Training has completed at West Ham’s base in Rush Green, Romford and Kurt Zouma, with a smile befitting a person whose center title is Happy, is walking in direction of the prayer room.
Nayef Aguerd and Said Benrahma, the membership’s different two first-team gamers of Muslim religion, are with him. They are now not of their filthy coaching gear. They have carried out the purification ritual generally known as Wudu in preparation for his or her appointment with the Almighty.
They kneel in direction of the Qibla, the path of Mecca, and begin to hope. Footballers could spend their lives within the public area, however that is Zouma’s personal second between him and his maker. Fifteen minutes later, he leaves that room feeling nearer to God.
A person of religion, the 28-year-old Frenchman does this 5 instances a day, and additionally, you will discover him praying earlier than each look for West Ham. He prays for cover from damage. He prays for a superb recreation. He prays for the protection and pleasure of all people contained in the stadium – even those that refuse to let him escape his controversies of the previous.
That, in fact, refers to February 7, 2022 – the day footage emerged displaying him kicking and slapping his pet cat, filmed by his younger brother, Yoan.
Kurt Zouma will proceed to fulfil the position of West Ham’s first-team captain for the rest of the season
Hammers boss David Moyes (pictured) has backed Zouma in his position as captain
Kurt Zouma was compelled to apologise final yr after a video of him kicking his cat went viral in February
I attended David Moyes’ first press convention within the aftermath. West Ham’s supervisor fielded no fewer than 20 questions on Zouma, together with why he deliberate to proceed taking part in him. ‘I know exactly where my moral compass is,’ Moyes mentioned. ‘It’s not so that you can be the choose. It’s for the legislation to be the choose.’
The legislation, on this case Thames Magistrates’ Court, sentenced Zouma to 180 hours of neighborhood service whereas he was additionally banned from protecting cats for 5 years and ordered to cowl the RSPCA’s £8,887.03 authorized prices.
Neither the Ministry of Justice nor those that know Zouma will say if his neighborhood service included the normal punishment of scrubbing graffiti from the streets of London. They will solely disclose that he has accomplished his 180 hours and it took a bodily toll as he juggled coaching within the morning with ‘payback’ shifts within the night.
West Ham fined Zouma two weeks’ wages value £250,000, all of which has since been donated to 9 completely different animal welfare charities, though the RSPCA weren’t one of many recipients.
Adidas dropped him as their ambassador – he has since signed as a TRU athlete – and corporations comparable to Experience Kissimmee stopped sponsoring the membership, albeit followers had been fast to name them hypocrites for flogging SeaWorld tickets on their web site.
Zouma mentioned sorry to his teammates. They accepted his apology and so did Moyes, sensing he was genuinely remorseful. His teammates had been as shocked as anybody. Zouma, their light 6ft 3in large, was the final particular person they anticipated to search out himself within the eye of the storm.
Those who know Zouma say he’s a person of religion, of enjoyable, of household. He is a loving husband to Sandra and a faithful father to son Kais and daughters Sihame and Sanaa.
It is known they haven’t any pets at their London residence and haven’t had any since their cats had been repossessed by the RSPCA, although they’ve welcomed a brand new addition to the family – a child boy who arrived a month after West Ham’s Europa Conference League triumph and whose title they don’t but need to reveal.
Moyes (left) fielded no fewer than 20 questions on Zouma (proper) on the time of the incident as he determined to proceed taking part in the defender
Zouma (center) stays a popular and revered member of the West Ham dressing room
Choosing the proper title may be tough for any guardian. Zouma’s father, Guy, selected ‘Kurt’ due to Jean Claud Van Damme’s 1989 movie Kickboxer by which the muscular protagonist ‘Kurt Sloane’ masters the traditional artwork of Muay Thai with the intention to avenge his brother Eric.
That hyperlink was considerably soured final yr when Van Damme was encouraging his tens of thousands and thousands of followers on social media to signal a petition demanding Zouma face ‘strong and appropriate’ motion from the French Football Federation. Nevertheless, very similar to ‘The Muscles from Brussels’ in that cult basic, the budding footballer was decided to succeed for his household’s sake.
One of seven siblings, he wished to assist them transfer out of their congested flat in Lyon. He joined Valux-en-Velin on the age of 9 earlier than leaving for Saint-Etienne, taking part in with solely the quantity 33 on the again of his shirt.
This is widespread in French soccer, as children must earn the addition of their title. Zouma quickly did, signing professionally at 16. He was the primary in his household to win a contract in soccer, later adopted by his older brother Lionel and younger brother Yoan.
Zouma had a disciplined upbringing beneath his father
They had a disciplined upbringing beneath Guy, who immigrated from the Central African Republic and was as soon as quoted as saying: ‘I gave them an African education. They went to school and then to training. When they returned, they were too tired to do anything stupid.’
Zouma can not escape the stupidity of his exploits in later life, nor the idiocy of permitting his brother to movie the footage and apply it to social media. To at the present time, one can find cat emojis within the feedback of each image he posts on Instagram, and his final look at Luton’s Kenilworth Road noticed him taunted by the home assist earlier than he scored and cupped his ears in celebration.
In preparation for this piece, I spoke with Moyes at Rush Green. The subject was Zouma and, as Guy hoped when touchdown on the title ‘Kurt’ in 1994, the primary attribute talked about by his supervisor was that he’s a ‘strong leader’.
There is a saying from Abu Hurayrah, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which reads: ‘When God said, “I test only those I love,” I took the pain like it was an honour.’ It is thought by many within the Muslim neighborhood together with the Zouma household, although it’s solely coincidental that in Arabic, the title Abu Hurayrah means ‘Father of the Kittens’ with historic legend telling how he at all times had a cat for firm.
