Tottenham defender Bassong: Football rescued me from crime
Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong admits football rescued him from a life of crime.
Bassong grew up in a rough neighbourhood in northern Paris where drugs and law-breaking were rampant.
Cameroon defender Bassong told the Daily Star: “I came from a rough area. You had to be very strong. If you were weak, people would walk all over you. You had to earn the respect of those around you, and I made a lot of mistakes.
“When you’re young you want to prove to your mates that you’re a strong guy, a bit of a gangster. But when I go back there now to visit my parents, I can see where my old friends are now. Some are in prison.
“That could have happened to me, but my dad was strong. If I was going wrong, I would get a big slap round the head. When you’re going down the wrong road, sometimes you make mistakes and you get caught, but I was lucky – I never got caught!”
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so should we clap for you?
Your words really show that u r a thief in CHINA.. NONSES
Dear Mark, please realize that ” All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” . Romans3:23. So when a man comes clean from his past it should serve as an inspiration for the tens of thousands living in hypocrisy!
God bless
Amen to that!
haha….
massa weh no dey u for comot pays, u dey there di complain…mbutt man like u….i no tif visa ….u hear me…salopard
This Mark Guy is a FOOL. Ignore him. Thanks Bassong, You are a Gentle man.
Of course Mark we should clap for him b/c you were no better than he was.And with this self judegemnt and introspection Mr.Bassong,this should be an inpiration to your career
Happy for you Bassong. Hope ur story touches/reaches those who are going the wrong way about life.
Mark, what do you mean should we clap for you? You wanna cry for him? This is an example, he is honest to admit the truth, and as some one famous now, he must be exemplary and encourage others. People can use personal experience to help others. And as such, he will not go after team mates` girl friends like…..he now knows whats wrong.
Mark, your comment justifies why you are in china. Your thoughts only tells alot why you left cameroon and travelled but to china. Shame to u
hey Njonberg….with all due respect, watch the topic, and leave me and my presence in china apart…
for ur information, i didnt choose to travel to china, china requested for my services, so if we want to go more detaily into this, u will find ur self tomorow discursing about me while standing on your lines to grab some stamp food….
if u dont mind, ask any other cameroonian who is in zhejiang province, hangzhou to be more precise, ask them who is the cameroonian guy called MARK….
Njonberg watch what u justify, coz u claim to be a judge whom nobody made u one…sucker
no it doesn’t…
yours rather justifies that u are living on stamp food in the usa, making u reason very poorly
Njonberg,what has this young man’s ideas got to do with china?What are u insinuating “sir”?
Mark ,Mr basson is an Idol for young kids that wanna play football.His statement can save the live of one or two kids .
Jomber there may be another way to show mark he is wrong in his comment,your statatement is a bit “Strong” .
Njonberg, Please China got nothing to do with this topic. Pleas let me just remind you that going or staying in the US is not tantamount to success and somebody can be very very successful in Chad or Sudan or Haiti if you wish.
Back to the subject, Bassong is just being thankful for the opportunity got to play football and run away from crime.
Shey,
I like your assessment above. You are right on the money on this one, i think Njonberg was wrong in linking China to Mark’s stupid comment.
Yeah, you’re right … there needs to be some level of decency on a forum that has a global reach as opposed to a face-to-face discussion. One cannot be substituted for another. It is this kind of attitude that has hardened political discourse in Cameroon.
Others will learn from this examples Bassong..we are proud of u taking in to consideration how lots of kids in the diaspora behave thanks to the “do what u like alltitude”. Ur dad most also be proud of you today and like someone mentioned above, u are an idol to many kids out there hence this will help shape the lives of many. cheers
If i will add something to mr. Bassong’s tale, then it is an example of coming out true of your past. Many of us have suffered from some kind of juvinial deliquency and as a result this has delayed or comepletely changed our future. A testimony like this is certainly going to help shape the lives and future of other generations to come. Thanks alot fellow cameroonians for your comments on this platform. I wish to say we shouldn’t use this blog to be criticising others.
this guy is putting his father into trouble, the old man risk being charged with child abuse. for always slapping and hitting this kid on the head e.t.c.
