FTC: Isael says Qatar is ready for the World Cup

– Wow, a new haircut again?
– I like to change it – said Isael, who left Ferencváros in the summer, while in Budapest again for a few days. – I changed it two or three weeks ago. There is a good hairdresser in Qatar, and we came up with it together.

– Wow, a new haircut again?
– I like to change it – said Isael, who left Ferencváros in the summer, while in Budapest again for a few days. – I changed it two or three weeks ago. There is a good hairdresser in Qatar, and we came up with it together.

– How do you like Doha? Have you become accustomed to it?
– I'm having a good time maybe because it's a little like São Paulo, my hometown. Except that there are only two million people in Doha. It's a modern metropolis on the Persian Gulf coast, and there's everything you need for a good life. At first, I lived in a hotel, but I've moved to an apartment, so I feel more at home now.

– Do you sense anything about the preparations for next year's World Cup in everyday life?
– The city isn't full of giant posters, but people are talking more and more about football. The popularity of the sport has jumped in recent times, with more and more children starting to play football. As far as I know, the stadiums are ready, and I've already played in two of them. I've played in a lot of stadiums in my career, but I have to admit, these two arenas in Doha are spectacular.

– What is the league like?
– Odd. Twelve teams play in the topflight just like in Hungary, but all clubs are located in Doha or its immediate vicinity. At first, it was strange that we had to travel up to 20 minutes for our furthest away match. I'm not saying it's not comfortable, but still...

– How perplexed were you when a Qatari coach replaced the Brazilian one?
– Football is like that: coaches and players come and go. The Sheikh wanted a change, so he decided to leave. Plus, I'm not the only Brazilian who remained at the club as our fitness and goalkeeper coach and the video analyst are also Brazilians. They stayed. For now, the team is doing well; we're in sixth place. I've played eight of our nine games so far and scored two goals.

– How come you were able to come back to Budapest during the league?
– We only have a cup match ahead of us, the staff gave all foreign players ten days off, a kind of mini-vacation. The league continues on December 21, and then there will be no stopping. As soon as I learned that I'll get a break, I booked the ticket and came home to Budapest.

– Did I hear it right when you said ‘home?!'
– The family stayed here, I was the only one who moved. The kids go to school, they have their daily routine. I didn't know how much Qatar would work at first. It seemed smarter if I was the only one moving. In addition, the family loves Budapest very much. It's hard for me without them, of course, but three weeks ago they spent ten days there with me. Now, I was able to come home, but they're going to visit me again in December. We try to spend as much time together as possible.

– Is your older son still playing football?
– He just quit... Everyone at the academy he went to spoke Hungarian, he couldn't make himself understood. We decided that if the family moves to Qatar in the future, we'll look for a football academy there. He is still very interested in football, he is a big Fradi fan, we watched the match against Kisvárda together on Sunday.

– How did you like it?
– The team played very well. I was happy for the win. Fradi is finally standing where it belongs, that is, at the top of the table.

– When was the last time you were in Népliget?
– On Friday. As soon as I got to Budapest, my first trip was to go home and then to Népliget. I was out at the training center for an hour or two – football connects people, friends. I have many fond memories of Fradi, and I admit that I miss Ferencváros.

Translated by Vanda Orosz