Anelka: ‘Islam helped me live with my Moscow miss’
IT wasn’t the most passionate display of anguish to follow a famous penalty miss, and it certainly didn’t score him favour with the Chelsea fans who had travelled to last season’s Champions League final against Manchester United in Moscow.
But Nicolas Anelka has now given some insight into the reason for his cool response
at seeing Edwin van der Sar save his shoot-out effort: his Muslim faith helps
him keep the highs and lows in perspective.
The striker’s lack of spontaneous emotion had been construed as evidence he
did not really care. After all, he had only been at the club a matter of months after a
January move from Bolton for £15m and would probably be on his way shortly.
Yet instead of leaving for another club in the summer, Anelka, 30, has stayed at Chelsea,
and with his goals and performances has succeeded in winning over the Stamford
Bridge sceptics.
One reason for Anelka’s ability to treat success and failure with the same understated equanimity is his devout faith in Islam. The Frenchman publicly converted to the faith in 2004 and took the name Abdul- Salam Bilal, but he has since revealed he had been a Muslim since being a teenager. “It keeps me calmer and more stable on and off the pitch,” Anelka said in a magazine interview. “It can help you during difficult times. I often say to myself, about football or otherwise, that things happen for a reason. You can’t change things. You have to accept them. Life is full of ups and downs. You’re not happy all the time. My religion offers stability and keeps my feet on the ground. It helps me to
know who and where I am.”
But Nicolas Anelka has now given some insight into the reason for his cool response
at seeing Edwin van der Sar save his shoot-out effort: his Muslim faith helps
him keep the highs and lows in perspective.
The striker’s lack of spontaneous emotion had been construed as evidence he
did not really care. After all, he had only been at the club a matter of months after a
January move from Bolton for £15m and would probably be on his way shortly.
Yet instead of leaving for another club in the summer, Anelka, 30, has stayed at Chelsea,
and with his goals and performances has succeeded in winning over the Stamford
Bridge sceptics.
One reason for Anelka’s ability to treat success and failure with the same understated equanimity is his devout faith in Islam. The Frenchman publicly converted to the faith in 2004 and took the name Abdul- Salam Bilal, but he has since revealed he had been a Muslim since being a teenager. “It keeps me calmer and more stable on and off the pitch,” Anelka said in a magazine interview. “It can help you during difficult times. I often say to myself, about football or otherwise, that things happen for a reason. You can’t change things. You have to accept them. Life is full of ups and downs. You’re not happy all the time. My religion offers stability and keeps my feet on the ground. It helps me to
know who and where I am.”
kalau rasa tak best baca gini,boleh klik kat sini..
pagi aku rasa ceria je lepas baca paper ni..sama2 la kita renungkan dan bersyukur dilahirkan sebagai org Islam..
pagi aku rasa ceria je lepas baca paper ni..sama2 la kita renungkan dan bersyukur dilahirkan sebagai org Islam..
7 maklum balas:
Alhamdulillah~ ramai lagi pemain bola antarabangsa yg peluk islam tp kat malaysia da org tak suka org lain belajar tentang islam
siyesly...pestime zie dgr footballer antarabangsa yg beragama islam
:P
nak lagi ke player antarabangsa beragama Islam?try link ni..
http://yahamim.wordpress.com/salam-perpaduan/kaki-bola-football-mania/
banyak lagi kan international footballer yang islam
frank ribery, zidane, kolo toure, saiful azman....
semua tue islam..kan kay?
betul..tapi aku tak pasti saiful azman player negara mana?nigeria ek?
erk, bola..xleh masyuk.. :p
alhamdulillah... moga pasni ramai lagi orang akan masuk Islam.
Lebih2 lagi kat negara kita.