It’s not an understatement to say Walid Shour possesses one of the most fascinating career paths in world football. Ahead of the new Isuzu UTE A-League campaign, aleagues.com.au reporter James Dodd sat down with the new Brisbane Roar midfielder.
“I’m not being arrogant or being cocky in some type of way, but I know what I’m capable of. I never give up in any situation… especially when it comes to football.”
When you’ve experienced the sort of things Walid Shour has, it’s only natural you develop a steely resolve that readies you for any challenge.
Born in the West African country of Sierra Leone, Shour and his family were forced to flee their home when he was just a baby as one of the continents most brutal civil wars unfolded around them.
“My dad doesn’t like talking about it, to be honest. It was very traumatic for them,” said Shour as he detailed the first few years of what proves to be an enthralling life story.
“They basically took a boat from Sierra Leone to Guinea just to get out of the country. They stayed there until 1997 so like a year of war, (with) just rebels killing people, basically everyone they see in front of them.
“They took a boat to Guinea and the Lebanese consulate then sent a plane to Guinea and we traveled to Lebanon.”
Born to a Sierra Leonean mother and Lebanese father, Shour and his family sought refuge in Lebanon as rebels continued a devastating purge across the country which ultimately saw more than 50,000 people lose their lives in the 11-year long conflict.
“People were traumatised for a very long period of time. The amount of death you could see in the country. There were bullet holes on walls, buildings burnt down…”
Scarred as they may have been by what had happened in Freetown – the capital of the West African country – the Shour family, like those around them, set about moving on from the tragedy that was visible all around them.
For Shour, the answer – the escape – was football.
“When I was 12 years old I started making a lot of noise in Sierra Leone, in the footballing community, and there’s this guy, Mohamed Kallon, he played for Inter Milan and was a Sierra Leone international.
“So he saw me playing and he had a football club that played in the Sierra Leone first division. At the age of 12 or 13 I started training with men.
“He had a younger team that was traveling to the Gothia Cup (the world’s largest International youth football tournament) in Sweden. So he came to our house, he spoke to my dad. He was like, ‘I want to take him to the Gothia Cup’…. my dad said no!”
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Devastated by his father’s denial, yes. But put off by it? Absolutely not.
Rather than simply accept his Dad’s decision, Shour displayed a remarkable level of self-belief that is still evident in his approach to life now.
“When he (Kallon) left, I sat with my dad, and I was like, look, this is the only thing I know how to do. The only thing I know that I’m really good at is football. If you don’t let me go now, you’re gonna send me to England, to some sort of academy or anything like that.”
And so, utilising a family connection in England, Shour persuaded his father to pay for a six-week stay at an academy in a bid to catch the eye of some of English football’s oldest clubs.
The gamble paid off.
“We were playing against development squads, teams like Notts County, Derby County and Luton Town,” recalled Shour. “So I did really well against Luton Town, against their development squad, and when I went back to Sierra Leone the owner of the academy contacted me and said Luton is really asking about you, they’re really interested in you.”
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Now aged 15, Shour left West Africa for a third time, swapping Freetown for Luton Town as he was incorporated into the Hatters’ Academy.
However, just as his father helped open the door for his son to chase his dream of becoming a professional footballer, it was he who slammed it shut.
“When I turned 18, during my time there I started to become a troubled kid, because I’d been alone in England for such a long time.
“So my dad found out about that, that’s when he travelled to England. I was turning 18 at the time and that’s when they (Luton Town) tried to offer me a professional contract.
“My dad travelled to England and we was like, ‘you’re going back with me, you’re going home’. I was like, why? I’d started drinking – because drinking is not allowed in our religion – and I’d been going out a lot. I had bad friends.”
A childhood dream crushed and two one-way tickets to Sierra Leone promptly booked, the country that had shaped so much of his early life would once again throw up another devastating curveball.
“So when I went back to Sierra Leone, there was this disease called Ebola, I couldn’t leave the house. A month ago, I was in England now I’m in a house in Sierra Leone, and I can’t go out as there’s a disease killing people outside.”
From May 2014 to November 2015, Sierra Leone was ravaged by one of the most deadly viruses in human history, with the ebola virus killing more than 4,000 people in short space of time.
With a State of Emergency ordered by the government, Shour didn’t hang around. Eight weeks after having his footballing dream seemingly shattered, he took another bold life decision.
“I moved to China! I was like, I’m gonna go to university to become a student so I went to China.
“Literally, a professional contract to becoming a university student in two months… two months! I was depressed. That was the worst phase of my life.”
But now, some 10 years and a degree in International Economics and Trade later, Shour’s tour of the globe has seen him land in Queensland.
“I’m hoping to prove a point that players from West Asia can actually play football,” said the Lebanon international, who featured in both games for The Cedars in their recent World Cup Qualification games against the Socceroos.
“They just don’t have the facilities and everything like here in Australia, but actual talents and good football players – there’s so many of them, trust me.
“There are a lot of players I’ve played with in Lebanon that would really do well in the A-League and I’m going to prove that. I know I’m going to do well in the A-League.”
Key to Shour’s arrival in the A-League was current Brisbane head coach Ruben Zadkovich, who is currently overseeing his first pre-season in charge in charge of the Roar.
“So when we played against the Socceroos in Sydney, Ruben contacted me. He contacted my agent and he flew over to watch the game. The man actually got onto a flight and flew over to watch me play. I was like, okay, yeah, he’s serious about me,” Shour explained.
“After the game, me and him (Zadkovich) had a conversation. Ever since we had that conversation, I was like, yeah, this is it for me. I had other offers as well like in Thailand, Malaysia and in India but after speaking to Ruben, I was like, yeah, this is it for me.”
