everyone who played Championship Manager in the early 2000s has a Cherno Samba story. He is one of the cult heroes on which the game’s reputation is built, instantly recalling childhood triumphs in the minds of thirty-something men. ![]()
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