Ex-Zenit player Abdulfattah on training under fire in Syria: adrenaline is unhealthy
Photo: @ 001basel
Former Zenit footballer Basel Abdulfattah remembered training in Syria. He is quoted by Championship.com.
“In Syria, I came under fire twice. Adrenaline is unhealthy. The desire to just pack up, buy a ticket and leave, ”the ex-footballer shared. He said that the first time he heard a mortar shell fall was when he was training with the team in the pool. Abdulfattah was at a distance from the explosion and was not injured.
The second time a football player came under fire while jogging at a military training base in Damascus. “Warm-up, and I hear a burst of automatic weapons, and it feels like bullets are whistling over my ear. I saw them plowing the lawn – they lay down very close, ”Abdulfattah recalled. He said that the more experienced players immediately lay down on the lawn and put their heads in their hands, and he ran into the locker room. The coaches did not believe him and decided that the footballer was joking.
Abdulfattah is a pupil of the St. Petersburg “Zenith”. He played for the club's youth team from 2008 to 2010. The defender also played for Dynamo, Krylia Sovetov, Yenisei and Chornomorets. In 2016, he signed a six-month contract with the Syrian club Al Jaish, but was unable to obtain Syrian citizenship and ended his professional career.
