“Larionov heard my last name and said: “You will be Zidane.” Interview with the goalkeeper of “Torpedo”, who was born in the Emirates

Meet Lawrence Zinaddin.

Igor Larionov’s “Torpedo” is fighting for a place in the second round of the Gagarin Cup, but no matter how the playoffs end for Nizhny Novgorod, they have already become the brightest phenomenon of the season. The head coach created not only the most attacking team in the league, but also a real talent incubator.

But many young people in Nizhny Novgorod have yet to be discovered. One of them is Lawrence Zinaddin, a goalkeeper from Belarus of Arab origin, who in the future may become the most famous hockey player born in the UAE.

Lawrence shot very early in his native championship: at the age of 17 he changed an outsider to one of the leaders, and also received a call to the junior team. Last summer, the talented goalkeeper was invited to his system by Torpedo: he went through summer training camps with Larionov and Khabibulin and played in the system – 15 games in the MHL for Chaika and his debut in the VHL for Diesel. 

We talked to him about his unusual nickname, great love for fishing and training at Torpedo. 

“In Muslim countries, it is customary that at the birth of a child, the father chooses whether his son will profess Islam or not”

– Shall I address you Lawrence?

– You can Laurens, you can Laurens. LorAns will be more correct.

– You said that your mother left for the Emirates in her youth to strengthen her knowledge of English. What was your father doing then?

I would like to leave this without comment. He is a native Arab and worked in his native country.

– How did they meet?

– One fine day we decided to take a break and just walked along the street. Mom wanted to see the United Arab Emirates and suddenly met dad. That’s how we met. 

– You said that they got married 2-3 days after they met. How is that in general?

– Everyone has the right to choose, and they made their own. Of course, I would never be able to get married in 2-3 days. The most important thing is that they are happy.

Did your mother tell you how her parents took the news? Three days is very little.

We were shocked, of course. But they still supported their daughter, because this is her life, and she herself must decide her own fate.

Where does such an interesting name come from? It is neither Belarusian nor Arabic.

“My father gave it to me. To be honest, I never asked why I was called that way. Does anyone wonder why they called him Nikita or Artem? I’m Laurence, that’s all. Dad once said that he named me after a famous person. I tried to find in honor of whom, but I could not find it yet.