THERE is now more than one Zidane.
This week, Manchester United starlet Zidane Iqbal made his debut for the Red Devils.
A late substitution in the 1-1 draw against Young Boys, the Iraqi U23 international made history by becoming the first ever South Asian footballer to pull on the famous red shirt.
However, it wasn’t United legends like Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo who inspired Iqbal growing up.
Ex-Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil was Iqbal’s idol growing up because of his Muslim background.
PAKISTANI HERITAGE
Iqbal was asked on Manchester United’s official website who he looked up to as he rose through the ranks at the club.
“Mesut Ozil, because he’s a Muslim like me. Just seeing another Muslim footballer is a good thing,” he revealed.
“The journey is different for everyone, and I can tell you it’s not easy. It’s like a rollercoaster, up and down. You just have to enjoy the ride and whatever’s meant to be is meant to be.”
While the box-to-box midfielder also revealed Barcelona’s Dutch ace Frenkie de Jong is someone he likes to model is own game on.
The exciting talent was born in Manchester to a Pakistani father and Iraqi mother.
“I come from such a hard-working family. My parents are always working hard, my brother, my grandparents
“When we came to this country, they all inspired me to give my best at everything I do.”
SALE THROUGH LIFE
At grassroots level he played for Sale United, until he was plucked by United scouts to join their academy aged just nine – the earliest age legally permitted.
His former coach Stewart Hamer previously praised Iqbal’s attitude to the Manchester Evening News.
“He had a great attitude, he was always willing to learn and he played with a big smile on his face,” he said.
“He was quite happy to do whatever we challenged him to do.
“Everyone took their part in being a goalkeeper, for example, and he’d take his part in the net just like everyone else.”
Even at the age of six he was running rings around the opposition, which his coach deemed “unfair”.
“We had quite a bit of success if you can call it that at that stage, and Zidane was at the heart of that,” Hamer continued.
“There were times when we would play six-a-side competitions and he would be basically ripping it up.
“We would take him off and substitute him because it wasn’t fair to the other side.
“Or sometimes we’d put him in goal so he wasn’t causing the danger.”
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL BECKONS
Being born in the UK, Iqbal could represent England.
But, for the moment, it’s Iraq who are profiting from the skilful youngster.
Back in September, he was called up to their U23 team for the first time.
A month later, he starred as captain in a 2-2 draw against Lebanon – scoring his first goal.
According to reports, the Iraq Football Association are desperate for Iqbal to commit his future to the national team.
Back in August, England manager Gareth Southgate stressed the importance of incorporating more British South Asian players in the game.
“Sometimes the Asian voice has been lost in the anti-discrimination argument,” Southgate said
“And when you look at the percentages of the population that we’re talking about, it’s high numbers. Frankly, it’s a big talent pool that we’re missing within football. We don’t have high numbers of English-qualified players playing anyway, clubs in their academies are always searching for talent.
“It’s like in any business. If you’re only selecting from a smaller section of the population, then what are you missing?
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“What I’ve noticed with the England team in recent seasons is that dynamic in terms of the supporters coming up to me has changed a lot, far more Asian people, coming up to me, talking about their pride in the team, talking about the diversity of the team
“That could only be even more powerful if someone from the Asian community was in the team as well, and we had that greater representation across the board.”
Could Iqbal be the trailblazer to make that break through? Manchester United fans will certainly hope so.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
