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'I'm more famous than Wales in the Middle East - now I hope Wales will be more famous than me'

By NationCymru
Ian Rush and Carol Anthony in the stands before the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier play-off final. Picture by Mike Egerton

Ian Rush has said that he hopes Wales' qualification for the World Cup means that his country will now be more famous in the Middle East than he is.

The Liverpool record goalscorer said that one of the benefits of qualifying for the World Cup was that people in the region would realise that Wales was not part of England.

Speaking to the Times he said that he never expected to see Wales qualify for a World Cup in his lifetime and said that the lat manage Gary Speed and now Crystal Palace assistant manager Osian Roberts deserved a lot of credit for what happened last Sunday.

"I have travelled a lot to the Middle East over the past ten years and I often get asked if Wales is in England," he said.

"No one is being disrespectful, but emphasising to the world that Wales is a country in its own right is one reason why getting to the World Cup finals is so important.

"When I go to the region or beyond, I am more famous than Wales. My hope now is that Wales will be more famous than me."

He added: "The credit for change goes to many people, including Osian Roberts, who was the Wales technical director and is now the Crystal Palace assistant manager, Gus Williams, who is the talent manager, and the late Gary Speed, who as manager of the team took us up a level."

He added that one of his own major regrets was never getting to play at a World Cup.

"We lost to Romania when a win would have got us to the 1994 finals in the United States," he said.

"I remember speaking to John Charles and Cliff Jones, who were part of the Wales squad in Sweden in 1958, the last time we reached the finals.

"I never thought I would get the chance to see Wales play in the World Cup in my lifetime. It is a celebration."

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3 comments

Y Cymro

I can only say to the people of the Middle East who lack knowledge of Wales but know more about Ian Rush & Liverpool, is this. If you don't know, learn. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse. Remember, your cars function because of a Welsh invention patented in 1794 by Philip Vaughan from Carmarthenshire called the ballbearing gear that is used in all rotating machinery today, including machinery that pumps your crude oil. Or when you are called to prayer remember that those loudspeakers in your mosques or at Mecca use carbon microphone that was invented by Welshman David Edward Hughes from Coreen, Denbighshire , who in 1878 patented the microphone, and without this invention the television, radio ,telephone, music & cinema as we know it or the moon landing speech made by Neil Armstrong transmitted would not exist without Wales. Why do you think Marconi came to Wales to test his radio transmitter? Always remember this. Knowledge is power, stupidity unforgivable

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Llinos

I think you might have unrealistic expectations of those Middle Eastern countries. It’s not like most of us know much about them either. The Arab nations were using advanced mathematics, science and medicine when we still hitting each other with sticks.

Reply
Richard Williams

And how much do we know of their contributions to the modern world? Did you know, for example, that Arab physicians laid the basis for modern medical practice in Europe? Did you know that Arabian hospitals were centres of medical education and introduced many of the concepts and structures that we see in modern hospitals, such as personal and institutional hygiene, medical records, and pharmacies? Examples of scientific advances included that of Ibn Al-Nafis who described the pulmonary circulatory system. The surgeon Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi wrote the Tasrif which became the leading medical text in European universities and developed new surgical technologies such as catgut sutures. Al-Razi, wrote Kitab Al-Mansuri, a 10 volume treatise on Greek medicine and published tracts on infectious diseases which continued to be reprinted in Europe well into the 19th century. The medical texts of Ibn Rushd were also widely used in European universities. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was the final authority on medical matters in Europe for several centuries. Ibn Sina created a system of medicine that today we would call holistic and in which physical and psychological factors, drugs, and diet were combined in treating patients. 

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