How Wilfried Singo saw off Mbappe and rocked the ‘chokbar’: ‘It’s my trademark’

Wilfried Singo had already kept Kylian Mbappe quiet, so when confronted by his next opponent, he decided to up the ante.

Deep into the second half of his side’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, the Monaco defender received the ball in the right-back position near the touchline. Bradley Barcola, who had replaced Mbappe at the interval, immediately stepped up to press him. But Singo knew what was coming.

In one motion, the Ivory Coast international swivelled and, with a flick of his right boot, scooped the ball high more than 10ft (3 metres) up into the air. It looped over a baffled Barcola and landed back on Singo’s chest.

The look on the face of one ball boy, sat adjacent to the touchline within yards of that sublime flash of skill, told its own story.

COMPLÈTEMENT CHOKBAR 😱 pic.twitter.com/JBWwbRpO67

— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) March 3, 2024

“I have seen it back, but it’s a skill I have done before,” says Singo, speaking to The Athletic from the team’s training base in Monaco, through a chuckle. “I did it twice in Italy (for Torino) in Serie A. It’s something in my head that I know I can do — it’s natural. I said to my team-mates I was going to do it in a game one day. And it happened.”

The combination of Singo’s ‘sombrero’, the name of the skill move, and the ball boy’s shock quickly went viral in France, where it was dubbed ‘chokbar’ — French slang roughly translated as something ‘astonishing’.

One English language social media account actually confused the word chokbar for Singo’s name, later leading to a mock-up of ‘Chokbar’ on the back of his shirt.

Evidently, this is a bit of a flair that feels unique to Singo. “I have a habit of doing it — everyone who knows me knows I can do it — so yeah, it can be a trademark,” he says. “Football should always be a game of instinct.”

It was actually Singo’s defensive instincts that caught the eye during Monaco’s 0-0 draw with PSG.

Singo, who has mainly played at centre-back this season but started at right-back against the champions, faced down the threat of Mbappe during the first half, before keeping Barcola quiet after half-time. In fact, Singo won 15 of 17 duels during the game, the most won by a Ligue 1 player against PSG since Opta started collecting that data in 2006-07.

“That’s great – I didn’t know (about the record),” he says. “You just have to pay attention 1,000 per cent against players like Mbappe because in one moment, in one move, they can make the difference. One-vs-ones are often really difficult and you need to think quickly.

“I was good in duels and I had ability when I was younger. But my time in Italy really helped me to learn how to defend and to understand the position. It’s really the little details there, like how to place my body. That really helped me.”

It was the perfect performance to mark his return to domestic football. The 23-year-old featured in all seven matches as the Ivory Coast claimed the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil in February. It was the pinnacle of his young career to date.

“It’s a feeling you can’t explain because it’s going back to your country, making them proud,” he says. “It was an incredible experience.”

It was, he agrees, a whirlwind of emotions. The Ivory Coast, hosts for the tournament, were on the brink of elimination after suffering a 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea in the group phase, the worst home result in the country’s history. They were spared an exit as one of the best third-placed sides, but it cost Jean-Louis Gasset his job.

Yet, under Emerse Fae, they turned it all around in spectacular fashion.

Singo challenges DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa at AFCON (Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images)

“First of all, we had a lot of respect for coach Gasset,” says Singo. “I think the coach Fae instilled a new mentality — he made strong choices and that paid off. You could feel it on the pitch and you saw it right through to the end of the competition.

“It was a difficult moment because we faced elimination. After being at the edge like that, it gave us strength and motivation to do well in the competition.”

Singo grew up watching AFCON. He was one of six children born in the coastal town of Grand-Bereby, west of the country’s largest city, Abidjan. As a child, he moved briefly to Daloa, 250 kilometres to the north, before returning south for school in Grand-Bereby.

“I had a great childhood,” he says. “Everything was going well at school, but at 15 or 16 I had to decide whether to continue,” he says. “I chose to concentrate on football. My parents supported the decision. Thanks to them I am here.”

His father, Etienne, was a goalkeeper who played at regional level in the Ivory Coast. Singo started as a goalkeeper, too, before moving into midfield and then becoming a defender. “My dad was there to give me advice and still does today,” he says. “He was a big inspiration.”

