Aliou Cissé-Sam Turray: My life after Football

The PSG episode.

IT: From Ivory Coast, you fly to France. what is the story?

AC: oh that! I had an offer from Paris St Germain (the trial was a non-issue). It was after the "Ivoire Dimanche" tournament (Hafia of Conakry, St Etienne, CSK Sofia and Africa Sports) the Parisians wanted to buy me. I scored 4 goals against Hafia of Conakry against all the big name players of Guinea at the time, including the 1972 Africa ballon d'or Cherif Souleymane. During the match, Naby Laye "Papa" Camara begged me to halt the humiliation. With 5 against CSK Sofia (I was the tournaments top scorer with 9 goals).

My departure date to Paris coincided with a friendly match in Zaire. Simplice Zinsou couldn't stomach the fact that I was not to take part in a worthless friendly match at the end of the season! Yet my signature at PSG would have started a new era at Africa Sports.

Back then, the great rival Asec had not yet dreamed of building an academy. Moreover before PSG, I was contacted by FC 105 of Libreville in Gabon. When I went there to visit the facilities, the Gabonese military welcomed me at the airport. The trial was conclusive, but I had to choose between continuing to play in Africa as an amateur or trying the Professional experience. When I got back on the plane, the soldiers handed me an envelope stuffed with money (this is the first time I've ever spoken about it). I sent a fellow Guinean who had just arrived for a try out at Africa Sports (a fair-skinned young man whose name I can't remember now). He had a flourishing career in Gabon. If he's still with us, he'll be able to confirm it one day.

In Paris, I went through two years of unimaginable hardship. At the time of the signing at the PSG in the president's office, he was on the phone with someone. It was Simplice Zinsou, who refused to sign the exit letter.
The funny thing was that I hadn't signed a contract with Africa Sports. At the time, all you needed was an exit letter from the club at the end of the season if you wanted to leave. It was too much to ask of Zinsou. He told President Francis Borelli of Paris St Germain, in my presence, that he couldn't accept a delinquent in a team in which he owned shares. Diplomatically, M.Borelli said : "Oh, I heard you have no respect for your managers!"

That phone call ruined part of my career. However, a week after I arrived at PSG, the coach whose name I can't remember, confirmed that the trial was conclusive. I remember, it was the training period for the Paris tournament. PSG first team which I was part of, played against the Brazilian national team, which a few months later took part in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. So my disappointment was immense.

For a year, I jogged around Paris every night to keep in shape. Nobody was interested in me.

I must emphasize one fact: I came to Africa thanks to Sekou Coulibaly, Guy Ayéna, Pépé Paul and my adoptive father, the late Norbert Béhibro. Zinsou came in to reap the rewards of the club's success.

One day he will have to apologise publicly for his gratuitous wickedness towards me, and I know that several players have had their careers shattered because of this guy. Pascal Miezan had attractive offers from around the world. Zinsou prevented him from a better future. He died alone, miserable. This is unacceptable!

He confiscated all of my properties. My family was homeless in Abidjan (Riviera where my wife and my little boy lived). I didn't believe it when my wife called me in Paris to tell me what was happening in Abidjan. I lost everything. Sékou Coulibaly and Mady Sanfo were able to accommodate my family at the Hotel Ivoire while waiting for my return.

All the journalists who could blow the whistle on this injustice wrote the opposite of what I had told them when they interviewed me about it.

The man, Simplice Zinsou was simply God on earth in Ivory Coast. A few generous supporters helped me get out of Abidjan. My poor adoptive father got involved too, but I don't blame him. He had no power. Even Maitre Mondon had advised me to leave the Ivory Coast at the time.

I.T: What act of delinquency did you commit?

A.C: Me, a delinquent? Out of respect for Africa Sports supporters, I will refrain from being blunt for now. I am a footballer who runs after a ball but uses his brain to be the best. I come from a family of Guinean (Soussous) academics. My late father, Touré Momo, was a trade Unionist, Parlemantarian and General Manager of the Camayene Hotel.

My older brother was Dr Bouba. He perished with all his colleagues of the World Health Organisation (W.H.O) in a plane crash while on a mission in former Zaire (DRC).

