The career of Al Ain Volleyball Team Captain Mohammed Shamel (37 years old) bore many strange paradoxes. The turning point was in 1999 for a child who was only 13 years old at the time, when he found himself required to give up playing in his beloved position in the heart of the Al Ain Junior Football Team’s defense. foot, and took a step back to wear the team’s goalkeeper gloves without being able to do so, but he acquiesced to the insistence of the team’s coach at the time, the Greek Jordan, who fully believed that the guard was the one that was commensurate with the height of the child in front of him, but that incident that was the reason for his escape From the “goalkeeper’s nightmare” and paved the way for a successful career for him with volleyball in the club, to later become captain of the team and is currently moving towards completing a quarter of a century in its halls.
Al Ain team captain Mohammed Shamal told Emirates Today the details of that incident that completely changed the course of his sporting life, especially when he escaped from under the three sticks. Jordan asked me to turn into a goalkeeper, and he told me that my height was commensurate with that field. For me, I was at the time in the defense field, and I loved that job and hated the goalkeeper position, and when he began to pressure me to become a goalkeeper, I left football.
The veteran player explained how things went quickly and he found himself transformed overnight into a volleyball player that he did not know much about: «On the day I left the football team, I was surprised by a delegation from the volleyball team who came to talk to me and persuade me to become a player with them. They talked. I had a lot with me, and I was surprised when I learned that their eyes were watching me, and that what happened between me and the coach helped them convince me more.
Shamal indicated that thanks to that incident, his career continues in the stadiums, and that he has now spent 23 years and has not yet thought of retiring.
Mohamed Shamal had moved to the ranks of the Al-Ahly youth team for two seasons on loan, starting in June 2020, and during his first season with “Al-Fursan” he won the President’s Cup and the Vice-President’s Cup, while in the second season he crowned them with the General League title, before returning. For the ranks of the “leader” at the beginning of the current season.
The Al Ain team player described the easy movement of players between clubs as a health phenomenon, and said: «It is definitely a healthy thing and not a negative one. ».
He stressed that the phenomenon of the failure of new names to appear in the first teams of clubs could cause a further reduction in the number of practicing players during the next five years. To a dark future because we are adults, we may end up retiring due to age, and at the same time there are no emerging young players.
Muhammad Shaml called on the clubs to work harder to create a next generation of players, and said: “The work of the clubs may help complete the life cycle of volleyball. I do not hide that there are clubs that produce young players and their presence in the league has become commonplace, but this is not enough because they must compete.” The adults have the opportunity to play as a starter in larger groups.
The captain of the Al Ain team confirmed that the current generation of players still dominates the scene thanks to the performance it presents in the matches, calling on the young players to double their diligence more. When I got my seat in the squad, I was young, and it is a message to every player not to give up at all.
And about the difficulties he faced during the beginning of his volleyball stages, Mohamed Shamal said: “I was fortunate because I did not face any difficulties, and I got the necessary attention from the club, and we succeeded in proving ourselves and I got my place in the squad, and it is good that I am a key player in volleyball.” over the course of 23 ».
During the current season, the team was eliminated from the Vice-President’s Cup and the General League competitions, but on the other hand, the President’s Cup and the Super Cup remained, and winning them would be an appropriate opportunity to compensate their fans who are hungry for titles, as “Al-Zaeem” is considered the second most championship-winning club with 32 championships behind Al Wasl is the leader with 45 titles.
Muhammad Shamal:
What happened between me and the Greek coach contributed to my acceptance of the Al Ain plane offer.
The league is not the end. We are a champion team and we know our worth.
I did not face any difficulties, and I got the necessary attention from Al Ain Club.
Al-Ain.. and the league
About their farewell last week to the league from the “Playoff” gate at the hands of their competitor Bani Yas, Muhammad Shamal said: “Our rise to the elimination stage required a lot of diligence from us, but after that we did not perform the required level in the first-leg match against Bani Yas, while in the return leg We were the best, but we were unable to compensate and lead the decisive match to a playoff. In my estimation, it was the foreign players of Bani Yas who favored their team.
The veteran player confirmed that the farewell to the league championship will not shake them, and he said: “This is not the end of the game. We are a champion team and we know our own value. We will strive in the remaining championships in the season in order to achieve them. We do not promise the fans, they are the ones who demand it from us, and we have to We are doing everything we can to make it happen for them.”
The player’s age is just a number…and his performance determines his continuity in the stadiums.
23
A year has been the career of Muhammad Shamal in the lounges of the plane, and he does not think of retiring.
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