Oumar Charif Ndao, the novel of fidelity October 8, 2026

It all started in front of a television screen, with a Werder Bremen match and jerseys that immediately appealed to the young Oumar Charif Ndao. Decades later, this favorite became a book, in which the sports journalist dives back into his childhood memories.

Oumar Charif Ndao left the editorial office, but did not put away his pen. After “The Senegalese struggle beyond millions and passions”, he published “My passion for Werder Bremen” with Éditions Salimata. The work was presented and signed last Saturday, in the presence of the German ambassador to Senegal, Kai Baldow.

Responsible for presenting it, the journalist Charles Faye praised its density. “This book is 76 pages, three chapters. It’s not much, you will say, but what density and what intensity in the letters and in the emotions! Great figures of the club, such as Otto Rehhagel or Thomas Schaaf, are mentioned there, but it is passion which serves as the common thread.

It all starts with a first match seen on television. “It was Werder. I told my father: “Look, I’m going to support this team.” He asked me: “Why? Do you have relatives in Germany?” I told him: “No, but they have nice jerseys.” And then it went like that,” he remembers with a smile.

At home, surrounded by Bayern supporters, he often experienced Werder’s defeats on hostile ground, without ever weakening. His greatest revenge dates from 2004, the year of the championship-German Cup double. “In 2004, when I won the double, I beat Bayern four times. It was the greatest gift that Werder could give us. »

For the author, Werder embodies a model based on training and proximity to supporters, which has built its identity without costly recruitment. But above all it is a link with his childhood in the Hlm. “As much as it’s Werder Bremen, it’s our childhood. What we experienced, all the families who are in the neighborhood, it’s all in this book. » The former journalist from Stades and WalfSports brings to life several generations of sportsmen from the neighborhood, and the club becomes the pretext to tell the story of an era and a community. He now has another dream. “I would like the club to come and set up an academy in Senegal, to be able to also benefit from our breeding ground. There are young talents just waiting to blossom at the professional level,” he argues.

Its publisher, Seydi Sow, general director of Éditions Salimata, praised an author “passionate about sport” who, after wrestling, “slides towards football” with “a particular passion for Germany”. Kai Baldow spoke of “an excellent book” which “creates a bridge between our two countries”.

More than a book about a German club, “My passion for Werder Bremen” is the story of a loyalty and a childhood which continues, decades later, to nourish the pen of Oumar Charif Ndao.

By Abdoulaye DEMBÉLÉ