FALSE 10: Nine years without "the most beautiful smile in football"

For respectable football names and icons of this sport, he was "a true professional and a great man", "a wonderful presence around the dressing room", "such a competitor", "a winner", "one of the nicest and toughest teammates"...

Yet throughout it all, he was the only thing he could be. He was Cheick Tiote - a relentless fighter who never gave up on any ball, a true warrior on the pitch, and a player even his opponents would have loved to have in their team.

Tiote's lifelong friend, Sekou Cisse, confirmed this claim four years ago in an interview with Dutch Voetbal International.

"Back in the day, we used to fight over Cheick in the street. Everyone wanted him on their team. No one wanted to play against him, that was the main thing," Cisse recalled growing up with his friend Cheick, with whom he shared the same sad fate.

Sekou Cisse (#18) and Cheick Tiote (#21) representing the Ivory Coast (©Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay/Gallo Images)

"Cheick and I were always together. We had a lot in common. We both lost our parents at a young age. Cheick's father and mother were ill. Football was our life."

"As a child, Cheick was already very timid. But as soon as we started playing football, he turned into a tiger. We played in the street, without shoes. He didn't care. Cheick dueled and tackled to win the ball. He was incredibly strong, but he could also play football very well."

After humble beginnings at FC Bibo in their homeland, Cisse was the first to take a step forward, joining Dutch side Roda. Five months later, Tiote followed in his friend's footsteps, moving to the Belgian giant Anderlecht.

That's when his true professional career began.

He played alongside the former Manchester City captain and current Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany in Brussels. The ex-defender shared some of his memories of Tiote.

"Cheick Tiote was one of the nicest and toughest teammates I have ever had," he said via the BBC.

False 10: You'll never make such a legacy alone like Mo did

And the Belgian's words were more or less what any of his teammates, managers, or people who knew him would say about him. Tiote never put on an act or tried to be someone else. He was always himself, and that is why he left the same impression on everyone he met - strong and unforgettable.

However, off the pitch, he was shy, reserved, even naive. But, above all, a very good man. That's how Marco van Hoogdalem, the former Dutch player and Tiote's landlord in the Netherlands, remembered the Ivorian's beginnings in this country, sharing an anecdote with Voetbal International.

"I will never forget that Cheick had been out for the evening and, upon returning, stood in front of a closed gate. That gate wasn't even locked; you only had to give a clapper a good turn. A piece of cake for a powerhouse like Cheick, but he had only felt it gently."

"After that, he could get in in all sorts of ways. Just ringing our doorbell, for example. Or even smashing a window if necessary. But Cheick preferred to sleep in his car. With the heater on, so that he had a dead battery the next morning and I had to take him to training. He was still a bit naive back then. And above all, very shy. I didn't have to worry about him at all that year."

Tiote in action for Twente, in 2010 (©Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

In the Netherlands, Tiote represented Roda and Twente before moving to England, where he finally stepped onto the biggest stage and became one of the most iconic figures in the Premier League, playing for Newcastle United.

For the Magpies fans, he was more than just a player. He was their warrior and someone their team could always rely on. He could have a bad day in the office, but his desire and willpower were never doubtful. He always left everything he had on the pitch for the black-and-white shirt, and the popular Geordies knew how to appreciate it.

The man who coached Tiote both at St. James' Park and in Enschede, Steve McLaren, always pointed out his determination.

"I knew him first as a young player at Twente. He was the toughest player I've ever seen."

"On the field and in training he was such a competitor. He wanted to win every game, kick every player and win every tackle. He was a winner."

FALSE 10: Too Close to the Sun

"Some days we would have to pull him out of training because he was such a ferocious competitor, such a winner. He was a warrior and could play too," he said via the BBC.

Tiote spent seven years at Newcastle, being there for the club through thick and thin - both in their magnificent Premier League season when they nearly reached the Champions League and in their Championship campaign after the relegation.

The fans adored him, and he returned that love. Even though he mainly spoke on the pitch, on a rare occasion when he'd open his heart for the media, Tiote revealed how much Newcastle meant to him.

"Newcastle is like a family. I love playing for the club, it's the best thing I have ever done in my career and I hope I continue to give my best for the club.”

"It's the sort of place you like to stay. It's much different to any other club, we know the fans are 200% behind us but sometimes we have bad games," Tiote told The Metro via Sports Mole.

Although his main traits were fighting spirit, toughness, and resilience, that is not the first image that comes to mind when the Magpies' - and football - fans think of him. No. Mention his name, and everyone would instantly remember one particular goal. The goal that will live on in the Premier League history books forever.

