Published: Thursday, 15th February, 2007 12:00pm

Bamba will never forget debut for "The Elephants"

by Dolores Aughy

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IT WAS a proud moment for Sol Bamba as the powerful defender earned his first cap for his parents" homeland on Wednesday night.

The popular Par told Press Sport of his joy at being a part of Ivory Coast"s 1-0 victory over African side Guinea in a friendly match held in Paris.

But while readers might imagine the training regime of one of the most threatening of African teams to be strenuous and demanding, Bamba revealed that it wasn"t really the case.

'I flew over on Sunday morning and came back on Thursday evening,' he said. 'I trained on Monday and Tuesday afternoon but the training is easier with Ivory Coast as it"s just a lot of running and passing the ball about. It"s very different from playing here.'

Given Stephen Kenny"s intense regime, with extra training sessions – both on the park and in the swimming pool – aimed at getting the Pars in shape for what has become a relegation battle, Dunfermline"s training seems to have proved more of a challenge for the 22-year-old than that of World Cup qualifiers Ivory Coast.

The Frenchman played a full 90 minutes for the Ivory Coast, nicknamed "The Elephants", alongside first class players such as Chelsea forward Didier Drogba, who was crowned Ivorian Player of the Year in January 2007.

Bamba, who played centre half, beamed, 'Drogba"s a good guy and a great player – he scored the winning goal.

'It was quite an experience to play with him and I was very happy to play with Ivory Coast because it"s such a big team.'

Bamba, who signed a two-year deal with the Pars from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last year, was also pleased to be reunited with his family who he hadn"t seen in more than four months.

He added, 'My mother, three brothers and my sister all came to see me play on Wednesday.

'They were very happy that I got to play and I hope to play in a competitive game with Ivory Coast in the future.'