Demba Ba has given an interview with the Soccer Bible and in it he admits that the best players he has ever played with in football is his former team-mate at Newcastle United – the great Yohan Cabaye.
Demba Ba with Cabaye – while he was at Newcastle this season
The Senegal International spent just over 18 months with the Tyneside club, but in that time he scored an amazing 29 goals in 58 total appearances for Newcastle, and he left in early January when Chelsea came in and met the release clause in his contract of £7M.
Unfortunately for the 27 year-old, when he returned on Saturday to St. James’ Park with his new Chelsea side, he had to leave the field in the first half, with a badly broken nose, after an accidental clash with Newcastle’s captain Fabricio Coloccini, and he couldn’t continue.
The Paris-born striker got much adulation from Newcastle fans during his too short stay at the famous Tyneside club, but he remembers the adulation he received and he also remembers his pal Yohan Cabaye – as the best player he has ever played with.
This is what Ba told the Soccer bible:
“The best I’ve played with? I would go for my friend Yohan Cabaye.” “When I see the passion of the kids, when you say hello to them and they just go crazy, it’s something I didn’t expect.”
“When you play good and people say that you have been terrific and you have been playing good football, that’s something that stays and builds you and your confidence.”
Newcastle seem able to get the very best out of the French players they bring to the club, and in the eighteen months Cabaye has been on Tyneside, he’s become one of France’s best players, and both Yohan and new boy – powerhouse Moussa Sissoko – are in the starting line up for France against Germany at the Stade de France tonight.
Let’s hope neither gets injured and neither plays the full 90 minutes – since we need both of them for our tough game at Tottenham on Saturday afternoon.
Comments welcome.
Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and +1 us on Google+:
You can also reach Ed at admin@nufcblog.com
=============================================
21 comments so far
ToonDownSouth
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Comment #1Well that’s Yohan off to Chelsea in the summer to replace Lamps then. Damn it. 😉
wolfshead@toon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:26 AM
Comment #2yep he is class he was france’s best player in the euros would love to see pirlo play along side him! btw the banner is great obertan looks like sloths brother off the goonies haha
TorqToon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:31 AM
Comment #3Geordie Steve;
Alexandre Lacazette??
Again, a very good player. Pacey and can play either as a striker or on the wing. Firmly a fan favourite at Lyon and, as you rightly said, embedded in the fold.
Chipped in with a couple of goals this season, but creates plenty of chances. Lyon have some very good players, Gourcuff, Gomis, Reveillere and Maxime Gonalons – but I’m sure our club are more than aware of the talent on show here.
TorqToon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Comment #4Munster – I’m not allowed to contact NUFC with regards players I rate highly. However others are.
Maybe MA should get a twitter account and we can give him a shove in the right direction where players are concerned. 🙂
toon1707
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Comment #5Cabaye seems to love it here and I am 100% certain he will be our captain next season there is no way he will leave after telling all these French players to come here they all said Cabaye talks about newcastle all the time. Wonder if I asked him nicely if he would ask Benzema to join our French Revolution
ilovetoon8788
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:39 AM
Comment #6Some of Yohann Cabaye’s passes deep from midfield in the last 2 games were mouth-watering. Completely dictating play from deep. His range of passing is up there with some of the best in the league. He’s our Xavi, no doubt about it. His passes are so delicious.
Blaydon-Toon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:44 AM
Comment #7Cabaye is our most important player and has shown his quality in the last few games … To think we got him at a snip £4.5 million makes me smile and IF he did go I think it would take at least a £20 million profit to secure him … Champions league clubs should be looking at him he is that good and to hold him back would be a shame but with all his mates coming over I can’t see him going ! Torq love hearing your scouting reports keep them coming 🙂
Transfer Sage
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Comment #8Is the france germany game on UK TV?
I have no interest in watching england vs brazil, we just dont play good football.
TorqToon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:50 AM
Comment #9Sage – Thank god!!!
When I mentioned I was more excited about the France / Germany game over the England game – it all went very quiet and thought u heard pitch forks being sharpened! 🙂
Not sure if its on the box mate. Possibly! Pretty big game.
TorqToon
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:51 AM
Comment #10Blaydon – Thank you sir. I will keep trying. 🙂
Transfer Sage
Feb 6, 2013 at 10:53 AM
Comment #11torq
England are only good to watch in tournaments…and not because we play well but because it’s tense as we only ever scrape through games.
Troy Stavers
Feb 6, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Comment #12Bloody hell. Where’s this love and idolisation of Cabaye suddenly sprung from?
He’s been pretty average since he arrived but cos of the good performance against Chelsea he seems to have gained superstar status.
Yes, he’s tidy with the ball, yes he puts the graft in and yes he can occasionally pull out a cracking pass and score the odd goal.
He needs to do this consistently and not once every 10 games.
thebionicMAG
Feb 6, 2013 at 11:02 AM
Comment #13@ ToonDownSouth
First of all hello again mate!
And second re Cabaye: Thats exactly what I was thinking. Teams like Chelsea piss me off. They are like the spoilt rich kid that wants every toy. And when they see another kid with an even cooler toy, they demand that too. I hate Chelsea, their fans and their lack of scouting football ethics.
Rotonda heights
Feb 6, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Comment #14troy
look at all cabaye’s passes for cisse and Ba’s goals last season, plus he scored consecutively away v sunderland and liverpool before he got injured and on his return he scored v villa and Reading. thank god it doesn’t matter whether your rate him or not
Levi
Feb 6, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Comment #15Troy
Any one over 12 knows cabaye is world class.
Troy Stavers
Feb 6, 2013 at 12:54 PM
Comment #16@rotunda & Levi
If you believe he has been world class since he arrived then I suggest you look up the term world class and revise your opinions.
If he goes on and performs like he did at Chelsea consistently, week in week out over 2 or 3 seasons then I will listen.
He’s been nothing but average and overrated since he arrived.
I want him to progress and improve as he is fully committed and has the attributes to be a top player, but to call him world class based on his performances since he arrived is verging on the ridiculous.
BOOM BOOM THE 1ST
Feb 6, 2013 at 1:18 PM
Comment #17Troys a moron
Troy Stavers
Feb 6, 2013 at 1:34 PM
Comment #18Great intellectual response Boom.
Says a lot about you.
I’m new to this blog and learning who to interact with. That’s you struck off.
Off to find someone who can debate correctly. 😉
geordiesteve520
Feb 6, 2013 at 1:46 PM
Comment #19Torq, that’s the one – saw him play on the left wing and he looked very promising. They have a couple of other players I like the look of but possibly to similar to what we have – I like Fofana (having senn him play at Le Harve a few years ago) and I think Lovren will end up a world class CB – have heard rave reviews about Yassine Benzia too, bit like Tafer a few years ago.
true toon
Feb 6, 2013 at 5:09 PM
Comment #20yohan reminds me of the season where Liverpool finished 2nd behind Utd . That season a certain man called Xabi Alonso who perfected the art of deep lying playmaker . The only difference with him and Yo is that he tackles better.. if we can get Yo and Tiote to share defensive duties with MS playing as an attacking MF role , that would be fantastic.
Krul to be Kind
Feb 6, 2013 at 7:55 PM
Comment #21Troy
the difference between the team with him in or not is day and night, imo anyone who can make such a difference to a team is world class! Fact!