Dr. Zafar Iqbal reflects on a life as a doctor with Liverpool FC

Pakistani doctor, Zafar Iqbal, has spoken about his life as the first-team physio for English giants Liverpool FC in an exclusive interview with FootballPakistan.com.

Few Asians have made it into the professional game in England and even fewer can call themselves doctors at a high profile club. However Dr. Zafar Iqbal is one exception, as he works with the Liverpool first-team and takes care of stars like Steven Gerrard,
Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll on a routine basis.

In a interview with Pakistani Football site, FootballPakistan.com, Iqbal reflected on his nomination in the Football league awards and why he decided to pursue a career in Sports medicine.

“To be nominated for an award for recognition of any work that you do is fantastic and even more rewarding, as it’s for a job that I enjoy so much.  I am just happy being appreciated by anyone that I’m able to help," he said.

“Working at Liverpool FC has obviously raised my profile further and allowed me to be involved with other projects outside Liverpool FC, which probably contributed to my nomination for this award.”

“These include projects such as promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles especially in the South Asian community and schools through the Zesh Rehman Foundation, Sporting Equals and writing articles in national magazines.” 

“The nomination probably means more to my parents as it will mean others acknowledge my success which has come on the back of their hard work.”

He also revealed that while he was born in Pakistan, he arrived in England at an early age and eventually decided to settle on a career in Sports medicine after failing to fully recover from an injury he sustained while playing football.

“I was born in Pakistan and came over to England with my parents when I was 2 months old.  My father worked as a bus driver and mum in a shop and made huge sacrifices and encouraged me to study.”

“My decision to become a doctor was very personal as I had a young sister who had brain cancer and the care she received inspired me to follow the health care profession. I qualified as a doctor in 1999 and decided to specialize in Sports and Exercise medicine
in 2004.” 

“This was following my own knee injury during a game of football and I found that the care that I received was not adequate and so I decided to study further and haven’t stopped studying since.  I didn’t return to Pakistan until 2005 and again in 2007 where
I was involved in voluntary medical camps after being moved by the widespread coverage of the horrific Earthquake disaster.  I would love to return but haven’t been able to due to family and work commitments.”

Lastly he added that while working with a plethora of Premier League stars, he found Gareth Bale to be the most athletic despite assessing the likes of Gerrard, Torres and Suarez.

“At my last Club Tottenham Hotspur, Gareth Bale was an unbelievable athlete.  At Liverpool there are a few players that I could mention but would be unfair to the others,” Zafar Iqbal was quoted as saying.

Striving to raise the name of Pakistan in the Premiership, Dr. Zafar Iqbal is a model for every aspiring Asian, who looks to become a doctor in the Sports field.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=9750

Posted by Shahrukh Sohail on Jan 19 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry