How has your season gone?
Last week was the final game of the season, and we played Riders of Rohan. We were on twelve points and they were on ten, so they had to win to take the league, whilst we only needed a draw. It was a tough game; they played very well and both teams went for it by attacking. There were a lot of tackles and it was an aggressive, passionate game – it was fair though. It ended in a 0-0 draw – it was end-to-end but we did enough to win the league with 13 points.
WhatÔÇÖs your role as captain?
At the start I wanted to get a good team together, as each year we get a new team, so we held trials. We wanted to get a good team of lads together who played some good football, and winning the whole thing wasnÔÇÖt on my criteria; we just wanted to do well, so to actually win the league was fantastic. I organise the team, the tactics, the formations, and make sure everyone gets a game. Sometimes we have arguments so I sort that out and get the best out of everyone. Rotation isnÔÇÖt too much of a problem actually, as we only have ten players in the squad.
How do you work game day?
The two centre-backs and goalkeeper never change, then we play with two wingers and a striker. I tend to use the three substitutions to rotate as our midfield often gets tired as they are constantly tracking back and forth. IMG has no offside rule, so we play deep, stopping the opposing team playing the long ball. The game is faster paced than 11-a-side which I prefer. We have to be on point with our passing as you donÔÇÖt get much time on the ball, and it requires a lot of fitness.
Do you have to organise training sessions?
We sometimes have weekend training sessions before matches, but a lot of people go home so they are quite hard to organise.
As youÔÇÖre a Manchester United fan, pick a United player to put into your team.
I wouldnÔÇÖt have Di Maria in, thatÔÇÖs for sure. IÔÇÖd probably have to say Rooney – the thing about 7-a-side is that you have to have the ability to play anywhere, and Rooney is an engine and is versatile, as well as being a good leader.
There is much debate around Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, pick one to put in your team.
I have always been a Ronaldo fan and I love his style of football, but for 7-a-side IÔÇÖd like Messi as he has good close control and a load of skill that would be useful. Also, in IMG you rarely cross the ball and Ronaldo is good at headers so it wouldnÔÇÖt be much use, so IÔÇÖd pick Messi.
Michael Chopra and Neil Taylor are two players with Asian backgrounds who played in Wales. It wonÔÇÖt be long until a player of Asian origin breaks into one of the British national sides. What are your thoughts on this and what does the future hold?
Hopefully we will see more Asian players make it at that level. ItÔÇÖs hard though; a lot of Asians play football as a hobby, but they can never get very far, and they often have to stop as parents want them to go down the education route as opposed to sport.ThatÔÇÖs why you see a lot of thirteen or fourteen year olds with a lot of natural talent, who have not had the opportunity to make it at the top, as they have changed their life goals. There is a lot of emphasis now in training kids young, so hopefully in the future weÔÇÖll see a lot more Asians in the British national setup.
What are your thoughts on football in Wales?
Rugby is so big in Wales that people donÔÇÖt play football quite as much as in England. There are plenty of opportunities to play football here though, and the facilities are good; football in Cardiff is very fun.
How can the IMG league improve?
We have had a mixture of standards in refereeing – some are good, some are bad – this is frustrating because refereeing decisions can change games. Thankfully a referee has never cost us a game, but we rode our luck on one occasion, as we conceded but the referee deemed the scorer to be in the D, where you canÔÇÖt score.
We have won the league this year having played 14 games, and didnÔÇÖt receive a prize, but we paid ┬ú50 to enter the league and then ┬ú20 a week in match fees to play, so I think there should be a prize for the winners – a trophy or cash prize or something. I messaged the guy in charge and he said the only prize is bragging rights which I donÔÇÖt like – we worked hard all year, other teams have worked hard so it would be nice to have a prize.
Who are your rivals in the league?
Riders of Rohan were fun, they were competitive and played in the right way. We played a team and the match almost broke out into American Football as they were playing rough – they were going into tackles with studs up, but we won 2-1 that day which was satisfying. Campus Sport are also fun to play; theyÔÇÖre a top team and they were the team to beat. We drew 0-0 with them and then lost 1-0.
Finally, who is the Gareth Bale of the team, the Welsh Wizard?
Yusuf Siddique is a fantastic player, he could make it semi professionally I reckon; his dribbling is amazing, he can play anywhere, can destroy defences and is a pleasure to watch. He can certainly change a game, and he also comes back and defends all the time and is always focussed. He scored 6 goals all season and which was impressive from midfield.
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