Cheick Tiote dies while training

Mar 1, 2002
66,106
12,072
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/foot...eijing-Chinese-Super-League-hospital-training

Reports broke out of China this afternoon, where the former Newcastle star is playing for Beijing Enterprises, that he had been taken ill after training.

It appears he was subsequently rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

BBC reporter Tim Hague wrote: “BREAKING: Ex @NUFC midfielder Cheick Tioté has collapsed during training with Beijing Enterprises and has subsequently died. Aged 30.â€
 

Jussi

Registered User
Feb 28, 2002
91,022
10,992
Mojo Dojo Casa House
FIFA 17 is free to play over the weekend and I guess still today and on THe Journey mode, my player got sent on loan to NUFC from Man United and Tiote came on as a sub in my last game a just a few hours ago. And then this... :(
 

Stray Wasp

Registered User
May 5, 2009
4,561
1,503
South east London
When Tiote left, my attitude was 'good riddance'. His passing game had deteriorated to non-existent, and his ability to tackle had long since transformed into clumsiness or violence. For driving with a fake licence he'd almost gone to prison at one point. The regularity with which Steve McClaren was forced to deny rumours of being a negative dressing-room presence were disquieting.

The tributes to him today tell a different story, and it's noticeable how many players who were junior teammates praised his advice and support. A long-forgotten memory returns- strolling up Westgate Road after a day's work to find Tiote's car parked outside the African-run barber's less than 100 yards from my front door. To learn he's dead at 30 brings the realisation of just how young he was then. He had children, and his wife was expecting another. Note to self: presuming you know the whole story about what a footballer is like as a human being is a mug's game.

And if the story ends sadly, there were a couple of years when Tiote in the heart of NUFC's midfield was a glorious sight. Right from his first game he added dynamism to what had been a sluglike midfield. It's poignant to look back on those days when it appeared he could run for ever without tiring. As for the aggression, at that juncture he played the entire time either on the limit of what was acceptable or over. But unless English football changes, every team needs such players.

I rejoice to think of a game at SJP in April 2012 against the posturing bullies of Stoke, when they were pulling out of challenges he was storming in to. To say nothing of the 3-0 win over Manchester United, when he and Cabaye chewed up the Red Devils' midfield and spat out a few bones. What a midfield pair those two were at their best.

He couldn't shoot to save his life. As such, he only scored two goals. And one of them isn't in the history books, because referees decide whether goals count, and he had the misfortune to cross a grovelling, ****-stained cheat masquerading as a ref who stole a perfectly legal, and marvellously-struck goal from him in 2014.

He scored another goal. It'll be remembered on Tyneside as long as any who saw it lives, and it'll be played time and again on TV. But you're seeing it in the knowledge of how the shot turns out. On 5 February 2011, at around 4.50 in the afternoon, nothing was certain. An hour earlier Newcastle United had been in utter despair, not only because they were 4-0 down at halftime, but because Ashley had sold Andy Carroll and replaced him with no one at all. At 3-4, the crowd was going berserk, but it seemed that in the best Newcastle tradition they'd fall short, and once the excitement was settled we'd have to walk into the night facing the grim reality of an asset-stripping owner, a neutered manager, a broken dressing-room, and a relegation battle to see out the season.

And then the man who couldn't hit the target with his favoured right tried a left-foot volley from outside the box. Suddenly, we were reminded why the game infatuates us.

It's a droll exercise to reconsider those emotions through the 20/20 visions of hindsight. Irrespective, it remains one of my most greatest footballing memories. For that, Cheick Tiote will always have my gratitude.
 

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