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From poverty and tragedy to football stardom: Ivory Coast's Yan Diomandé opens up
🇳🇴 Norway /Sports

From poverty and tragedy to football stardom: Ivory Coast's Yan Diomandé opens up

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Ivory Coast's Yan Diomandé, 19, has overcome a childhood of poverty and a personal tragedy to become a sought-after football player.
  • Diomandé recently joined RB Leipzig and is preparing to face Norway in the Africa Cup of Nations.
  • He shared his story in The Players' Tribune, detailing his struggles, including his sister's death at 15, and his journey from Abidjan to Europe.

Ivory Coast's young football sensation, 19-year-old Yan Diomandé, is on the cusp of realizing his dreams, but his journey has been marked by profound hardship and a heartbreaking personal loss. Having recently secured a place with RB Leipzig and preparing to represent his country in the Africa Cup of Nations, Diomandé has opened up about a childhood defined by poverty and the devastating death of his younger sister, Roxane, at the age of 15.

Your sister is dead.

— Unknown callerThe devastating news Yan Diomandé received about his younger sister.

Diomandé's story, shared in a personal letter published by The Players' Tribune, paints a vivid picture of his early life in Abidjan. He describes living in cramped conditions with 25 family members sharing a single house and recalls playing football barefoot in the dust, earning the nickname "Roberto Carlos" for his powerful shots. His ambition was to emulate stars like Cristiano Ronaldo. The struggle for basic necessities was constant, with Diomandé and his teammates sometimes stealing potatoes from a village due to hunger, making cooked potatoes a cherished comfort food.

She had been at a party, where someone put something in her drink.

— AftenpostenReporting on the circumstances surrounding the death of Yan Diomandé's sister.

His pursuit of a football career led him to move away from home at nine years old to Aboisso. At fifteen, he took a significant leap, moving alone to the United States to attend high school without knowing the language. This move provided opportunities for tryouts with European clubs like Chelsea, Bournemouth, and Crystal Palace. Despite receiving praise from players such as Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, he did not secure a contract and eventually had to return to Ivory Coast when his visa expired.

Cooked potatoes are therefore his favorite food, because it reminds him of the fight they fought every single day.

— AftenpostenExplaining the significance of a simple food item in Diomandé's life due to past hunger.

The emotional core of his narrative lies in the loss of his sister, Roxane, who had always believed in him. Just weeks after Diomandé signed his first professional contract with Spanish club Leganés, he received the devastating news of her death. She had reportedly been at a party where something was put into her drink. Despite this tragedy, Diomandé has channeled his grief into his game, becoming one of the summer's most sought-after players, with Liverpool reportedly having a bid of over one billion kroner rejected.

He played football in the dust with white plastic sandals and was called 'Roberto Carlos' because of his powerful shots.

— AftenpostenDescribing Diomandé's early football experiences.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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