THOSE FAY MAN IN CHINA SOMETIMES THEY TALK LIKE RETIRED VOLEURS FROM CAMEROON AND THE THING HERE IS MANY DO NOT USE NO SINGLE CAMEROON IDENTIFICATION CARD, OR PASSPORT, THEY ARE BOLT ENURF TO SAY RUBISH ON GENUINE CAMEROONIANS LIKE BASSONG, ETO’O AND OTHERS. SHAME ON YOU, BANDE DE VOLEURS
mbutt man…..talk on the topic man, and leave us alone….Jeremy, the sea is not dry, u can come over, since u think we dont have ids…
we say what we want, when we want and where we want…sooner we are taking over this planet, so join us…..
bassong history, should not call for talks like this, but i can see that we still have ready made cameroonian talk always….big man open ur eyes…bandit
Me too…..
njonberg…haha…u make me laugh…do u think the US is Heaven??? there are Cameroonians in Asia like me who are on legal job salaries and help their families back in Cameroon than you, who thinks China sucks.How old are you??? Anyways, Cheers Bassong! Your talk is “True Talk.”As for njonberg or whatever…Get a life buddy!!! China’s economy is booming if u (njonberg) is gullible and does not know that.Believe that son!!!
thanks man….let the world know….i wish Njonberg stops doing the car wash job and eating stampfood, so that he would be able to reason well…
anyway,,,bassong, ist good for u that u did change, but i won’t clap for the history…hahaha
Hey fellow brothers, there is nothing wrong when you make genuine criticism, every one should be able to criticize and be criticised provided it is meant to change the target in a positive way. Some of us especially in Africa don`t want to criticise very successful (or powerful) people either because we intentionally want to be biased or lack a good sense of judgement. This is one of the reasons that we continue to make wrong decisions for our children and our grand-children. We all have our heroes, but we have to face the reality when they cross the limit.
I like all those who do what they do well. I like Bassong`s style of play but I will not clap for him when he comes to the field of play without a pair of shorts or starts encouraging youths to pursue crime with the hope that after they can still play football and make it because there is a high chance that people can go back to some old habits.
We love u Bassong!
thanks for letting some of my rivals understand this thing man…culo
Mark, watch the sublime mysticism and amplified nonsense that you write on this forum.Makes me want to vomit.Check your english.
i know that the english teachers are around to tell us about english here, mbutt man
Mark,i HONESTLY believe there is sumfing wrong with you,due to the type of comments you make.Fair enough if you do not want to clap for him,doing it or not doing it will not change anything in your life nor in Mr Bassong’s life ,but at least there have been few points made which you need to consider.Think of it berfore you start talking CRAP.
the crap i did say was i wasnt going clap, so if u cant dig it, then accept my middle finger…
You know, Mark, I am from Zhejiang, China, never heard of you and truly disappointed in your comments
Hi all
If there is anyone here that know Mark in ZHEJIANG please Do us a favour,Catch him and KICK ALL THE DIRTY S… OUT OF HIMMMMMMMMM. if I m there i will first of all give him a “BOUJIE” just to introduce myself it will follow by a “An uninterupted Bastonade” similar to the one the police Prescribed to thieves and delinquents in Cameroon .
Mark is reacting as Bassong would have reacted if he did not join football.So Mark please find sumfing to get out of the miserable life you have in CHINA.
Bassong’s comments was directed to “Aggresseur” and “droguee” like you .
Mark,
Bassong ’s Comment was dedicated to “Agresseurs and Fumeur de Mbanga like you “we all understand why you cannot clap for him.
Because You have not yet found sumfing dat will get you out of The miserable life you have.
But anyaway if I could have identify you,I could have started by Giving you a “Professional Boujie” like the one the police prescribe to MAZEMBE like you,this will be follow by an Unprecedented Bastonade like the one the Army normaly provide but the Dosage will be for adult people.
Probably this will help you see things cleary
whatever….i still show my middle fingers to you…
I am not sure who this Mark is, but he sure sounds like a show off which is good or bad for him, I don’t really care. I stand firm to say Mr Bassong has acted upon noble virtue and deserves to be emulated by kids on the streets
When will we realise that it is possible to share opinions withour disrespecting and insulting the opinions of others? May we leave our pride and pre-judices away and focus on the issues? As we express ourselves, may we stay reminded that others participating may not be of the same level of maturity (emotional, educational, social or interpersonal?)…
I do not think it is possible to change a person’s reasoning by a single response. But as we share our comments and come back to catch up on the progress, let those who support us bear testimony to the quality of our contribution.
