Pascal Chimbonda: 'Pressure on the manager? No, he doesn't have any pressure. He's the best manager who has come to Tottenham'

At the end of a difficult week, Tottenham's Pascal Chimbonda talked exclusively to Jason Burt about his tough upbringing, his support for Martin Jol and why his focus is on today's game against Arsenal

It has been a difficult week for Pascal Chimbonda who, on Monday, was interviewed by police investigating alleged corruption in football. By Thursday his name had reached the public domain but, later that morning, the defender still attended a coaching session, run by his club, Tottenham Hotspur, through their foundation for children at Theydon Bois Primary School in Essex.

The issue of his visit to see the City of London detectives, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, is off-limits for this interview, especially as Chimbonda has been bailed to return next month. But the 28-year-old is happy to talk about his life, his journey from the French Caribbean colony of Guadeloupe to the Premier League and Spurs' difficult start to the season. It is a state of affairs that may still cost manager Martin Jol his job and, today, sees them at home to their north London neighbours, Arsenal.

Following the coaching session at the school, where Spurs run breakfast, lunchtime and after-school clubs, Chimbonda takes questions from the star-struck children. After that it is natural to ask him about his own upbringing, especially as he appeared to enjoy working with the boys and girls so much. "When you play football for a big team and to come here and see the kids, you can see how much it means to them," he says. "I was the same when I was younger."

Chimbonda was born into poverty. There were days, he says, when he did not eat. There simply was no food at home. Hunger pangs were staved off by the sheer desire for physical activity followed by sleep. It was a distraction. At other times he was fortunate and was able to have meals with his friends' families after games of football that stretched until the sun went down. Unsurprisingly the game became his release – and, eventually, his escape.

"It was difficult," Chimbonda says. "You need to work hard, and work at school but I wasn't good at that. It was up to me to do something else and I put everything into playing football. I only wanted to play. It was in my head. And now I can give my family the things I did not have."

His mother Francoise, who still lives in Guadeloupe, was a cleaner. She held down several jobs to try to provide for her four children but it was impossible to make ends meet. "We lived not far from the beach," Chimbonda, who was born in the town of Les Abymes, recalls. "And we played there. We played anywhere. We'd mark out the pitch, put down two boxes for goals and played. For a ball? We used anything we could find. Sometimes it was a drinks can or whatever. When I finished school it was, every day, down to the beach. And football."

The beaches in Guadeloupe, a small volcanic island which is still a French department, a remnant of colonialism, are stunning. Lots of sand, palm trees, calm water, the obligatory vendors and snack bars. And it is always very hot. "When I go back, people like to see me. I talk to everyone and I don't forget where I come from," says Chimbonda, who once took it upon himself to single-handedly build a pitch for a youth team he played for.

He not only dreamt of football but he dreamt of being a particular footballer: Lilian Thuram. Like Chimbonda the 35-year-old Barcelona defender is from Guadeloupe. Indeed the pair lived close by each other, as did another would-be footballer from the island, Arsenal's William Gallas. "He's my hero," says Chimbonda of Thuram. "He's from the same place as me, plays the same position and I like to see him play. We have talked and he's such a great example to everyone."

And Chimbonda was called up into the same World Cup squad, for the 2006 tournament, as Thuram. It must have been unbelievable? The choice of word raises a quizzical eyebrow. "Why unbelievable?" Chimbonda asks. The inference is clear – it wasn't unbelievable because that would imply he wasn't good enough. It was just unexpected. "Sometimes you are not waiting and then it makes you happy," he adds. "It was a dream, my dream. I didn't play a game in the World Cup but it was a great experience to be in the squad. I didn't know Zidane but I talked to him and wasn't nervous. He's just a man. We play the same game."

He witnessed much during that tournament, not least Zidane's sending off and dressing room apology in the final. But Chimbonda has not been in a French squad since and is unsure as to whether he will add to his single cap. The only contact he has had with coach Raymond Domenech, an eccentric, and not universally popular figure in France – especially after the midweek defeat to Scotland which Chimbonda watched on television – was when he received a birthday present. It was an assortment of corkscrews and wine openers.

Not that Chimbonda is fazed. He left home when he was 18 to travel to France to take his chances with Le Havre which had a "partnership" with the team in Guadeloupe he played for. "I came on my own, it was my first time away," he says. "And it was very hard. I was there to play football but that first year was very tough. My family knew I had to go and they knew I wanted to play football but it was cold and raining." It was then that Chimbonda started to wear his trademark woollen gloves – "I need to keep my body warm," he says – but he stayed at the Normandy club for five years. Then he moved south to Bastia.

His time in Corsica is something Chimbonda wants to gloss over but, sadly, he suffered appalling racism. He, his team-mate Franck Matingou, a Congolese midfielder and other black players such as Anthar Yahia and Djibril Sidibé were all targeted. Chimbonda was disgusted and, during one match, thought about walking off the pitch. He wanted to make a stand on the issue – just as his friend and hero Thuram has so often done. The situation was made all the worse, and all the more bewildering, because much of the racism was coming from Bastia's own supporters.

It was no surprise then that Chimbonda seized the chance to move to the Premier League. However he says playing here was always the aim and, by way of an endorsement, he turned down the opportunity of joining Marseilles to cross the Channel instead. "For a long time I wanted to play my football in England," Chimbonda explains. "So when I finally had the opportunity I said 'yes, why not'." He instantly disputes any suggestion that he is simply being polite. "I really did want to play in England," Chimbonda insists. "Because the game is more physical and I like that. I like the physical challenge. I also like it because, in France, it can be too technical. Here they try to score and create and I love that. For me it's the perfect kind of football."

