Zesh Rehman Changing The Game

QPR defender and Pakistan captain Zesh Rehman, 24 sat down with Brit-Asian’s Khudael Ashraf to talk about being the first full South-Asian to play in the Premier League and what his ambitions are…

 

How did you feel when you became the first full Asian player to play in the Premier League?
I felt really proud because a lot of hard work and sacrifices went into it. Not just from me, but from my family as well. From an early age, like eight or nine, I knew I wanted to become a footballer. Everyone was playing football in the street or in the house, everyone seemed to be playing football and that’s when I knew that I wanted to do this for a living.

Who did you look up to when you were growing up?
It changed throughout the years really, at first it was Paul Gascoigne during the 1990 World Cup, he became a hero of mine. Then Eric Cantona for Manchester United and more recently, Rio Ferdinand. All three of them, you could say weren’t the best role models but Ferdinand has now been coming into his own on and off the pitch and is a great role model.

Did it hinder you a little, not having an Asian footballer to try and emulate?
I think slightly because whatever you do you want something to look up to or someone to look up to, so not having an Asian player to look up to was a little bit difficult but it just inspired me to become that person for the next generation of people to look up to.

When you were trying to make it as a footballer, did you get people putting you down and dismissing your dreams?
Not directly to my face, but I heard a lot of generalisations and stereotypes like I wasn’t strong enough, scared of the weather and have the wrong diet. All these sort of things kept repeating themselves over the years, and I still hear them, though they’re not specifically about me, but just in general.

Did that make you more determined to become a footballer?
Yes, because I wanted to prove those people wrong and shove it back down their throats. Not all of those stereotypes are true, people have just jumped on the bandwagon and assume it’s true because it’s come from somewhere pretty high up I imagine.

Was it tough decision for you to leave a Premier League outfit like Fulham and drop down a league?
Not really because I got to the stage that I needed to play regular first team football. The only way to progress in terms of my career was to play regularly and to be in an environment where I would be tested and I’ve certainly done it here. I don’t think of it as a huge step backwards because I’m looking at the bigger picture. I took one step back to go from playing in the Premier League to the Championship but hopefully will be taking two steps forward and get back to that level again.

Why did you choose to captain the Pakistan national team rather than aim for a place in the England squad?
There were a few reasons behind that decision, firstly I had to be realistic and look at the people who play centre back and thought there was too much competition there. Another thing was that I was playing in the Premier League with Fulham and not really getting a sniff at the Under-21’s. It was disappointing and then I had to consider a realistic chance of playing international football for a good length of time. I’m glad I made the decision to play for Pakistan because I want to help them with the goal of qualifying for the World Cup one day. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t one of the biggest footballing nations in the world, because there are top players in the Premier League who play for countries that aren’t the best. It’s an honour to be able to represent your country and to see the faces of the people when you win a game in unbelievable.

Do you think it is hard to be a Muslim and a professional footballer in the UK?
Everyone loves football, it doesn’t matter what colour, age or religion you are. There’s no reason why British Asians can’t get involved without any fuss. I have my faith and I believe in God and there’s certain things I won’t do. It doesn’t interfere with what I do because there’s always time to pray and give something back to charity and be a balanced person with a good heart and that’s the most important thing.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?
To be fair, I don’t look that far ahead, I just live day by day. I would love to be playing in the Premier League again, with QPR because that’s the team I’m with now and it’s a club with big dreams. It’s a good time to be at the club because of the investments people are making and we recently had a new manager and it’s a clean slate and everyone has the chance to impress him. I didn’t get the chance to show what I could do under John Gregory but now, under the new management I have the chance to shine.

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