Lomana LuaLua On Newcastle, Sir Bobby Robson, Harry Redknapp And Representing DR Congo

Lomana LuaLua’s route to Premier League prominence began on the non-league fields of Colchester United, where a chance conversation with manager Mick Wadsworth set the wheels in motion for a dramatic leap to one of England’s most storied clubs. “If you help me keep this team up, I’m going somewhere bigger, and I’ll come back for you,” Wadsworth promised. Colchester survived, and true to his word the manager recommended the striker to Sir Bobby Robson at Newcastle United.

The teenage LuaLua, an East Londoner who had grown up idolising Tottenham, was on the verge of signing for Spurs until Newcastle’s firmer offer redirected him to the north-east. “Looking back, I do not regret it,” he says. The presence of Robson, whose résumé included guiding Ronaldo at Barcelona, convinced LuaLua he had joined a finishing school for flair. “Knowing he had managed great talents made me believe he could take me to another level.”

Raw and without academy polish, LuaLua was plunged straight into a dressing room led by Alan Shearer. Robson initially unleashed him as a freewheeling winger, then attempted to mould him into a traditional number nine. “I was not used to playing with my back to goal,” LuaLua admits, “but watching Shearer every day was like going to university.” Limited starts never soured his relationship with the St James’ Park faithful: “The fans appreciated flair and passion, and we had a great connection.”

After 63 appearances and 11 goals for Newcastle, LuaLua sought a stage where he could start weekly. He turned down Leeds in favour of Portsmouth, convinced that Harry Redknapp’s love of expressive football would suit him. “Sir Bobby taught me structure. Harry gave me expression,” he reflects. At Fratton Park he finally felt his Premier League career had truly begun, and he struck up a potent partnership with Yakubu. “We understood each other; that chemistry was special.”

Personal tragedy altered the trajectory of his life in 2006 when he lost his infant son. Injured and grieving, he accepted Redknapp’s offer to move abroad rather than to a domestic rival. Olympiacos supporters embraced him instantly, and silverware followed. “Nothing replaces losing my son, but Greece helped me heal.”

A lucrative switch to Qatar brought the best pay cheque of his career yet quickly descended into acrimony when club officials, he claims, attempted to force an injured LuaLua to play. Refusal was punished with six months training alongside every youth age group. “It was humiliating,” he says, but the experience “made me mentally stronger.”

A subsequent return to Olympiacos preceded a cup-winning stint at Cypriot side Omonia, the move triggered after an anticipated transfer to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed. “Playing in France would have meant a lot,” he notes, citing DR Congo’s colonial history.

Wearing the Congolese shirt carried even deeper resonance. “My father was a footballer. His dream was to represent our country, but he never got that chance.” LuaLua captained the Leopards and featured in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, believing victories offered fleeting hope to a nation scarred by conflict. “To give that joy, to wear the flag, is a feeling I cannot fully explain.”

Now 43, LuaLua looks back on a career that zig-zagged from east London colleges to Champions League nights in Athens, from Premier League benches to African battlefields. “My career was not a straight path,” he concedes. “It was filled with brilliance, adversity, freedom, discipline, heartbreak, and redemption. Through it all, one thing remained constant: I love football.”