My other brother Sam was a celebrated journalist. My younger brother, Touré Abdoulaye Brel is an  engineer. My younger sister is a bank manager in Conakry.

I realized very early on that I could put my football skills to good use, but some greedy club owners thought they were dealing with a starving man! Yes, cheap billionaires enjoy the sweat and talent of young people who have nothing to eat after matches and training sessions. We have to put an end to this kind of practice.

I.T: How did you manage to refocus on football after that episode?

A.C: Ironically, my identity transformed my future.

Anyway, I started playing for Orleans, in the second division on a "contract of trust". Yet, I was still at the top of my game. Banging in goals like there is no tomorrow.

Once again I almost got expelled from France because I had a Sierra Leonean passport, while I was claiming Guinean citizenship. The policeman who auditioned me told me to prove that I from Guinea. I took out my birth certificate and after verification, it turns out that I was born French (Guinee was a French territory before independence). The identity chapter was finally closed.

The Embodyment of an athlete is first and foremost the state of mind. My morale was shattered. I had to start all over again. I spent two years (1980-1982) in Orleans. Then I ended up in Brest. This time in the first division (1982-1984).

I.T: Yes, indeed! But you played in defence?

A.C: Yes, I turned myself into a full-back to ensure minimum service because of a knee pain I was dragging from Abidjan. My knee had not been treated properly. I must pay tribute to my friend Kobinan Kouma who tried everything to heal me. He even took me to a traditional healer in his village for treatment.

I.T: What were the circumstances of this injury? There has always been a controversy about this.

A.C: Terrible! It was against Stade d'Abidjan. Pascal sends a pass deep in channel just as I love them. As I make that deadly run, the opposing player crushes my knee with all his weight. As I sat down, I could see my knee completely overturned. I put it back in place but when I stood up on both legs, I knew it was over. I can confirm that the operation was not a success. I was operated on by President Houphouet's physician. Fate had just knocked on my door. I had to be stopped and that's what they did. I'm still dragging this handicap around.

I.T. Who is the defender you feared the most? - Why were your socks always down, even though stars like you were not particularly protected by the referees?

A.C: I wasn't afraid of any defender because my focus on a football pitch was my job; scoring goals. I think I did it well. A few days before a match against Adjamé's Stella Club, I went to taunt them at their training ground. They almost lynched me. I had brought Sekou along. On matchday, the atmosphere in the dressing room was unbearable. It is usually completely silent if Blé Tety doesn't play pranks. But that day, you could see people breathing fire. Imagine Koffi Konan Bébé breathing down your neck. I didn't touch the ball until the 89th minute when I crucified them with a goal. I hated defeat.

Honestly, I often hear that I was technically gifted and other superlatives. It is flattering. For my part, I can confirm that I was rather very quick on my feet because I worked a lot on my physical condition. I would make hand gestures to either Pascal Miezan or Kobinan and I would start a run. I could outrun a whole defence. It all depended on my position in the 25 yards.

I'd take the defenders away from their perimeter and I'd wave to Pascal Miezan or Kobinan to send passes in channels or above. My pace enabled me to find myself alone in front of the unfortunate goalkeeper to the joy of the ôyés. I wasn't a fan of the one-two. For me, it meant going straight to the opposing goal (Irié bi Toh can confirm this).

I preferred to lower the socks because the "shin guards" were simply cumbersome in the hot climate.

I.T: Let's go back to the Brest years:

A.C: I had the challenge to face the cowardly inexplicable wickedness of Simplice Zinsou and I did it. I played professionally. Afterwards, I gave up football. Football still wanted me but I was overworked, I have had enough. At the top level, you have to know how to walk away by the front door or you'll be thrown out of the window. (laughs).
Back then, when I told Paul Leguen (now a celebrated coach) that I was quitting, he thought I was losing it, but for me, I'd earned my living.

I.T: We can tell you're happy!

A.C.: Yes. I have no regrets. I would like to say a big thank you to the Ivory Coast. To the supporters of Africa. To the young generation especially, I would like to urge them to work hard for the "Green and Red" because without them and the supporters, there is no Africa Sports. I encourage them to emulate Didier Drogba, to whom I wish much luck in his quest for the presidency of FIF. He would have deserved it if he was elected.

