It was a dream come true moment for Iraq’s Zidane Iqbal, who became the first British South-Asian to enter the Old Trafford playing field as a senior footballer. In Manchester United’s final group game of the Champions League against Young Boys, manager Ralf Rangnick brough the youngster on the field with 2 minutes of normal time remaining.
Although he did not get to shine through in the 7 approximate minutes he spent on the field, this debut for the teenage sensation sets a path for a whole new generation of South Asian footballers, who have been showing great promise in recent years but have struggled to make it to Europe’s elite teams.
Born in April 2003, he was named after France and Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, and much like his namesake, he operates in the midfield. He was born to a Pakistani father and Iraqi mother in Manchester, and has been with the club’s youth academy since he was nine years old. Earlier in April, he had signed his first professional contract with the club nearly a decade after joining them.
He was also promoted to the Manchester United U23 side under Neil Wood and immediately made an impression. He is eligible to play for England, Pakistan and Iraq, but he decided to represent Iraq’s national side and did so for their national U23 side on three occasions this year. He received his Iraqi passport earlier this year in May.
He wasn’t the only youngster making his debut on the day for Manchester United, with Tom Heaton and Charlie Savage also getting their first few minutes as a Red Devil in a rather challenging match for the youngsters.
Rangnick made 11 changes to the squad that appeared against Crystal Palace on Sunday and had given a start for the likes of Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga, Jesse Lingard, Dean Henderson, and Donny van de Beek.
The Red Devils got off-and-running inside nine minutes, with Mason Greenwood firing home a Luke Shaw cross with some acrobatics involved. Fabian Rider struck back for the visiting team, after he pounced on a misplaced pass from van de Beek and curled a brilliant shot from long range.
Teden Mengi was another Manchester United youngster who was called in around the hour mark, and perhaps he was the most impressive of all the academy graduates on the day, making one crucial block and keeping things tight on his side.