Interestingly - and a bit ironically - that goal was Tiote's only in 156 games for Newcastle. In his entire career, in which he made almost 400 appearances, he found the net only five times - once for the Magpies and Twente apiece, twice for Roda, and once for his national team, the Ivory Coast.

Still, 20 goals from some players are not worth as much as that one goal of his. The goal that made St. James' Park explode like never before.

Tiote celebrating THE goal (©Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

It was February 5, 2011, and the Magpies hosted Arsenal. The home team's start was abysmal, as the Gunners were 4-0 up after just 26 minutes!

Nevertheless, Abou Diaby's 50th-minute dismissal turned the tables, as the Northerners pulled off one of the biggest comebacks English football has ever witnessed.

Between the 68th and 83rd minute, they scored three goals, through Joey Barton (2) and Leon Best, and revived hopes of the crowd at St. James' Park. The last piece of the puzzle was in Tiote's feet.

A free-kick cross, a cleared ball, and a left-footed volley that perfectly found the bottom-right corner of Wojciech Szczesny's goal.

The stadium erupted, and both Tiote and the Newcastle faithful were left with a memory that would last forever. A memory that would become priceless six years and four months later.

At the time, nobody could have known just how much that moment would come to mean.

In February 2017, Tiote left Newcastle as a club legend, joining the Chinese side BJ Enterprises, signing a contract that would secure him a comfortable retirement and provide for his family.

"It was his dream to play in China and I was so delighted for him when it happened. He earned money to look after his family."

"He loved playing football to look after his family. All the relatives, uncles, aunts, grandparents, they all relied on him to look after them," McLaren said.

FALSE 10: Patience and belief

Sadly, he never got the chance.

On June 5, 2017 - yesterday marked nine years since that tragic event - Cheick Tiote passed away, 16 days before his 31st birthday, in Beijing, China, after suffering a cardiac arrest in training.

The entire football world was shocked, while his former teammates and coaches said their farewells.

"Cheick was a wonderful presence around the dressing room and his performances on the field often defied belief."

"None of us will ever forget that incredible day when our Newcastle team came from 4-0 down, external to draw an unbelievable Premier League game against Arsenal, with Cheick's incredible goal in the final moments of that game one of the iconic moments in Premier League history."

"I loved him. He was everything that you wanted in a Newcastle player."

"There were days when he must have covered every blade of grass on a football field and it didn't surprise me that clubs like Manchester United were being linked with attempts to sign him."

"Life is not fair sometimes and I will remember Cheick Tiote as a giant of a midfielder who I loved to manage," Alan Pardew told Sky Sports, while Rafa Benitez was also inconsolable.

"In all the time that I have known him, he was a true professional, dedicated and above all, a great man."

McLaren and Tiote having a laugh (©AFP)

Steve McLaren remembered his unforgettable smile, which he called "the most beautiful smile in football".

"At Newcastle if [Papiss] Cisse and Cheick were smiling I knew the world was OK," he told the BBC.

Sekou Cisse, recalled the last conversation he had with Tiote.

"I don't know, but he was… different. Cheick kept talking about the terrible things in this world, where people hurt each other a lot. He had a very strong feeling that he had to help others. 'A big house or an expensive car isn't important, Sekou, it's about sharing."

FALSE 10: The only Zero football has ever had

"He had always supported his family in Ivory Coast, sending food to the poor people, but Cheick wanted more. He started his own football school in Ivory Coast, had plans to build a mosque. Beautiful, but a bit strange. Lately, Cheick had also suddenly started talking about Paradise. We resolved to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca together."

"We must pray and be good to others.' Also on May 21st, when we last spoke on the phone. 'I want to thank you, brother, from the beginning until now you have always helped me.' It was as if he sensed that he was going to leave."

Whether he indeed sensed something the way he anticipated rivals' moves on the pitch, we'll never know. However, what we do know is what stories he wanted to tell his kids.

"When I stop playing, I will be able to tell my children I played at St James' Park in front of 50,000 in that great atmosphere," he told The Metro via Sports Mole.

Sadly, he had gone too soon to fulfill that desire. That's why Newcastle tried to do it for him, inviting his son, Rafael, to walk out as a mascot in the FA Cup semi-final clash against Arsenal at St. James' Park, on February 5, 2025 - on the same day Tiote left the club eight years earlier and against the same opponent against which he scored his only goal.

FALSE 10: The man who said goodbye and turned off the lights

Today, on June 6, 2026, a day after the ninth anniversary of his passing, we remember Cheick Tiote - his fighting spirit, his kindness, and that unforgettable smile.

As long as there are people who remember him and his name is spoken, he will never truly be gone. This article aims to do just that: to keep his memory alive and prevent it from fading away.

Cheick Tiote - never forgotten and forever in our hearts.