Cédric Bakambu: "China is not a retreat, I am only 29 years old"

Text by: Annie Gasnier Follow

A "Leopard" on "stand-by"! The Congolese international must leave for his club in Beijing, return delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Confined to France, Cédric Bakambu mobilized on behalf of the disadvantaged in Kinshasa, through his Congolese foundation. While waiting to resume competition, he answers questions from Radio Foot Internationale.

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Endless vacations! Cédric Bakambu returned to France to find his family in December, at the end of the Chinese championship where his club, Beijin Guoan, coached by Bruno Genesio, finished second in the First Division. But the coronavirus sowed death, life stopped and the Congolese attacker had to take his pain patiently. Like other internationals enrolled in the Chinese Super League, he is still waiting for the green light to return to his club. Which may not take long.

"  I lived this confinement far from China, far from my comrades, excluded without wanting to because it was the off - season ," he explains. I am waiting to leave, but the recovery is not yet fixed  ”. This situation however enabled him to mobilize through his Bakagoal foundation.

RFI: Cédric Bakambu, tell us about your foundation, which you took care of during this confinement?

Cédric Bakambu: The foundation was launched in the DRC in December 2019. It was important to me even if I did not have the idea of ​​creating a foundation at the start. I was running out of time. But from my first trip in 2015, when I discovered the country, and then on each trip to the DRC, I recognized myself in the kids playing in the streets. And I started, with "Bakagoal", to modestly contribute to the development of the Congolese youth. By helping the youngest to get by, with education and literacy programs, to understand new technologies, and then also sport!

The urgency of the pandemic forced us to leave our comfort zone. We have distributed food in certain districts of Kinshasa. The director of the Bernard Pongo foundation and my father, Jonathan Bakambu who is vice-president on site, plus my partners, took care of the logistics. We have had a lot of positive feedback. So, I modestly brought my stone to the building, in this difficult period where solidarity is paramount.

You are one of the goalscorers of the " Leopards ", but was it important to create a link other than sport with the DRC ?

Yes because I discovered the country through football, but I fell in love with it, so it happened naturally, spontaneously, and I am very proud of it today.

What do you feel, you native of Vitry-sur-Seine and trained in Sochaux, to wear the colors of the DRC ?

I have already played two CANs since 2017. This is important, because the DRC is a big country, and a big football country. It is important that we are regularly at CAN. It brings passion, hope, pride to all the Congolese who watch us. So on the ground we try to defend our colors as much as possible.

Do you fear that CAN 2021 will suffer from the health situation ?

Frankly I do not know. It will not be easy as there are still many qualifying matches left. I am ready, my team too. But we are not immune to a CAN postponement. Will have to do with it, there are more important things than football!

Is there in your team the desire to erase the Egyptian campaign, and this early elimination in the round of 16 of the CAN in July 2019 against the promoted Madagascar?

It is clear that we are committed to catching up with ourselves, and especially our audience! Now, we were out after the penalty shootout, by a great team from Madagascar who had a very good course. We hope to do better next time. We, Congolese, we have to offer better, and I hope we will do it at the next competition.

What happened in Egypt ? Were there problems with your coach Florent Ibengé ?

You know how it goes in football, when it goes less well for the collective, we point the finger at the coach. But he is not the only one responsible, we are all responsible, me first. But we had reached the end of the cycle. We had to turn the page. I hope that the mayonnaise will take soon enough with the new coach, Christian Nsengi. And that we will reap victories as soon as possible, because that is what we are currently lacking.

The end of the cycle because of Florent Ibengé?

Yes there were rumors, and there is no smoke without fire ... it was given away, and it smelled the end of a cycle.

Will the qualification for the next CAN be easy to acquire in your group D, with Gabon, Gambia and Angola?

It is never easy to qualify, especially we Congolese, we are the kings of calculation, we always qualify with difficulty. As long as the last day has not been disputed, anything is possible. For the moment, we are 3rd in group D.

Who would scare you the most in this group?

(Laughter) The opponent that scares me the most, I'll tell you the truth, it's the Congo! Because we are capable of the best and the worst, if we are having a great night, we can beat any team, and conversely, we can lose against anyone if we are not there , we saw it at the last CAN. So I would say that the biggest opponent is ourselves! Winning a CAN, I believe, a childhood dream, a footballer's dream ... We are not alone, but we have to believe it.

China, when will you return? Do you want to go back?

China has its borders closed to foreigners for the moment, I can't go to Beijing, so I'm waiting for news. But I want to go back, since December it's been a long time. I have prepared myself, I am ready. I want to find the competition, I am a high level sportsman. I miss it, and my club is out there right now.

Is this championship pleasant, despite the distance?

It is far but motivating! Our trainer Bruno Genesio was himself pleasantly surprised, he did not expect such fervor. Playing in packed stadiums every weekend is motivating, there is a real craze but we are far from the European media.

You have scored 39 goals in 54 games at the Beijing Guoan, what is the level of this championship?

Difficult to locate because each team has 3 foreigners on the field. It's more physical, but below La Liga where I played and which is very technical.

You have been a good player with Villarreal, do you dream of playing again in the Spanish Championship (Liga)?

Yes, in La Liga or in Europe, but we will see when it is done. I still have a year and a half of contract to fill in China, I am in Beijing, I will respect it.

About FC Barcelona, ​​who wanted to buy me at the last winter transfer window, there was not even a disappointment. It would have been a nice bonus, I did not expect it, it was the last hours of the transfer window and I had other more concrete tracks, but it happened. In addition, being coveted by Barça is very flattering and motivates me for the future, because I always have in the back of my mind this come back in Europe. Knowing that such a stable coveted me tenfold my motivation. China is not a retreat, I am only 29 years old!

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