Issa Issa is now 40 years old. But the current regional league player for VfB Frohnhausen isn’t thinking about retiring just yet. He answers our forecasting questionnaire.

“I feel fitter than I did two or three years ago,” emphasizes Issa Issa, who is now 40 years old.

The former professional, who once trained at Rot-Weiss Essen, Borussia Dortmund II, KFC Uerdingen, Sportfreunde Siegen, SV Meppen, SV Lippstadt, Hammer Spielvereinigung and SG Wattenscheid 09, has experienced a lot in his career.

He played 81 matches (39 goals) for KFC, 79 matches (25) for Lippstadt, 44 matches (6) for BVB II and 32 matches (4) for Siegen – with Uerdingen and Siegen he was promoted to the regional league.

He has now been playing in the Landesliga for VfB Frohnhausen for five years (95 games, 22 goals). In the Forecasting Q&A, the family man from Essen, who has also worn the national jersey for Lebanon three times, looks back on his career.

My greatest strength is… my left foot and my mentality on the pitch. And I’ve always been ambitious.

My biggest weakness is… my right foot and my lack of speed.

In our dressing room… there’s a good atmosphere despite the relegation battle. We’ll see if that’s a good thing in the end.

The best moment of my soccer career was… my time at BVB. But the games and training sessions with the national team are also unforgettable. And, of course, the promotions with Uerdingen and Siegen will also always remain in my memory.

The best goal of my career was… that’s difficult. I scored a lot of beautiful goals. Often from free-kicks or long-range shots with my left foot. My last goal was against SG Schönebeck from 40 meters.

My best teammate was… Francis Bugri in Dortmund. He was incredible on the ball, it was fascinating to watch him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really get a grip on the ball. Francis was a headstrong person and not the greatest training world champion. But in terms of his footballing qualities, he was a player of Bundesliga caliber.

My best coach was, there were definitely several. Eric van der Luer and Michael Boris should be mentioned here. But Uwe Neuhaus, Andre Pawlak and of course Theo Schneider are also great people and were great coaches. The same goes for Issam Said, with whom I had a lot of fun over the last three years.

My worst coach was… I don’t want to mention a name. It’s like this: If you don’t play as a player, you blame the coach and quickly label him as bad. But with a few years’ distance and the necessary maturity, you put that into perspective and ask yourself whether it wasn’t your own fault that you didn’t play.

When I was a little boy, my role model was… My father, who unfortunately passed away. Without my father, I would never have been able to follow this path. He was my mentor, my friend, my fan and my father. I miss him very much. As a footballer, I always looked up to Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

I didn’t become a professional footballer because… I didn’t have the speed. That was the only reason!

The best thing about the Ruhr region is… the city of Essen, the open-minded people of Essen. I love Essen.

Either, or?

Dortmund or Schalke? Bayern Munich.

Beer or water? Water.

Club or pub? Café or shisha bar.

Natural or artificial turf? Natural turf.

Fighter or artist? Artist.

Cinema or Netflix? Cinema.

Soccer on TV or stadium? TV.

Finally, a few more questions:

Who would you like to have a beer with? Cristiano Ronaldo. We’re a similar age. I’d like to ask him how he manages to motivate himself every day and push himself to peak performance. It’s crazy.

At which club did you experience the most extreme team trip – and why? I haven’t been on any team trips. But of course I enjoyed the promotion celebrations with Siegen and Uerdingen and we had a lot of fun. When I think back to guys like Raphael Koczor, Kosi Saka or Marc-Andre Nimptsch, I immediately burst out laughing. Awesome guys!

What can you laugh about? About myself. Even at the age of 40, I’m up for all kinds of shit.

My best vacation was? In Turkey in 2012. I was traveling with my brother and two cousins. I was also three days late for the start of KFC training. My coach Eric van der Luer knew about it, but boss Lakis didn’t. He was a bit annoyed (laughs). We were in Lebanon with the family in 2016. That was also a wonderful vacation back home.

What is indispensable for you? My family. I love them more than anything! But I also love soccer. It’s part of my life. I’m already afraid when the last day of my career comes. I’m still putting it off because soccer is like a drug for me. I can’t and don’t want to stop yet.

What music do you like to listen to and what is playing in the dressing room? Everything is on in the dressing room – all genres. We listen to Arabic songs, charts, but also pop songs.

If you could start again, what would you do differently in your life? I shouldn’t have left Borussia Dortmund’s second team after they were relegated to the Oberliga Westfalen and I should have been more patient. That was my mistake