From the meteor at Roma to the CSKA legend: Seydou Doumbia ends up in the spotlight again, this time for the polygraph test that casts doubt on his true age
Remember the very brief experience of Seydou Doumbia at the Rome during the season 2014/15? If the answer is yes, you must have an iron memory, or be a DOC Giallorossi fan. In this case, the name of the Ivory Coast striker won’t bring much good to mind. Despite the numerous titles collected, in fact, in the capital he managed to score only 2 goals in 13 appearances, as well as some poor appearances. The reputation that Doumbia can still boast in Russia today is very different: two-time top scorer and legend of CSKA, with which, among other things, he scored a brace against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Yet, precisely in Russia, the own goal arrived: on the eve of his 38th birthday, the Ivorian footballer underwent a polygraph testthe infamous lie detector, to dispel any doubts about his age. Result? Failed exam: Doumbia would be older than he says…
Seydou Doumbia: doubts about age
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With on the notice board two championships and several national trophies won with the Moscow club, Seydou Doumbia is still considered a star by many Russian fans. Arrived in Moscow in 2010 after having already made himself noticed in the Young Boysthe date of birth printed on his documents was December 31, 1987. Yet, they were already circulating then rumors about his true ageand many had raised doubts about whether the player could really only be 22 and a half years old.
At the basis of these speculations, there was a career that already seemed quite long and a physical prowess that didn’t seem so in line with what you would expect from a twenty-year-old. In Côte d’Ivoire, moreover, Doumbia had already played in semi-professional teams for a few years, perhaps too many, so much so that someone began to insinuate that he might have even 10 years longer than he said. At the time, this type of discussion was quite frequent when it came to footballers of African origin, where the lack of precise personal records favored speculation about ages “retouched” by defaultin order to make footballers more attractive in foreign leagues.
The lie detector verdict: how old is Doumbia really?
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Now, as the 38th birthday approaches, the former footballer agreed to undergo a polygraph, to dispel the myth of his fake age. The lie detector test, conducted amid much laughter, however, said no: based on parameters such as heart rate, sweating and blood pressure in reaction to questions about exactly how old she was, the machine found that in reality Seydou would be over 40, but under 45so he should have been born between 1982 and 1983, and not at the end of 1987.
It must also be said, however, that the polygraph is not 100% reliable and that the results emerging from the tests have no legal value. It is estimated that the instrument is only between 87% and 93% reliable, when the test is carried out in optimal conditions, and that false positives or negatives are always possible. So, the former bomber can rest assured: for now, there will be 38 candles on the cake!
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