Demba Ba returns to his roots with ambitious vision for Le Havre
Former Chelsea and Newcastle United striker Demba Ba has returned to the city where he grew up to begin his first role as a sporting director in Ligue 1. However, the new Le Havre AC executive insists that sentiment was not behind his decision to join the club.
Ba’s journey in football began in France, where he spent part of his youth in Le Havre before taking an unconventional route into the professional game. After failing to secure a contract in France, the forward began his senior career with Belgian side Mouscron before establishing himself in Germany with Hoffenheim.
Spells with West Ham United, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Beşiktaş and Shanghai Shenhua followed, with Ba becoming particularly well known in England and Turkey. Five years after retiring as a player, the 41-year-old has now returned to Le Havre with the task of building a sustainable Ligue 1 project.
The former Senegal international was appointed as the club’s sporting director in June, having previously spent three years as director of football at Ligue 2 side Dunkerque.
Speaking to L’Équipe, Ba revealed that he had been preparing for a career in football administration long before his playing days came to an end.
“I wanted to become a sporting director around ten years before I stopped playing,” he said.
Ba credits former Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick as one of the principal influences behind that decision. The German introduced him to a detailed and holistic approach to performance during their time together in the Bundesliga.
“When he explained certain details to me, how he convinced players, how he considered every small thing that could affect performance and the playing project he had created, it was fascinating,” Ba explained. “He made me want to do this job.”
Building rather than reacting
Ba arrives at Le Havre with the club’s squad undergoing a significant rebuild ahead of the new campaign. He acknowledged that joining relatively late in the summer has created additional difficulties, particularly with limited time to recruit and implement a long-term structure.
The former striker nevertheless believes the greatest problem facing modern football executives is the demand for immediate results.
“The room for improvement at clubs is enormous,” he said. “I think they are only operating at 50% of their potential because, if you do not win, you are out. Everything is immediate. But to win, you have to build. It is a paradox.”
Ba considers development to be his primary strength, whether that concerns the club, the playing model or individual players.
His methods are also intensely demanding. Ba revealed that he has regularly slept between three and five hours per night since beginning his executive career with Dunkerque and expects similar commitment from those around him.
“My phone is always on,” he said. “It is possible that I will make a call at two in the morning. The people working with me also sleep three hours. We need to be capable of putting in the hours.”
Several members of Ba’s team at Dunkerque have followed him to Normandy. Recruitment director and coordinator Romain Decool, scout Alexis Huot-Marchand and performance specialist Pablo Lopez Fernandez have all joined the project.
Ba admitted that their presence was an important condition behind his acceptance of the role.
“They accelerate everything in my daily work,” he explained. “They know how I work and understand my way of thinking. If I sit alone in an office thinking, I do not make progress. I need constant critical thinking.”
“I don’t think too much with my heart”
Despite his personal connection with Le Havre, Ba rejected the suggestion that returning to the city was primarily an emotional decision.
The former Senegal striker grew up in the area, while several members of his family still live there. He was also reportedly approached by Lorient, Rennes and Nice before accepting the HAC position.
“I don’t think too much with my heart,” Ba said. “My wife tells me that a little romance would do me no harm.
“It is a pleasure to be here, where my older brother and some of my other brothers still live. But I genuinely believe this club can be much higher. What motivates me is helping it reach its full potential.”
Ba was particularly attracted by Le Havre’s history and the reputation of its academy, which has produced players including Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez, Benjamin Mendy, Steve Mandanda and Lassana Diarra.
However, he believes further investment is required to restore the club’s infrastructure and development system.
“We are talking about the oldest club in French football,” he said. “Its academy was among the best in the country. It is still not bad, despite the terrible pitches. You cannot develop players on those.”
Ba was also persuaded by his conversations with Le Havre president Jean-Michel Roussier and head coach Didier Digard.
He praised both men for their direct communication, something Ba considers essential in an environment often complicated by internal politics.
“The president convinced me,” Ba said. “He spoke honestly and has no filter. I love that because it saves me time. Without Didier, I do not know whether I would have come. I see him in a similar way: honest, direct and competent.”
Inspiration from Rangnick and Bielsa
Ba’s vision has been shaped by several influential figures from his playing career, although Rangnick remains the most prominent.
He recalled arriving at Hoffenheim training in a Lamborghini at the age of 22, prompting concern from club officials that the young striker was not reflecting the image they wanted to project.
Ba returned in the same car the following day.
“In my mind, that car did not define who I was,” he explained. “I understand it today. He wanted to protect us. I was 22, driving a Lamborghini that I could not really afford because I had taken out a loan. But that was me.”
Ba describes himself above all as respectful and free, two principles he intends to preserve in his new role.
He is also an admirer of Marcelo Bielsa, although he is more fascinated by the Argentine’s communication than his coaching methods.
“I love him,” Ba said. “It is not even the coach, it is the communicator. I could sit for hours and listen to him. And I have done that, to learn.”
Despite his interest in football ideas, Ba has no ambition to move into coaching. He believes his impatience would make the daily process of changing player behaviour difficult.
“When a player does something inappropriate, I will tell him and expect him to change immediately,” he said. “But changing behaviour can take one, two or three months. I do not want to have that patience as a coach.”
For now, Ba’s focus is on constructing a competitive squad with a reported transfer budget of approximately €2m and helping Le Havre establish themselves above the lower reaches of Ligue 1.
His connection with the city may provide the story with an emotional dimension, but Ba’s decision was ultimately driven by potential rather than nostalgia.
After building an unconventional playing career away from France, he has returned to where it started with the intention of building something capable of lasting.
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