‘I remember my goals against India’

A few in the Lebanese camp have suggested the team is under-prepared for the tournament. In such a scenario,how important will your role be as the premier striker?
The national team hasn’t played together for some time but I was practising in Slovakia with FC Zelina. We finished runners-up in the national league there and I’m up to the task. There’s no extra pressure on me. We have ten other quality players as well.

Which team will you rate as your toughest opponents?
I’ll rate Syria as the best team in the tournament and that remains a fact even if they don’t have their frontline players. Though they have always been above us in the rankings,they were not as good couple of years ago. But in the last two years they have overtaken us,completely remodeling the professional set up and the league system. More importantly,they have played more international matches. Syrian players are now playing in Europe and the gulf countries which remains a dream for us,like Indians.

I think India,too,will have the distinct advantage of playing at home. They also got the longest duration to prepare for the tournament. I don’t remember too many things apart from the goals I had scored against India and hope to better the performance.

While Syria has gained considerable ground in the last couple of years,what has been the state of football in Lebanon?
Popularity-wise,it’s still at the top followed by basketball,but I’m afraid with the way it has gone down since 2005. The problems started with the political conflict in 2005. National teams stopped coming to Beirut. Even now club matches are forced to be held without any crowds. Football fans have to watch the matches on television or only read about them the next day. The crowd is only allowed during international matches.

Without crowds for the matches,how do you motivate yourself during the domestic league?
It’s painful,especially when you are playing for a big club like Nejmeh. I have spent my entire professional career (10 years) with them and led the team to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup in 2007. I’m disappointed and maybe a bit angry too. If this continues I might have to look for other options outside Lebanon. A striker can’t score without the cheers following his goals.

In that case,which country are you eyeing?
I’m planning to play in either Europe,preferably Slovakia,where I played the professional league before the Nehru Cup. I have my agent based in Dubai,so that is also among the choices.

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