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West China

Feature: Uygur Nurmemet fulfills football dream with flying kicks

2020-07-09 09:28:52

URUMQI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- 21-year-old Nurmemet Xirep did not believe he would have a chance to be a professional footballer when he first stepped on a pitch.

Living in isolated Shufu County, over 1,200km away from Urumqi, capital of northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nurmemet's youth was largely spent trying to help his parents earn a living, before he discovered football.

"It was the first time I found something I wanted to persist with when I played football at secondary school," Nurmemet recollected.

There was no formal training or matches in Nurmemet's football days. His career started in the streets, croplands and backyards.

Nurmemet practises shooting and dribbling after school every day. His faith is always the same: Pursuing his football dream and not letting anyone tell him otherwise.

Unexpectedly, he fast became an internet celebrity on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, after opening an account named "Nur-Flying kick Show" in November 2019.

Nurmemet posted videos of him executing spectacular volleys and overhead kicks, in stark contrast to his humble and dusty surroundings, quickly attracting many fans in a short space of time.

"Someone suggested that I should try out for professional clubs, but I thought they were too far away for me," said Nurmemet.

For Nurmemet's parents, it was also impractical for their son to turn his back on the family's farm by playing football.

However, the pains soon turned into gains. Nurmemet's short video came to the attention of Chinese second tier side Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard FC, who invited Nurmemet for a tryout in June.

"We were moved by his pure love for football, that was the main reason for us inviting him," said Pulat Khutulek, youth team coach at Xinjiang.

Initially, with unfamiliar surroundings and teammates, Nurmemet struggled on the pitch. At 21, he was also older than his new teammates, making it more difficult for him to acquire new skills and attributes.

To give the rookie enough space to display his ability, Pulat decided to place Nurmemet in a free attacking role, and soon saw the youngster's potential.

"He is an opportunistic player with good speed and has the potential to be a goal poacher," said Pulat, "but he's poor in vision and ability to read the game due to a lack of professional training."

With his performances getting better, the club decided to sign Nurmemet to a one-year contract and place him in the side's U23 team.

"I have been living my dream, now I want to be a professional player like Ronaldinho," said Nurmemet. Enditem

Editor:Jiang Yiwei