Ribery called him "deformed" as a child and became one of the best players in the world

أحمد السباعي Free Membership

Fiorentina striker Frank Ribéry has struggled to overcome the hardships of his life, but some have left deep wounds in the psyche who was just around the corner from winning the Golden Ball as the best player in the world in 2013.

The harshest of these was his childhood, where children were called "Kwazimodo," the main character in the Walt Disney Company The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), a deformed young man with a curved back and feared his villagers because they thought he was a "monster."

But what caused this title?

When Frank was two years old his parents left him and had a car accident miraculously survived but left a big scar in his face.

"When I was young, they called me Kwazimodo, it hurt me a lot," Ribéry told a French newspaper in 2014.

But Ribery did not allow this bullying to affect him or defeat him, asserting that he never escaped and cried in a corner. Instead, he focused on football, "and I have accumulated all this anger and triggered it in the games," Ribery said.

In 2005, he moved to Galatasaray for one season, then returned to Marseille. His footballing talent exploded at Bayern Munich, where he spent 12 seasons (2007-2019) and was suddenly recalled for the first time at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The call-up was surprising and reached the final he lost to Italy.

During his career, he won several titles, most notably Scar Face, a popular 983 film starring Al Pacino and Ferrarabery because of his speed and rocket launch.

With time Ribery adapted to his new form and refused cosmetic surgery to repair his face and defended this scar, saying: "Without this scar I would be a normal man .. Now I have a strong personality and solid will .. Proud of everything I encountered and overcome it was not easy, today I love my face and my life" .

This positive energy that emerged from the womb of a child who was nicknamed "the deformer" appeared over the green rectangle and the determination of a 36-year-old player who continues to play for Fiorentina in the Champions League, one of Europe's strongest leagues.

"Ribery is a real fighter with a great passion and a big heart," said Pep Guardiola, who coached him at Bayern.

After leaving Bayern last summer, Ribery refused millions of dollars from the Chinese and American leagues to move to one of their teams, insisted on staying in Europe and moved to Fiorentina, which offers him outstanding levels, and continues to make and score goals and kill and launch attacks, and won with the team the best player of the month in the Italian league (September).

The story of the suffering of a player who rebelled against his reality and his cruel childhood until he became one of the best players in the world, won with Bayern Munich in the Champions League and nine league titles and six trophies, and was just around the corner of the World Cup.