Singo’s other idols — Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho — were unusual for a defender, if not for a player capable of a ‘sombrero‘. “They made a lot of beautiful skills like that. Watching them and their videos inspired me a lot.”

At a young age, Singo moved to Abidjan, where he attended Maman Clotilde academy, a football school named after Didier Drogba’s mother. “He’s a legend of the country, a great player,” he says. “He made the Ivory Coast dream.”

At 16, a player now successfully converted to centre-half was spotted by Denguele Sports d’Odienne in the domestic second division. His agent, Maxime Nana, sent him to compete at the G8 talent tournament in Cameroon and, with scouts from Europe watching on, he stood out. Amid interest, Torino would be his next calling but, for the Italian club, his signing constituted a risk.

Singo’s agent, Nana, had a good relationship with the club’s president, Urbano Cairo, following a deal that took Nicolas Nkoulou to Torino. Nana persuaded him to take the untested Singo as one of the club’s two non-EU spots in the squad.

“(Nana) believed blindly in him,” Cairo wrote on Instagram in the summer following Singo’s departure from Torino. “Even though it was a bit crazy, so much so that everyone was against it, I decided to trust him. We took him. He made incredible progress.”

At Torino, his game adapted.

Reserve coach Federico Coppitelli tried him at right-back, impressed by his athletic qualities. First-team coach Walter Mazzarri would watch the reserves and duly promoted him to the senior squad.

“It was difficult at the start — it was tiring with the language and everything,” says Singo. “But, after, I found Italian football was very rigorous, a lot more tactical. It is a strong league. I arrived very young but it was helpful for a central defender. It allowed me to learn about the basics of defending.

“Nicolas Nkoulou was like an older brother to me and he taught me the discipline and the rigour required to perform.”

Singo on the ball at Torino (Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)

He began to earn rave reviews, his game progressing further under Ivan Juric, and there were even some loose comparisons to Lilian Thuram. “He was a huge player who played really well for France, as a right-back as well as a centre-back,” says Singo. “I heard that at Torino and it made me laugh, but also filled me with pleasure and pride.”

Former Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell, who was working with the club last summer to assist the transition to his successor Thiago Scuro, had been following Singo for some time. He was aware of the youngster’s development as a centre-back in west Africa and saw a long-term future for him in that role.

Monaco’s presentation was persuasive. “There were several clubs in Italy who were interested,” says Singo. “Afterwards, the choice was Monaco because the project spoke to me. They signed me as a central defender. It was the vision from Mitchell and Scuro. And again, Nkoulou had played here many years ago and spoke really well about the club. My agent knew the club and these factors influenced my arrival.”

He signed for a reported €10million fee (£8.6m; $10.8m), joining in the same summer as USMNT forward Folarin Balogun. While Singo has impressed to date, it has not been the easiest start for the striker since his own €40million move. He boasts five goals in 21 appearances, but Singo believes the former Arsenal forward will come good.

“He’s a great team-mate — I saw last season at Reims (where Balogun, on loan from Arsenal at the time, scored 21 goals in 37 matches) that he had a super season,” says Singo. “We were really happy that he would rediscover that here with us. He’s a good attacker. He’s had some difficult moments here, but that will pass with work because I see his mindset, his focus and determination in training.”

Singo, Balogun and AS Monaco’s players celebrate taking the lead against Stade Brestois in November (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

Singo, in contrast, has thrived under coach Adi Hutter.

Monaco currently sit third in Ligue 1, one point behind surprise package Stade Brestois. A return to the Champions League is within touching distance.

“It’s the objective of the club,” says Singo. “For me, it’s my dream to play for a big club and participate in the biggest competitions, like the Champions League again. If we keep focus on this season, we can make it and I hopefully could realise this dream next season with Monaco.”

Beyond that, Singo has not ruled out following in the footsteps of Drogba and the Toure brothers by moving to the Premier League. “I watched it from when I was small, the big teams in the Premier League,” he adds. “We followed Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure and Drogba. They inspired me a lot. It’s a great league and I hope, one day, I can participate in it.”

The Premier League feels a fitting stage upon which to perform the Singo sombrero.

Or, to give it its proper moniker, The Chokbar.

(Top photo: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)