Welcome to 11 Questions — a new weekly questionnaire series designed for you to get to know the people that make up Greenville Triumph Soccer Club. Each week, our own Marion Cole will ask someone from the organization the same ten questions, but the eleventh question will be from the previous interviewee. With players, coaches, and front office staff involved, we hope to bring you a fun look inside our club!
This week, I’m joined by Somalian international defender, Abdi Mohamed. Abdi, a cousin of Triumph midfielder Omar “Mojo” Mohamed. Abdi spent the 2019 season with USL Championship side Memphis 901 FC before joining Greenville prior to the start of the 2020 preseason.
1. If you had a podcast, what would it be about?
If I had a podcast, it would most likely focus on a mixture of sports and music. I love watching shows like “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman. “Undisputed” with Shannon and Skip is also one of my favorites. Talking and debating about sports is something that I find joy in, and so is sharing music with others so, I’d want to find some way to blend the two. I think it would be really unique actually! My first guest would have to be Drake or The Weeknd because I love their music. On the sports side though, I would invite Richard Sherman. He’s an intelligent person, and knows a lot about a number of different things that I would like to pick his brain about.
2. How do you decompress after a long week of work or training?
After a long week of training, I like to watch a Netflix series or play some video games. I’m binge watching The Office right now. I’ll also go out to dinner with some of the boys on the team. Going to dinner with my teammates has kind of become a tradition during preseason, so that’s something I’ve come to look forward to week after week. We usually switch up restaurants every time, but the last restaurant we went to was “Aryana Afghan Cuisine” near downtown Greenville. That place was a huge hit with us, so once things cool down I’m sure we’ll be back. I also come from a big family and we’re close, so having the time to make a lengthy FaceTime call with them at the end of the week helps me relax a bit as well. The first person I usually call is my mom.
3. What’s the most memorable meal you’ve ever had?
I don’t have a “most memorable meal” per se, but my most memorable snack would have to be eating 24 carat gold ice cream in Abu Dhabi. The ice cream was actually coated with gold, so I didn’t know what to expect when I took my first bite, but it just tasted like regular vanilla ice cream to me! It’s one of those things on the menu that catches your eyes when you see it, so it was a must try for me.
4. What was the most nervous you’ve ever been?
The most nervous I’ve ever been was probably during Somalia’s second leg of World Cup Qualifiers this past summer. Unfortunately, I got injured during the first leg and wasn’t able to play. But it honestly would have brought even more joy and happiness to me, and of the country, if we had pulled through. I just remember watching the second part of the game at home on my couch with my eyes glued to the screen after we scored the away goal. Unfortunate that the opponent came back to win.
5. If you’re up at 2AM on a Saturday night, what are you eating?
Honestly, I’m rarely ever up at that time, but it depends! I mean, if I’m back at home or the apartment, it’s for sure salted chips with salsa or guacamole dip or something light like that. If I’m not home, and I have to eat out? I could go for a nice gyro or quesadilla. I like to keep it simple with my gyro and quesadillas, so I normally have pita bread with steak, some sort of vegetable and topped with tzatziki sauce. And for my quesadillas I just do chicken.
6. What’s something you learned recently that blew your mind?
Okay…you can’t judge on this one, alright? But my teammates JJ Donnelly, Alex Morrell and myself were making a Publix run one day and we see this block of Swiss cheese. Naturally, we began to argue about it, as teammates do. So with this hiatus, I took it upon myself to learn a little more about Swiss cheese! And one thing that I didn’t know was that the US government regulates the size of the holes in Swiss cheese, which happens to be widely criticized by many Swiss cheese manufacturers. Go figure!
7. Triumph SC announces they’re bringing a celebrity to the next match and wondering if you have enough time to say, “Hello.” Who’s the celebrity you’re most excited to have at a match?
Considered to be the greatest to ever play the game by many people, I feel like I would be able to make some time during my pregame schedule to meet Lionel Messi. Call it cliche, but all jokes aside, he’s one of my favorite players to watch. I love the way he plays the game. One of the reasons why I think really everyone finds him to be such a great player is how naturally the game comes for him. He sees everything so differently than most and plays with this certain ease.
8. What’s the most memorable sports moment you’ve had as a fan?
My most memorable sports moment I’ve had as a fan would be watching PSG vs Real Madrid at Ohio Stadium when they came for their USA tour. I don’t get to watch much of the European teams live, and even though I’m a Barcelona fan, seeing some of the best players live is quite unforgettable. The score of the match was 3-1 favoring Paris Saint-Germain. I didn’t really mind who won that game, though. Just being in the atmosphere was something that I was looking forward to experiencing. That was the first soccer game that I’ve ever seen played in Ohio Stadium, so it was special.
9. What sporting event have you always wanted to go to and why?
I would have to say the World Cup. It’s seriously the biggest sporting event in the entire world, and I’ve always dreamt of being able to go to a match. My dream World Cup match to watch would honestly be any Argentina game, but, of course, I would love for it to be the Final only because I would love to see Messi win that trophy after coming so close last tournament. Hopefully this upcoming one!
10. If you’re part of a PK lineup, what number are you taking your penalty kick?
I’m comfortable going anywhere in a PK lineup, but if I have to pick I like to go first. I like to go first because I’m confident in my technique and scoring the first one would put a little less pressure on my goalkeeper and teammates that follow me. But if that’s not possible I wouldn’t mind being the third kicker. Either way, I’m always willing to step up to take one.
11. Last week, your new teammate Aaron Walker asked me what movie you could watch on repeat and never get tired of watching?
I have a couple movies that I can never get tired of, actually. The first one that comes to mind is Step Brothers. I think it’s one of the funniest comedy movies out there and am always gonna laugh. My favorite scene is definitely the drum set scene where Dale and Brennan fight over whether Brennan touched the drum set or not. My second choice of a movie I could never get tired of watching has to be Good Will Hunting. Robin Williams is one of my all-time favorite actors, and it’s just an amazing film.
Next week, I’m speaking with the team’s Digital + Social Media Coordinator, Kaitlyn Unruh. What would you like me to ask Kaitlyn?
If you had the day off to do anything in the world… BUT you weren’t allowed to do anything photography related… What would you do?