I.T: Let's come back to Africa Sports. you and your teammates, were you on some sort of contract?

A.C: Not at all. Just a license signature. So we didn't make a lot of money. But everything changed for me when the late Maitre Mondon, the President of Stade d'Abidjan offered me a golden ticket (5,000,000 CFA francs) in 1977 to move to his club. However, during our meeting, he asked me if I had thought about the fans and my club before accepting his offer. Maitre Mondon served Ivorian football. He was not in football to serve himself.

Following our talks, I informed my father (Norbert Gbetibouo) and by a miracle, my salary changed. Zinsou, Louis Sampah and my adoptive father gave me a cheque for 1.500.000F. CFA to stay with Africa. That was my first million in football. Then I was offered a job by a group of supporters.

I'd like to stress the role of the supporters behind the scenes who were working for the club's influence. People like Vouzon Célestin, Jean Tahi and others whose names I forget, but they'll recognise themselves if they're still with us. Those were the "Aiglons". I would always prefer the sober meal and the bottle of "Tip Top café" of a lambda supporter in a ghetto, to the feast and champagne of the big wigs. That's how I made enemies.

That's how Zinsou started to hate me too. I'm probably the main reason why my teammates at the time started getting paid. I couldn't bear seeing footballers going around the supporters' offices on Monday morning to "beg" after working hard on Sunday. I did it once or twice but it wasn't my thing.

I didn't accept it at Hafia FC or the Sily National. Same thing when I joined the Black Pool military club and the Sierra Leone national team.

I.T: Are you temperamental!

A.C: I am of a laid back  nature, but I refuse to be taken for a ride. Once, after the famous Africa-Hafia where I scored four goals against my former club, the Technical Director Kallet Bially handed me my match bonus and was surprised that I didn't say thank you. I didn't understand anything about it, because as far as I was concerned I had just received the fruit of my labour.

Later, I was told a little about what Mr Kallet represented at the Club. So there it was. It was a clash of two personalities... At the time, the episode made the headlines. There were rumours that I had slammed the door, yet it was only a "buzz" from the journalists who must have witnessed the incident.

I.T: What do you think of the Ivorian "Championnat" of the time? Which footballers impressed you the most?

A.C: As I said before, our dream was to play in the Ivory Coast. Playing for a club like Africa was a bonus. The footballer who impressed me the most was my teammate Pascal Miezan. We didn't need to talk to each other on the pitch. The boy had an extraordinary eye for the killer assist. He was an exceptional footballer. His death saddens me greatly. Somebody tells me what that boy died from. Alone, miserable in the hospital ?

And Lebry Manhoua Jerome, a phenomenal head and spring! Sometimes, I wondered how he achieved all those feats. Look at how he left this world!

I.T: Do you regret having left Côte d'Ivoire?

AC: I will confess something to you. I was born Guinean, but I consider myself an Ivorian because of what that country gave me.
Look! It was in Abidjan I gave up nightclubs, smoking and partying. I had finally realised that something special was taking shape. I was a penniless Guinean-Sierra Leonean international. In Abidjan, it was the villa at the Riviera and the car. My friends from Hafia FC days came to my house after the famous I.D tournament. They were amazed at my standard of living.

My mother went to Abidjan. When she came out of the airport, all she had to say was that she was Sam Turray's mother and a huge rush followed between the taxis. They drove her to my front door.

Zinsou, Sampah and Mr Gbetibouo hosted her. Before she left, she was handed an envelope. I never knew how much was in it, but apparently, it was enough to fund her trip to Mecca in 1978.

My father, who didn't want to hear about football, had his ears glued to the radio every weekend to listen to journalists like Kanté Boubacar and Tshimpoupoupou Wa Tshimpoupoupou narrating on the international airwaves the prowess of his son, the only one who didn't have a degree, but the richest (laughs).

My face alone was enough at the Ivorian border posts. Once, in the company of the boy's mother coming from Liberia to the first town on our territory, someone recognized me and insisted that my family spend the night at his house (it was dusk). That was my world. Another time, I was in traffic violation at Aeroport Felix Houphouet Boagny. A gentleman intervened. The policemen paid me the taxi to go back to the Riviera, fetch my passport and come back.