I believe if no one agrees with a particular post, that person is more likely to rethink their comments than if they recieve multiple personal attacks.
That said, I’m glad tough parenting helped Bassong stay on track. It is hard for us settlers abroad to have the same degree of time and attention that we recieved growing up abroad. So kudos to his parents, and to him too for doing so well for himself so soon.
Ah say na waity the worry all wuna for this forum. If u r in china of India this debate does not calls insults. We should watch our backs before we make comments.
Mark,
Wish I was in China my friend ,I would have shown you how we treat people like you in Cameroon ,when was the last time you went to Cameroon ? The only thing you have is your mouth.
I’m pretty sure the Brain is Empty,But no worry at this forum we know how to treat MAZEMBE, dat is why we accept you as you are in this forum .
The Antidote for Mazembe is to get a Full time Job.Hope you will find one in China,Hope you will be talking like bassong in Few years .
big man…i hope u did read what Casoni and Heine said…????
watch out…like i said, i didnt choose to move here, the chinese needed my services….
Lechacal…with all due respect, i just had my say, so if u dont like it, stay cool, and keep to the topic…
i am saying this, with apologies to whosoever is not cool with what i said….so bro, take it easy, lets not take it too far, coz we all know personally why we are out of camer….
to hustle:)
In as much as Bassong’s comment will have a possitive influence on the lifes of many kids,like Gilbert from Autria rightly said,there are some and i mean a handfull of kids who shall go on doing wayward things while hoping to one day change or that it will help them to the future with a brave mind.Some even go on doing these things to one day become a 50 CENT ,The game, Jay Z ,Akon,TuPac and the rest of these criminals cum stars who sell thier past stories to people which in a nut shell promotes voilence amongst youths in the name of gangster and other diabolic things associated to it.The story of this Bassong fellow is no different from that of these guys i just mentions above who in my opinion are supposed to be send behind bars and the keys of thier prison cell thrown into an ocean.Lets say during his gangster days,he did killed a number of innocent folks,do u think i will be here claping for him becuz he’s now a changed man?Capital No!!! we can go on and on and on about this whole issue,for me,his talking about his past is a 2 sided sword with possitive and long lasting negative effects on kids.So whatever ground who so ever picks on this should be respected as his or her opinion.Who is Who on this forum to castigate others and try to force them to reason with you.I will like to see guys here agreeing to disagree without name calling,character assasination and grandstanding.
This interchange of bitterness in this forum amongst you Cameroonians around the globe goes a long way to justify why the white man has always remained overall successful. You know what? when i read an article on the the New York Times’ website for example, and review the comments posted thereafter, the air of maturity and the respect of opinion amongst the participants is quite superior. They all appear to have one sense of direction despite their differences in opinion. But when I later come back here to see how my own brother are doing, what do I see. Obvious incoherence and writer/reader rage in full play. It simply turns out to be who is living where and how. According to some articles that i read here, China’s Economy is booming, The US is better and so on. Come to think of it, how do you think these countries made it to their current economic positions? If you guys on this forum cannot share common opinions and respect the right of expression for others, how do you expect to achieve any growth in your home countries? You boast about your status in China, USA or whatever; what your status in Cameroon?
Let us come to realize that, a forum like this is meant for people to beef up opportunities through collaborative thinking, implementation of economically sound ideas and a strife to forge ahead in this difficult times. If you read somebody’s posting and found something inappropriate about it, there is a mature way of drawing that person’s attentions to that fact. If you feel the urge to say something stupid, slap yourself and move on to the next block.
Mark
THANKS for your appologies ,Please write Down that “I will clap for Mr Bassong”
Regards
The Jackal
no worries Jackal….take it easy, its already done spiritualy…
sorry, but the truth is….i neeed to find out something, which i definitely got results….so next time, we talk on it, but the bottom line is….we are all cameroonians trying tomake it better for ourselves, cameroon as a whole bro…no stress…:)
no stress bro…