Shock over Tiote’s death
Print Edition
CHEICK Tiote’s Chinese club said the cause of his death was still under investigation yesterday after the Ivory Coast international collapsed in training and died.
Tributes poured in for the former Newcastle United midfielder, who moved to China’s second-tier Beijing Enterprises in February after seven years in England’s northeast.
Beijing Enterprises described how Tiote, 30, “suddenly fainted” during training on Monday and was rushed to hospital, where he died.
The club’s general manager Yang Junsheng told reporters that authorities were still trying to determine the cause of death. “We will remember the spirit that he brought us and his football ideals,” Yang added.
As fellow players paid tribute to the popular, hard-tackling midfielder, a group of fans laid a bouquet of white flowers on the pitch at Beijing’s National Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.
Ivory Coast teammate Gervinho, who plays for Hebei China Fortune, described Tiote as a “warrior” and a “champion”.
“May your soul rest in peace,” he said on Twitter.
Brazil’s Oscar, now at Shanghai SIPG after moving from Chelsea, tweeted: “Rest in peace, Cheick Tiote. My family prays for your family.”
Tiote was well known in English football circles after his stint with Newcastle, including six Premier League campaigns before its relegation last year.
He is perhaps best remembered for his crunching left-foot volley from 25 yards to secure a 4-4 draw with Arsenal in 2011.
Tiote was also part of the Ivory Coast squad that delivered the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after a 23-year drought.
Several footballers have died in similar circumstances, including Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe, who collapsed during a Confederations Cup match in 2003 and died from a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
Newcastle said in a statement that it was “devastated” about Tiote while Alan Pardew, who managed him at Newcastle, said he “loved” the player.
“From the moment I arrived at Newcastle, Cheick was a wonderful presence around the dressing room and his performances on the field often defied belief,” Pardew said in a statement, quoted by independent.ie. “I loved him. He’s everything that you want in a Newcastle player.”
Tiote was capped 52 times by Ivory Coast and was in its squads for both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
He began his European club career with Belgian outfit Anderlecht and had a loan spell at Roda JC Kerkrade before moving to FC Twente in 2008. Tiote signed for Newcastle in 2010 and made 156 appearances for the club, becoming a fan favorite.
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