Lunch with Roger Federer leaves Ma-Kalambay hungry for success

HIBS goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay today revealed how he's prepared to take all the SPL can throw at him – thanks to a lunch with tennis legend Roger Federer.

The towering Belgian under-21 star chanced upon the five-times US Open champion while settling down to eat in the athletes' village during the Olympics in China and found himself having a heart-to-heart with the Swiss ace.

And now Ma-Kalambay is ready to put into practice what Federer had to tell him about what it takes to cope with being all alone in the spotlight.

He said: "It wasn't a fan thing, there was a massive diner in the athletes' village, he was having some food and I took a seat next to him. With both of us speaking French we spoke as we ate. Of course I knew who he was but he didn't know me so I explained to him I was playing football in Scotland. He's a great man, very elegant, very down to earth and he loves his football.

"He gave me some advice about focusing on your own goal, not caring about what other people say or think. And when you think about it, being a goalkeeper is a bit like being a tennis player.

"Although you play as part of a team as a goalkeeper you can sometimes be on your own, you are highlighted and you have to deal with it by yourself.

"He gave me great advice which I hope to put into practice. Just to have that chat was terrific, it was a great lunch."

Federer, right, was just one of the famous faces Ma-Kalambay saw as Belgium surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals of the Olympic football tournament, beaten for the bronze medal by a Brazilian side including Ronaldinho.

He said: "As football players we think of the European Championships or the World Cup, but the Olympics have every sport you could want. It was surreal, 12,000 athletes in the village, guys you see on television, 5000 staff, it was like a closed town complete with shops and restaurants.

"There were a few double takes, like when Rafael Nadal went by or the American basketball team came into the village and seeing someone like Kobe Bryant (the LA Lakers guard] whom I'd only seen on television, walking past.

"But there was a huge respect among the athletes, being there meant you were someone in your own country, just being there living and eating with them was a fantastic experience and I just feel very lucky and grateful to have been given that opportunity."

Although Ma-Kalambay admitted his initial reaction on missing out on a bronze medal was one of disappointment, he'd quickly put his country's achievements into perspective.

He said: "It would have been really disappointing to have gone out there maybe for a week and then have to come back but we were there from the beginning to the end, playing in the semi-final and then the 'little' final for the bronze medal with Brazil.

"We were so close to a medal but then you look who won it, Argentina with Lionel Messi, Nigeria taking the silver medal, Brazil finishing third and then little Belgium.

"Other great nations like Holland and Italy were home earlier than us so to have been there all the way was just amazing. We have to just be happy to have been there and done it."

The Olympics also gave Ma-Kalambay the chance to bump into Sol Bamba, who was part of the Ivory Coast squad, little realising that he'd return to Edinburgh to find the Dunfermline star a team-mate at Easter Road shortly afterwards.

He said: "I knew Sol from last season and we bumped into each other in Shanghai as his team were leaving and we were arriving. We had a quick word and I told him I'd give him a call when I got back to Scotland.

"I think he had another move on the table at that time, there had been no mention of Hibs so I was happily surprised to discover he'd joined us. I think he will be a great signing for the club." If Ma-Kalambay's head was turned by the Olympics, he was soon brought back down to earth as he turned out in a reserve match against Falkirk at Livingston's Almondvale Stadium in front of only a couple of hundred fans a few days later.

He said: "I asked to play in that game. The glamour of China was over and I wanted to show the manager I had the motivation to get back to what I do on a daily basis.

"For me it was a great game, I played 90 minutes, we won and I kept a clean sheet.