Serbian lower-league football has asylum seekers cheering! Is the Syrian Ronaldo among them? (PHOTO) (VIDEO)
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The best example that there is a connection, is found not far from Belgrade, on the Pancevo road, a few kilometers after the Pancevo bridge on the right side, where a sheltered, or perhaps better said "hidden" Asylum Centre next to which is a football field where the Belgrade lower leagues play their matches.
Seemingly, you could say that this club is no different from other teams that play in the lower leagues in Serbia, but they have something that makes them unique compared to all the others, and it is the unusual audience that does not miss any practice, nor game of this team regardless of its character.
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We assured ourselves when we arrived at the place where the Postmen played a preparatory friendly game against Sagittarius from Mislođin. Only about 45 minutes before the game no one was on the field except the players and people from the home team.
A scene that completely resembles that of a friendly game, just on a real football field. However as every village, it is quite hard, uneven, with one side, surrounded by woods, with a dressing room on the west, benches for extra players on the east, and a fence on the north side where audiences can watch the game.
Towards the beginning of the game, the atmosphere began changing. Meanwhile, the visiting players began arriving, and an uproar began on the field with players warming up, and then just before the first referee's whistle which marked the beginning of the match - a large audience appeared.
Several teenagers from Africa and several young men of Arab origin ran up to the fence where they usually stand, stood on it and started to watch the match. Someone who is here for the first time probably does not understand such a scene or to see it in a photograph, would not believe it was taken in Serbia, but it is.
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These are people who have left their war-torn countries, and have come to Serbia to seek their way to a better future, and temporarily or even permanently are located right next to the Asylum Centre in Pancevo road.
- Those are all our friends there. Sometimes thirty of them come, they cheer, but the problem is the language, because, barely any of them speak Serbian, and have difficulties with English - reveals a Postmen player named Stefan who told the anecdote of an official game.
- Several times we have them dressed with markers to represent us in official matches. It is a little funny and surprising, especially opponents that are surprised when they see Africans in fluorescent markers.
It is obvious that the relationship between asylum seekers and established players from the start is friendly, without any prejudice and stereotypes that would create problems, and how good the relationships are is shown by claims from players that often 30-40 residents from the Center arrive to cheer. They even know to chant: "The postmen, mailmen" or the name of the player they remember.
This time around there were not too many, and neither game was not very competitive, so that kind of support was not forthcoming, but from the moment they arrived, applause and shouts when they would see a good move on the field ensued, especially when it came to their home team, because they have obviously become locals and cheer for their own.
All together, leaning on the railing, some dressed in clothes typical of the country from which they fled, commented on something among themselves, but looking at them from the side, you have the impression that they were discussing about some other things, much more important to them, not about the game.
However, a group of four guys, which included three teenagers of African and one of Arab origin, during the first half somewhat disputed among themselves, but also tracked everything that happened on the field and sometimes pointed to a specific player, and in the meantime communicated with the locals in English, or people employed at the Centre or in the maintenance field.
- We played football at home. We are not bad. We come here whenever they have practices and games, because we have a lot of free time - said the three men, followed by the question why they did not ask to train with them which showed that they still feared how they would be accepted in Serbia .
- We never asked them to train, we did not dare. We do not know why, we heard that we could not train with them, but there are two guys from the center who train - explained the guy who escaped from war-torn Syria.
They have never heard of the largest Serbian football clubs, Partizan and Red Star, and rarely know some Serbian players, although it is better to say that they know of them, but not that they are from Serbia.
The greatest attention was given to a dark-skinned boy from Sudan, who was listening to music from a phone and whose favorite sport is basketball, although he was not aware that he is currently in the country of basketball - which is one of the most successful in this sport as evidenced by the fact that he never heard of a Serbian basketball player.
- I love basketball, but I play football well. I did not know that Serbia is a country of basketball. I do not know any Serbian players, my favorite basketball player is Michael Jordan. I have never heard of Vlade Divac - told the cute teenager from Sudan on the basis of whose responses we can infer that much has been denied to him in his native country.
The warm and attentive Syrian was open for discussion and had the best knowledge of English and even before he escaped from the Middle East he had a plan for the future which included our country, which you will be able to read in the upcoming days.
With a lot of applause and a few shouts they greeted the turnaround that "their" team, team Postmen won the game (2:1), and the satisfaction on their faces because of it, but also because of some others discovery that there exists no distance or prejudice by Serbs who come here and the very players who train almost every day before their eyes.
It is obvious that these young people who are fleeing from the horrors of their home countries continue to fight to survive, but also with how they will be accepted in a completely unfamiliar environment and culture, by people with different customs. However, there is obviously something that connects all people in this world.
That's the beauty of football - it knows no boundaries, it is both loved and understood by children from Mozambique, Zimababvea, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Libya, Serbia, Croatia and other countries, because as said by one young man that was not afraid of the unknown and knew that football is a universal language, and about which you will also have the opportunity to read in the following days:
- We all speak football. There is no one who does not know the language of football.
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