International Football: My Experience Part III
Credit:
Continuing on from my previous article, I will finish telling my international story to date so far in this
week’s column. As I stated in my last piece, I headed over to Libya last September to play in my
first international match against Zambia. When I arrived at the airport in Tripoli, Libya, I was greeted
by scores of people. Amongst the people at the airport were reporters from numerous television channels and many newspaper reporters. I was overwhelmed to say the least.
The news that a European based professional player was coming over to represent the Libyan team was massive and I did not quite understand the furore around it until I got to Libya. In the past in Libya, the national football team had been made up of a squad of players plying their trade in the Libyan leagues. I was going to be the first player to represent Libya who has played football all their life in Europe.
After I got through the airport I went onto the team hotel to meet the national team coaches and players. I have to say, everyone I met was extremely friendly. The coach, Marcos Paqueta, who is from Brazil spoke good English and he welcomed me and introduced me to the rest of the coaching staff and players.
There was definitely an obvious language barrier there but I got around it with the help of an Arabic- English translator who was always on hand. All the players came up and although they could not speak great English, they all shook my hand and introduced themselves individually. They made me feel right at home straight away.
I arrived five days before the big match against Zambia so we trained every evening before the game. We trained in and around the time that the match was due to be kicked off in preparation for the game. That definitely helped, as during the day the temperature was definitely too hot to train but after 6pm the weather cooled down and the temperature was perfect for training.
Obviously, my first training session was the most nervous but it probably could not have gone better. I really enjoyed it and the lads on the team who are regulars in the international set up really went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. The coach spoke to me on an individual basis and outlined what he wanted me to do and told me to just relax and enjoy it and that’s exactly what I did.
The next few days flew in with training and interviews taking place. I managed to get a tour of Tripoli in as well and it was really nice. The weather is lovely there and there’s lovely beaches and great food too. As I was walking around the streets and shops, people would recognise me from TV interviews or newspaper pictures and come up and ask for a picture or an autograph.
It was very dreamlike but I found out very quickly just how much people love football there. Footballers there are celebrities and role models and people really do look up to you in Libya if you play football and especially represent their country. It is every single young kids dream in Libya to play football and represent their country.
You’re a hero to them and it was when I was over there at that point, training with the national team and meeting the Libyan public and seeing the love for football in their eyes, when I fell in love with football again. I was reliving all the dreams I had as a youngster growing up and I absolutely loved it.
Match day had arrived. After a decent result in the first game against Mozambique drawing 0- 0 away, we were about to face group favourites Zambia at home. It was a huge game in terms of trying to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup. I could feel the tension, the nervousness but the excitement as well within the camp.
We all met up downstairs in the hotel to get a pre-match snack and have a few final tactical words about the opposition. As we were there, the coach played a short motivational clip. It was in the Arabic language but I knew the meaning of it.
I remember seeing Liverpool’s famous comeback against Milan in the Champions League Final. There were also scenes of both of my favourite epic films, Gladiator and 300 in the clip. It was obviously intended to get the players’ head on the game, get them thinking and get them motivated and I believe it worked.
After the pre-match snack, we went out to get the bus to the stadium which was situated about 15 minutes away from the hotel. As I was walking out to the bus, the coach pulled me aside and informed me that paper work sent through to FIFA which allowed me register and play for Libya had not yet been received back and with that, I was unable to be involved in the game. I was gutted; this was going to be the proudest moment of my career to date and to have it taken away by a silly administration set back was so disappointing.
Nevertheless, I was not going to let the rest of the players see how much it affected me as I really wanted them to go out and win the match and I wanted them to see how much it meant to me for them to win the match which was the most important thing.
Prior to kick off, as the lads were warming up in a small private pitch attached to the stadium, Dr. Mohammed Gadaffi, who is a massive football fan arrived and gave one last motivational speech to the team. Apparently, this is not unusual in such important games and he is believed to be a passionate supporter of the Libyan National Football Team.
The coach then gave his final speech and I also wished the lads the best of luck as they headed out to the pitch. There was about 50/60,000 people at the game, the atmosphere was something I have never experienced before. The commentator introduced me on to the field before kick-off and to hear that many people call your name and clap around the stadium was an unbelievable experience.
It was a great game to watch and Libya held on to register a memorable 1-0 victory over Zambia. The atmosphere in and out of the stadium was incredible as the streets of Tripoli were crammed with joyous fans singing and cheering. It was one hell of a surreal experience with the only downside being not able to get on the field of play in the match.
I was not to wait long though as only a couple of months later I was to experience it all again when in November we had a game against Niger. It was in that game where I made my international debut.
