FOOTBALL borrows heavily from the lexicon of war.
Players shoot on sight. There are attacks and counter attacks, defensive battles and midfield dogfights. Balls are played over the top and there are raids down the flanks. Hardened players are ones you would want in the trenches with you. The military metaphors go on and on.
Rami Gershon has experienced it all for real, though. Like most of his countrymen, the Celtic defender spent the last of his teenage years serving in the Israeli army. He was not what he calls "a warrior" – his football background precluded such a role – but he was still taught the basics, including how to handle a gun and chuck a grenade, during his three years of military service. He smiles bashfully when asked whether that background makes him the toughest player in the Celtic squad but, presumably, not many others will know their way around an army assault rifle.
"I did three years' national service, from the age of 18 until I was 21," said Gershon as he helped promote Saturday's match against Aberdeen. "Everyone has to do it but it doesn't mean that every child is a warrior who fights like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everybody trains. I know how to shoot and how to throw a grenade but I never fought.
"I played for the under-21 national team so I had special conditions. I've been a soldier but I can't say I was a great warrior. In our army 30% are warriors and the remaining 70% are what we call jobniks. I had a job, then, but I can't say what I did because of national security. To be honest, it was my dream to become a warrior but you cannot combine that with football.
"One of my best friends was a warrior. In three years you would see them once a month because they don't come home, and you cannot play football every two weeks under those circumstances. The army had a football team but, as a professional, I was not allowed to play. The other soldiers could and there were matches between different units. I have fighting qualities and maybe if I wasn't a footballer I would still be a soldier; my family and friends know that."
His ability as a sportsman means he is never likely to need to pursue a full-time career in the army but Gershon believes that it was a worthwhile experience. "In the army, I was surrounded by lazy people and they would laugh at me because I put too much effort into my job," he said. "I had a club when I did my national service and it was difficult because I would need to go to the army at 6am every day and stay until two or three o'clock in the afternoon. Then I had to go to football training and sometimes I had to go back and sleep at the army base. I'm a hard worker."
Gershon has had to demonstrate patience, too, since moving to Celtic from Standard Liege in January. He has played only twice, his hour-long outing against Ross County on Saturday his first since making a scoring debut in Inverness a month earlier. The defender hopes to now chalk up sufficient appearances to qualify for a medal should Celtic go on to retain their Clydesdale Bank Premier League title.
"If we are champions then I will feel more a part of it if I play more often," he said. "But even if I don't play a lot it will be a good experience for me. I have never won a medal so – if we do it – this will be my first. It was a good feeling just to be playing again last weekend. I still feel I have a lot more to give.
"Footballers can only give of their best when they are playing but it's important to realise that sometimes you play and sometimes you don't play; you need to be professional and be ready. That's why you have a squad and Celtic is a big club with a lot of good players."
Both Gershon's appearances have come away from home and he hopes to make a belated home debut against Aberdeen this weekend. "I have been on the bench here twice and the supporters were incredible. It's a beautiful stadium so playing here will be amazing.
"I've spoken to the manager about this and, of course, I realise there are others who can play in my position and I must be patient. Every time I don't play I don't go running to the coach – I try to impress by hard work and by passion and I hope to play as often as possible."
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