Chimbonda is certainly a physical player and, as well as basketball, the sport he also used to play as a child, likes boxing. Or, more specifically, a particular boxer – Mike Tyson. His admiration is simple. "When Tyson fought, I liked him. In my country the fights were at difficult times, with the time differences. If he fought at 9pm it was 3am in my country. So it was good that his fights lasted only one minute – then bang. Over. It meant I could go back to bed," Chimbonda says.

In the summer of 2005 he made his own impact when he pitched up at newly-promoted Wigan Athletic. A £500,000 signing, Chimbonda was an unknown quantity. As was, for him, his new employer. "I didn't know where it was," he admits. "But then they had never heard of me, either. But I did my job and, after that, I think, everyone knew me." His impact was so great that he was named, at right-back, in the Premier League's Team of the Season. "That was a big surprise for me," Chimbonda says. "When the manager [Paul Jewell] came to tell me I just said 'it's good for me. Now everybody knows who Pascal Chimbonda is'."

Among those everybodys was Jol. The Spurs manager marked out Chimbonda early as a transfer target. Wigan were aware of the interest and knew other clubs, such as West Ham United, were also hovering. They renegotiated Chimbonda's four-year contract but knew that, inevitably, he would have to leave.

However the circumstances were an embarrassment. On the final day of the League season – and also the final day of Arsenal's tenure at Highbury – Chimbonda stood in the away dressing room, in full Wigan kit, and handed an envelope to Jewell. It was a hand-written transfer request. The timing, immediately after a match, and a defeat, could not have been more infuriating for the manager.

"Yes, I gave it to him," Chimbonda admits. "In England the manager says you have to put the request in writing. It's not like in France. I didn't really know how it works. He said 'if you want to leave then you have to put in a transfer request'. And I did that. I gave it to him after the game. I still had my kit on. I gave it to him but I didn't expect him to open the letter straight away. I thought he'd go home and open it. But he did it there and then."

It soured his departure. Not that Chimbonda has any regrets about his move to Spurs which, eventually, took place on 31 August, the final day of the transfer window, for £4.5m. Indeed he treats the whole messy saga in a matter-of-fact way. "It was hard to leave," Chimbonda says. "At Wigan we did well because we had a very good manager who put together a good team. But when you want to go to the next level and you need to go, then you need to go. I was disappointed to leave Wigan but when a team like Tottenham come to you then it is difficult to refuse. When I went to Wigan I said I would stay there but I only stayed for one year. Football passes quickly."

Chimbonda is thriving at White Hart Lane. "It's been great to play in the Uefa Cup and last season was perfect for me and for the team. We played in Europe and finished fifth in the League," he says. "Everyone wants to win a trophy and win the League as well. We have good players to do that and I think we can finish fourth this season and win the Uefa Cup or the Carling Cup."

They came so close last season in both those competitions – faltering at the semi-final stage – with Chimbonda unable to explain why they could not go all the way. Winning a trophy would satisfy Spurs' demanding board of directors who are nervous about the team's faltering start to the season with just one victory – over Derby County – in their opening five league games. It has led to a questioning of Jol's position and talks were held with the Seville coach Juande Ramos. Jol is under severe pressure to hold on to his job and, still, is unlikely to survive unless fortunes dramatically improve.

"Pressure?" Chimbonda says of the manager. "No, he doesn't have any pressure. He's a manager, the best who has come to Tottenham. We've finished fifth twice and when we play we want to win every game and play for every trophy. It's the reason why I came to Tottenham too. But, yes, it has been difficult this season but only because we have had a lot of players injured and players coming into the team, new players. It's been difficult for the manager because they have been important players he is missing. When they are back Tottenham will be a strong team."

It's also difficult because Jol has raised expectations while an immediate return is being demanded on the spending spree that Spurs went on during the summer. "But we have only played five games," Chimbonda protests. "The season has just started. Look at Manchester United. They have not started good. But no-one is saying that Man Utd do not play well. They are just waiting. After 15 games you can say whether or not Tottenham will finish fourth."

To do so they will have to compete more closely with today's opponents. Chimbonda is expected to start, despite the arrest earlier this week, and Jol has full faith in him. "There is no problem," the manager says. Chimbonda will not be facing Gallas, his fellow Guadeloupean, as the Arsenal captain is absent through a groin injury. Chimbonda is still a great admirer of the defender, however. "He likes to win," he says, although he admits he was surprised that Gallas was appointed as Arsenal captain. "But only because he is so quiet," Chimbonda says.

How Spurs desperately need a victory. "I think if we win on Saturday, against Arsenal, that the season will start for us," Chimbonda says." I know we have not beaten them since 1999, so it's even more important. And we are at home and that will be good for our confidence. If we win I'm sure everyone will be happy."

Wandering star: Life and times of Pascal Chimbonda

* BORN

21 February 1979 in

Les Abymes, Guadeloupe.

* CLUB CAREER

Le Havre 1999-2003, (85 apps, 5 gls); Bastia 2003-05 (67/4); Wigan 2005-06 (44/2); Tottenham 2006-date (54/1).

* INTERNATIONAL CAREER

France One cap v Denmark, 31 May 2006. Comes on as 87th minute substitute in 2-0 win.

* 1999 Starts career at Le Havre, making debut against Strasbourg.

* 2003 Moves to Bastia after Le Havre are relegated, but suffers racist taunts from his own supporters.

* 2005 After Bastia are relegated he turns down Marseilles to join Wigan.

* 2006 Helps Wigan to second place in November and the League Cup final, losing 4-0 to Man Utd. Named in Premiership Team of the Year. Hands in transfer request after final game of season. Joins Spurs on last day of transfer window.

* 2007 Reaches three cup quarter-finals and one semi-final. Finishes fifth in League. Appears to strike Newcastle's Nicky Butt at half-time during League match in January.