Later, I was informed by my bété girlfriend that the stranger at the airport was Mr Ndia Houphouet. They were friends. He later told her that he had just released "the little player" from the police. (laughs).

On the other hand, I don't regret having looked elsewhere when I think of talents like Miezan Pascal, Lebry Jerome, Gbizié Léon and many other greats who unfortunately died under the circumstances we all know about.

I.T: Did you follow  Africa Sports from Europe?

A.C: not really, but I know that some Sierraleoneses played there after I left. One of them was Ismael Dayifan, a rich heir against whom I had played some matches when he was with the Freetown Port Authority club. His father was the president. Ismael wouldn't have needed Africa for anything. I know he wasn't impressed by Zinsou's "bling-bling".

There was also Brima Kamara who was an educated boy from a modest background. A very good player. They were our rivals but we were team-mates in the national team with Oumar Dean Cissé and Mamadou Kabo.

I.T: Do you believe in black African magic? Have you ever used it?

A.C: I am a believer, but never done it. My family is Muslim, it doesn't bother me to go into a church for prayer to this "Being" above all, who created the world we live in, Master of the Universe. Imagine, Africans have a power they cannot master. That's why we are still dominated.

During a game in Freetown, I started dribbling from very far on the pitch and I hit a murderous shot. I knew that was the goal. The crowd was jubilating but the ball went round the goalkeeper and out of the goal. After the match, the two teams met in a nightclub and the opposing team's goalkeeper told me this: "Hey, you! You know that goal you missed this afternoon, if you'd scored it, you'd died tonight". He told me with a smile on his face. This is the dark side of Africa. With Africa Sports, I didn't experience all that, but in Sierra Leone before every game we used to take a "magic" shower, they say, to protect us.

I.T: Sam Turray, 40 years after Africa Sports, a lot of water has run under the bridges in the lagoons of Abidjan, as well as your life. Why do you choose to tell it all now?

A.C: Good question. Listen, I am 66 years old, I am a former member of Hafia, Sily National and Sierra Leone national side where I played alongside Oumar Dean Cissé and Amadou Kabo. Those countries didn't offer me anything. The Ivory Coast made me. Simplice Zinsou used his power to try to stop me and take away my happiness and that of Africa Sports. Fortunately, my son Larsen followed in my footsteps. I pay tribute to him and his brothers. After 40 years, people need to know why Sam Turray disappeared. I went into business when I ended my career. I was often in transit in Abidjan, but I had to keep a low profile. Now I want Simplice Zinsou to restore my dignity and my possessions. He owes it to Africa Sports. What he took from me when he emptied my villa in my absence 40 years ago is of inestimable material and sentimental value. The PSG recognized my worth. I had just gone for a trial run. It wasn't anything criminal nor delinquent!

I.T: Your final word?

A.C: I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Guinean community in Abidjan. Especially my friends: Lopez (without him I would never have played for the "Oyés". In France, he was still working his connections. The two Disté (one of them recognized me on the streets, at dusk in Treichville when I couldn't reach Mr Akran). And then, Moro (they all sadly passed away). There's my cousin Sankhon in Orleans, still a football coach. Thompson, who gave me a shirt off his back (laughs).

Those people changed my life! I'll  forever be grateful to them.

I would like to thank your magazine for allowing me to look back on years rich in adventures between myself and the warm Ivorian fans. You publish in English and French. This is a huge advantage. You ought to be boosted by solid sponsors.

Now everyone knows why Mady Touré, alias Cissé Alioune-Sam Turray, moved to Europe. We were pioneers. Now, look at billions being splashed around to young players. It is amazing!

To my fellow Ivorians, you are lucky to have a footballing legend like Didier Drogba who can transform the lives of fans and players alike. You must seize the opportunity offered to you at the right time. There are junctions in life that you must avoid missing out on otherwise, regrets will remain the constant. Football belongs to footballers. Not to hustlers.

If one day I decide to return to Africa, I'll settle in the "Pearl of the lagoons" in Côte d'Ivoire. Your country made me who I am!