Aleppo to Aizawl: Mahmoud Amna soldiers on

A journeyman who has played in five countries, Amna is, despite being 34, technically superior to everyone else at his club.
Aleppo to Aizawl: Mahmoud Amna soldiers on

CHENNAI: At first glance, Aizawl FC’s Mahmoud Amna comes off as just another foreign player in the I-League. A journeyman who has played in five countries, he is, despite being 34, technically superior to everyone else at his club. What sets Amna apart though is that everywhere he goes, he is asked neither about the quality of Indian football nor about the spiciness of local delicacies. People always bring up one name — that of his hometown.

“Every time in the news, it is Aleppo, Aleppo, Aleppo,” Amna says. “So yes, I get asked about it a lot.”
No city has dominated headlines as much as Aleppo over the past couple of years, with a mere mention of that name evoking images of bloodied children and bombed buildings. Amna though has a different picture to paint of his hometown. “I know Aleppo has a lot of problems,” he says.

“But it is such a beautiful city. It is a big city, you know? Maybe not like the big cities in India but it is the second most important city in Syria after Damascus. It is a centre of business and is  known for its food and music. And we have the Citadel of Aleppo that is very famous.”

His path out of Aleppo may not have been as hard as those of some who’ve had to flee Syria, but Amna is still technically a refugee. In 2011, when the Syrian civil war was inching closer to Aleppo, he moved his family and parents from the city to Egypt — his wife is Egyptian. He has not gone back since. But he had to leave behind family and friends there, including his sister.

“I have my sister there,” he says. “For the last 4-5 years, it was very hard. Often there would be no electricity and sometimes I could hear bombs when I call  her. It was not safe at all. A lot of schools were destroyed. But life goes on. You cannot do anything about these things. You just have to go on doing your job.”

The fighting in Aleppo ceased last month with the Syrian army taking back control of the city. And along with everyday life, Amna cannot wait for one more thing to get back to normal — football in the city. He still has close ties with the two big clubs in the city, having played for both. “My big brother would take me to the stadium to see Al-Ittihad — the biggest club in Aleppo,” he says. “My first team was another club called Al-Hurriya, but when I was 20, I got the chance to play for Al-Ittihad.

“The clubs in Aleppo play football regularly now. Sometimes they have to play outside Aleppo, but that is fine. I think after one month, they can play every game in Aleppo. They have also asked me to come back to play there and offered me good money to do it. But I had to decline as my family cannot go there now. It is still not completely normal.”

Amna, who has made 82 appearances for Syria, has high hopes for the national team as well. “Football in Syria will bounce back because the people there are crazy about it,” he says.

“The Syria national team has been playing well in the World Cup qualifiers and they have some good young players. A lot of them are playing outside, in the Middle East, some in Europe. When the war finishes, I think they will be a very good team.”

vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com

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