Obviously at the moment, international football has taken a back seat as things are all over the place in Libya. It is not a nice situation at all and I just hope it gets sorted very soon. I am however, looking forward to playing international football again and representing Libya as we try to qualify for the African Cup of Nations 2012.
The news that a European based professional player was coming over to represent the Libyan team was massive and I did not quite understand the furore around it until I got to Libya. In the past in Libya, the national football team had been made up of a squad of players plying their trade in the Libyan leagues. I was going to be the first player to represent Libya who has played football all their life in Europe.
After I got through the airport I went onto the team hotel to meet the national team coaches and players. I have to say, everyone I met was extremely friendly. The coach, Marcos Paqueta, who is from Brazil spoke good English and he welcomed me and introduced me to the rest of the coaching staff and players.
There was definitely an obvious language barrier there but I got around it with the help of an Arabic- English translator who was always on hand. All the players came up and although they could not speak great English, they all shook my hand and introduced themselves individually. They made me feel right at home straight away.
I arrived five days before the big match against Zambia so we trained every evening before the game. We trained in and around the time that the match was due to be kicked off in preparation for the game. That definitely helped, as during the day the temperature was definitely too hot to train but after 6pm the weather cooled down and the temperature was perfect for training.
Obviously, my first training session was the most nervous but it probably could not have gone better. I really enjoyed it and the lads on the team who are regulars in the international set up really went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. The coach spoke to me on an individual basis and outlined what he wanted me to do and told me to just relax and enjoy it and that’s exactly what I did.
The next few days flew in with training and interviews taking place. I managed to get a tour of Tripoli in as well and it was really nice. The weather is lovely there and there’s lovely beaches and great food too. As I was walking around the streets and shops, people would recognise me from TV interviews or newspaper pictures and come up and ask for a picture or an autograph.
It was very dreamlike but I found out very quickly just how much people love football there. Footballers there are celebrities and role models and people really do look up to you in Libya if you play football and especially represent their country. It is every single young kids dream in Libya to play football and represent their country.
You’re a hero to them and it was when I was over there at that point, training with the national team and meeting the Libyan public and seeing the love for football in their eyes, when I fell in love with football again. I was reliving all the dreams I had as a youngster growing up and I absolutely loved it.
Match day had arrived. After a decent result in the first game against Mozambique drawing 0- 0 away, we were about to face group favourites Zambia at home. It was a huge game in terms of trying to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup. I could feel the tension, the nervousness but the excitement as well within the camp.
We all met up downstairs in the hotel to get a pre-match snack and have a few final tactical words about the opposition. As we were there, the coach played a short motivational clip. It was in the Arabic language but I knew the meaning of it.
I remember seeing Liverpool’s famous comeback against Milan in the Champions League Final. There were also scenes of both of my favourite epic films, Gladiator and 300 in the clip. It was obviously intended to get the players’ head on the game, get them thinking and get them motivated and I believe it worked.
After the pre-match snack, we went out to get the bus to the stadium which was situated about 15 minutes away from the hotel. As I was walking out to the bus, the coach pulled me aside and informed me that paper work sent through to FIFA which allowed me register and play for Libya had not yet been received back and with that, I was unable to be involved in the game. I was gutted; this was going to be the proudest moment of my career to date and to have it taken away by a silly administration set back was so disappointing.
Nevertheless, I was not going to let the rest of the players see how much it affected me as I really wanted them to go out and win the match and I wanted them to see how much it meant to me for them to win the match which was the most important thing.
Prior to kick off, as the lads were warming up in a small private pitch attached to the stadium, Dr. Mohammed Gadaffi, who is a massive football fan arrived and gave one last motivational speech to the team. Apparently, this is not unusual in such important games and he is believed to be a passionate supporter of the Libyan National Football Team.
The coach then gave his final speech and I also wished the lads the best of luck as they headed out to the pitch. There was about 50/60,000 people at the game, the atmosphere was something I have never experienced before. The commentator introduced me on to the field before kick-off and to hear that many people call your name and clap around the stadium was an unbelievable experience.
It was a great game to watch and Libya held on to register a memorable 1-0 victory over Zambia. The atmosphere in and out of the stadium was incredible as the streets of Tripoli were crammed with joyous fans singing and cheering. It was one hell of a surreal experience with the only downside being not able to get on the field of play in the match.
I was not to wait long though as only a couple of months later I was to experience it all again when in November we had a game against Niger. It was in that game where I made my international debut.
Obviously at the moment, international football has taken a back seat as things are all over the place in Libya. It is not a nice situation at all and I just hope it gets sorted very soon. I am however, looking forward to playing international football again and representing Libya as we try to qualify for the African Cup of Nations 2012.
