Kobe Bryant, though a basketball legend, had roots in European football. The Legendary Lakers star, who has won 6 NBA championships, grew up in Europe where his father played professional basketball. It is here that he found his love for soccer and played as a goalkeeper. He retained his love for the sport even after his success in the NBA. Bryant showed the same love and skill when he met a young PSG star Kylian Mbappe.
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Though Kobe Bryant made a career playing basketball, he actually loved Soccer more. In his interview with Fifa.com, Bryant confessed that Soccer was his favorite sport.
In fact, Black Mamba even played the sport growing up. Kobe’s father, Joe Bryant, played professional basketball in Europe. Bryant claimed that he played the sport every day for almost a decade. Perhaps that is why he was able to show some sweet moves in front of PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Kobe Bryant and Kylian Mbappe played Soccer together
Kobe never really hid his emotions for European football. He proudly claimed that he started as a goalkeeper because of his reach but quickly moved up to become a midfielder.
Playing soccer as a mid-fielder when you are in Europe is no mean feat. It clearly shows that Kobe Bryant had the necessary dribbling and passing skills to do so. He showcased those skills in a meeting with Kylian Mbappe who is now worth a whopping $150 million.
In the video, you can see Bryant and Mbappe playing. Sort of a juggle-and-pass game. In that interaction, Kobe received a pass from Mbappe perfectly, then juggled the ball a few times, and then passed it back to the young player again.
He was pretty impressive considering the 6ft 6″ player had retired and yet his touch on the ball was still delicate.
Black Mamba and his affair with Soccer
Though basketball was Kobe’s everything, he never really let go of soccer. He was always into it and confessed to playing the sport from age 6 to 14. With a few years spent in Italy, Bryant also developed an appreciation for the Italian league. He was a proud AC Milan fan as revealed to CNN.
Bryant: “AC Milan was always my favorite team growing up. It actually started in Italy when I used to go to the basketball courts to play by myself and you used to have the little goalposts underneath the basket. I’d show up wanting to play basketball and there would be 12 kids waiting to have a match. They just put me in goal because I had these long arms and long legs, and I just had to stop everything that came my way.”
