A phoenix, Beirut seems to always pull itself out its ashes, reinvents itself, has been conquered numerous times in its 7,000-year history, yet it survives by both becoming whatever its conquerors wished it to be and retaining its idiosyncratic persona.

The Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990, spanned four World Cups. It would have been a more symmetrical five had the Lebanese begun in 1974, but you know, we're Mediterranean, and timing isn't our forte.

When the Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, I was 15. I was shipped to boarding school in England and, after that, to UCLA.

I jokingly say if there was one great thing about, you know, the Lebanese Civil War was that it forced me to read.

You can learn a lot in the Europa League or from playing different teams from across Europe, and European football has improved me as a player.

I think that in figure skating, and in sports in general, that when you're young, it's considered a huge advantage because you're fearless, and you also don't have bad past experiences. But with age comes experience, and I have found that my experience is a huge advantage to me as a competitor.

I love football. It's been very generous to me.

It is tough when you're by yourself, and I think that's why team sport is so appealing.