Zouma realises he introduced his explicit ache upon himself. Those near the defender say he hopes folks realise he made a mistake, realized his lesson and paid the value. Yet irrespective of how exhausting any of us could pray, public forgiveness takes time. West Ham have forgiven him. More than 18 months on from that shameful saga, he has been carrying the captain’s armband.
Moyes insisted he would determine on Declan Rice’s full-time successor throughout this worldwide break however clearly, Zouma is the main contender. The membership’s proprietor David Sullivan has given him his vote of confidence, telling Mail Sport: ‘He loves West Ham United, its team and its players. He is a natural leader and a fantastic captain.’
Zouma apologised for his actions on the time and was fined him two weeks’ wages value £250,000 by West Ham together with being sentenced to 180 hours of neighborhood service and was additionally banned from protecting cats for 5 years and ordered to cowl the RSPCA’s £8,887.03 authorized prices
Zouma remains to be mocked by some opposition supporters over the cat-kicking incident
The RSPCA prosecuted Zouma (proper) and his younger brother Yoan (left) over the video
The determination is all the way down to Moyes, nevertheless, and he has consulted with colleagues about his thought to call him captain forward of James Ward-Prowse. In different phrases, would there be a backlash? There has not been one throughout Zouma’s unbeaten four-game stint which has taken West Ham to fourth within the Premier League.
If he will get the full-time gig as anticipated, it’s unlikely the membership will make a tune and dance of the appointment. Jose Mourinho as soon as mentioned Zouma had the potential to succeed John Terry as Chelsea captain and he is a well-liked selection among the many West Ham gamers. They could poke enjoyable at his penchant for anime – team-mates have even included Dragon Ball Z references into earlier purpose celebrations in a nod to his enthusiasm – however it’s all in good enjoyable.
Last week, West Ham’s squad performed a recreation the place they named who they might need to be stranded with on a desert island. Zouma was a daily nominee, with Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen amongst these naming him . Aguerd responded by shouting ‘ZOUUU’ – the favorite cry of West Ham followers every time he does one thing spectacular on the sphere.
Zouma and Aguerd are inseparable at Rush Green. Aguerd was one of many French audio system who was helped to really feel at home in London by Zouma when he arrived from Rennes in 2022. The similar went for Maxwel Cornet and Alphonse Areola, with whom he gained the Under-20 World Cup in 2013. As Sullivan says, Zouma loves West Ham and so they love him.
Zouma joined West Ham from Chelsea two years in the past and the membership need to tie him all the way down to an extended deal than his present one which expires in 2025
Zouma (again left) and his spouse Sandra (proper) pose for an image with their kids
Zouma signed from Chelsea for £29.8million in 2021 and his contract is up in 2025, although given his significance to the staff, naturally they wish to tie him all the way down to an extended deal. He is already amongst their best-paid gamers – on £125,000 per week – so any pay-rise wouldn’t be vital on this age of Saudi Arabian wages. However, Zouma is known to really feel grateful for the membership’s assist during the last year-and-a-half and open to negotiations.
Whether France has forgiven him is one other matter. Zouma was disregarded of Didier Deschamps’ latest squad. His final look for Les Bleus was in November 2021, a World Cup-qualifying win over Finland which occurred earlier than you realize what. He by no means made it to Qatar 2022, with Deschamps describing his actions as ‘shocking and intolerable’, and remains to be absent.
‘We are not completely sure,’ says Vincent Duluc, one in all France’s most revered soccer writers from the newspaper L’Equipe, when requested why. ‘But we think the main reason is still cat-gate. ‘And the competition, of course – a guy like (Arsenal’s William) Saliba, who’s a greater defender, gained’t even be a starter (towards the Republic of Ireland) though (Liverpool’s Ibrahima) Konate is injured. But he’s no extra a preferred determine as we’re a cat nation. He didn’t make the headlines in France when West Ham gained the Conference League.’
We can not say rival followers have forgiven him, both. Luton’s Kenilworth Road is amongst English soccer’s tightest grounds and within the warm-up, one supporter leaned over the promoting encompass. Filming the passing drill on his cell phone, he shouted: ‘Zouma, you’ve acquired to kick it prefer it’s a cat.’ He didn’t get a response. Zouma was booed on the ball through the recreation and subjected to chants of ‘that’s how your cat felt’ whereas receiving therapy for a head damage.
Zouma’s two Bengal cats had been put into RSPCA care after the incident
Zouma was disregarded of France’s latest squad by Didier Deschamps along with his final look for Les Bleus coming in November 2021
Yet the abuse geared toward Zouma had been slowly however absolutely disappearing in any other case. Jeers are actually drowned out by West Ham’s supporters shouting ‘ZOUUU’, which some gamers additionally yelled when he returned to the dressing room after being named man of the match at Luton. Zouma and his spouse, Sandra, put aside time to reply the a whole bunch of handwritten fan mail they obtain month-to-month, a few of that are thanks letters.
Mail Sport has realized they’re concerned in numerous charity work worldwide – such because the ALFATH centre for deaf and exhausting of listening to kids in Meknes, Morocco, and an orphanage known as La Cite De L’Enfance (The City of Childhood) in Setif, Algeria, and the renovation of a college in Bouar, Central African Republic, amongst others – although these initiatives are largely stored personal.
There is the aspect to this footballer which we don’t see and the aspect which, for a lot of, can’t be unseen. You can determine for your self whether or not Zouma is worthy of forgiveness; a superb man or a foul bloke; a person who made a mistake or a convicted legal; a becoming captain or, as has been thrown at him since February of final yr, a ‘cat-kicker’.
You can let him know the subsequent time West Ham go to your membership when, in all chance, he will probably be main the staff out of the tunnel.
