Like many around the world right now, Anwar El Ghazi is wondering what to do with himself.
With football in England suspended, and no training taking place at Aston Villa either, the player has too much time on his hands, and it’s making him appreciate just how much he loves the game, and the important role it plays in his life.
Speaking to SportTeKort, in an interview transcribed by Dutch website Soccer News, El Ghazi explained he’s stuck at home, even if it’s only going to be for a few days: “Training is suspended until next Wednesday, then we will start again in small groups. But for the time being I’m still at home.”
And it’s proving to be something of a struggle, with the Aston Villa player missing his football fix and all that comes with being a professional: “It is really a very strange feeling. The weirdest feeling I have now is just that I have found out that I really do not have a life without football. Normally you get up and then you start training, you are already busy with the next match. Then you really are in a certain focus and you start training to prepare yourself for a match.”
“Now I get up and then I go jogging or do some exercises in the garden. But it is not the case that I get up now with the idea we are going to make something of it today. That does indicate that football is really my life.”
Aston Villa will hope the current Premier League season can be finished despite the Covid-19 crisis. If the league was stopped completely, and the table taken as it is, then Villa would see themselves relegated to the Championship after just a season back in the top flight.