Messi? Ronaldo? These two football players are no comparison to the 7-year old talent Ahmad Al-Zaher, a Syrian refugee who found asylum in Germany with his family. Ahmad’s talent with the football has surpassed what any professional player can do with the ball. He has been introduced as, “The Magician, Ahmad Al-Zaher”. He is one of the best football players in Germany as portrayed in the Facebook group called Syrians of Germany.
After his family’s tough escape from Syria across the Balkans and into Germany, Ahmad’s father made sure to capture moments of Ahmad’s magic footwork on camera. These videos spread all over the virtual internet and even the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) put together a video about Ahmad!
Why is he becoming a rising star in his community and around the world? Well, maybe that’s because he can hit a water bottle placed on his father’s head from 30 feet away! Bending corner kicks and kicking into basketball hoops, Ahmad’s various videos are swimming through the football network.
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His father Mohammed Al-Zaher, a one-time goalkeeper, said in the video: “I left Syria for my son’s future”. It was Ahmad’s burgeoning promise that prompted his family to flee their home in northwestern Syria. His father noticed his son’s talent around the age of two and since then has made sure to nurture and grow this talent into a skill, and hopefully a profession, by practicing and training him daily.
Who says refugees can’t achieve their dreams? Ahmed recently won a trophy for Best Player in a youth league match in Berlin. He is indeed a rising star with aspirations to become a professional football player, and teams will be fighting to have him join!
Don’t forget to leave a smile 🙂