...Not sure how this will affect his game, but if he can use it to his advantage on the pitch then Iâm all for it⦠I've always rated him as OK, heâs pretty solid for 90% of the time but Iâve always got the feeling he is going to make an horrendous mistake when he is on the ball. Never quite worked out why that is though. With most clubs looking to break into the lucrative Asian market do you think this gives us a head start in the potentially (I think it may possibly be) lucrative Middle East market? http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/20/247158/converts-to-islam/ http://www.nairaland.com/967610/swiss-english-premier-league-star,philippe
He's going to have a hard time finding a mosque in Switzerland. Apparently the Swiss voted to block the building of minarets within their country - and the number that had been built previously in Switzerland - four. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8385069.stm Pithy observations aside, I admire anyone who's willing to embark on the path of faith later in life. I think people are born with an innate sense that there's a world, a living world, that can't be seen with the naked eye. The Captain's book picked up on that topic.
I don't see how this will affect his playing. Well, I'm sure it will affect every part of his life - that's what faith does - but there's no reason for us to think this would either hinder his play or make him more or less likely to lose concentration. I'm not sure that this makes any real difference to marketing - we've signed players before who were muslims, and it's entirely plausible that he's not the only one in the current squad. The chairman is famously a muslim as well. This isn't about marketing and it isn't about football, it's about one man's spiritual journey, and good luck to him.
It might affect his play during the Ramadan month, when he's required to fast during the daylight hours (food and water). No alcohol all year long, too. That might affect his mental health.
Good point! I think a lot of Muslim footballers don't observe Ramadan as strictly as they would if they were in another line of work - I remember reading an interview with one (can't remember who, sorry) where he said that things would be different once his playing career ended, but until then he accepted that a degree of compromise was necessary.
I think Demba Ba is one who does observe Ramadan and according to Alan Pardew that's why he had a slow start to the season (Ramadan was during August last year), so it could well affect Senderos' performances, especially if this year is his first time doing it.
