When Yan Diomande takes his position on the wing for Ivory Coast against Germany on Saturday, the 19-year-old will carry more than just a football kit onto the pitch. He will carry the memory of his younger sister, Roxanne, who died a year ago at the age of 15 after her drink was spiked.
In a deeply personal open letter published this week by The Players' Tribune, Diomande wrote directly to her: "Everything I do on a football pitch, it's for you. Every time I score, I'll make sure everybody knows your name. I'll make sure they don't forget you."
The Ivory Coast winger also revealed the emotional numbness that has followed her death. "Now, I don't feel anything. It's like I'm not even human. Since you died, I'm just blank. All I can do is use the pain to work harder, and to do everything we dreamed about."
A star emerging from Abidjan
Diomande grew up in a modest neighbourhood in Abidjan, where he and Roxanne shared meals, housework, and even a bedroom. His path to professional football was far from straightforward — he left Ivory Coast in 2015, trained at an athletic academy in the USA while attending high school, and had trials with Major League Soccer clubs, as well as Bournemouth, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Rangers, before any club committed to signing him. Leganes eventually gave him his chance.
The move to Germany that followed transformed his career. In his debut Bundesliga season with RB Leipzig, Diomande scored 12 goals and finished as the top-ranked winger in the entire division for successful dribbles and duels won. He also ranked among the elite for shots on target, chances created, assists, and defensive contributions. Europe's biggest clubs took notice — Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool have both made efforts to sign him.
"I commentated on his first game in Germany and he was clearly phenomenal," says Kevin Hatchard, a Bundesliga English-language commentator. "What marks him out as special is he always wants to take responsibility. He isn't selfish either — his work-rate without the ball is incredible. Even when teams put two men on him, he relishes taking them on."
The hope of a nation
Back home in Ivory Coast, Diomande's rise has been felt deeply. Veteran Ivorian broadcaster and journalist Mamadou Gaye says the young winger captured the nation's hearts during a World Cup qualifier against Kenya last October, and has since been spoken of as the heir to Didier Drogba.
"At 19, he is the hope of a nation," Gaye says. "His letter to her is a cry of love — and a message about nefarious intentions and criminality understood by the youth of Ivory Coast and Africa."
Diomande's team-mates share the belief. Amad Diallo, the Manchester United winger who scored the decisive goal in Ivory Coast's opening win over Ecuador, described him simply: "The 'golden boy', as we call him. Penetration, dribbling — his speciality. He's someone who is very strong one on one."
Nothing to lose, everything to prove
Ivory Coast have appeared at the World Cup three times before — in 2006, 2010, and 2014 — and failed to advance beyond the group stage on each occasion, despite the presence of icons such as Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba. The victory over Ecuador, however, has placed the current side in a strong position ahead of Saturday's match against Germany.
Diomande believes this squad carries a different kind of hunger. "I think we have more desire," he says. "There isn't a lot of expectation on us, so we have nothing to lose and we'll give it everything. That's what our mentality needs to be."
Hatchard sees a player with a point to prove — and a deeply personal motivation. "From the way he plays, you get the sense that this is a guy who wants to prove that he does belong at the top level, and to underline the faith his sister always had in him."
