Anger vs. joy: Playing football on ‘the ruins of Aleppo’

For football fans in Aleppo, a recent match provided a fleeting glimpse of what life used to look like.

The local derby between Al-Ittihad and Al-Hurriya on Saturday January 28 marked the first time a professional game of football had been played in the war-torn city for five years.

It had all characteristics of any normal match – a sizable crowd, equipped with trumpets, drums and flags, cheering on the two sides.

But for those who are no longer able to call Aleppo their home, this match was far from normal.

“This is a media war, to show the regime has gotten Aleppo back and made it safe,” Thaer, an opposition citizen journalist, told CNN.

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He says he was forced to flee the city during the December evacuation of eastern Aleppo and now lives in Turkey. CNN is not publishing his last name out of concern for his safety

“They forced half of Aleppo’s resident out of their home,” added Thaer. “They made them refugees all over the world.

“These are lies. It is very upsetting to see, after all the blood letting and all the martyrs that died, the regime is acting as if nothing happened. They are playing football on the ruins of Aleppo.”

Late last year the rebel enclave was recaptured by government troops after a siege, and months of Russian bombardment eroded what little was left of eastern Aleppo’s once-bustling commercial hub.

Tens of thousand of people were forced to evacuate their homes under a ceasefire agreement reached by Russia and Turkey.

During the siege, hundreds of thousands of residents were driven from the city, while as many as 11 million people across the country are estimated by the United Nations to have been displaced. More than half the Syrian population have been forced to flee their homes.

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For the first time in five years, professional football returned to the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo on January 28.

Al-Ittihad beat local rival Al-Hurriya 2-1 in its first match on home turf since rebels took eastern Aleppo in 2012.

Al-Ittihad took the lead inside the first minute through Mohamad Muhtadi.

Al-Hurriya equalized not long before half time thanks to Firas Al Ahmad.

In the final few seconds, Al-Ittihad midfielder Mohamed Sorour scored the winning goal which kept his side top of the league on that weekend at the end of January, while Al-Hurriya remained in the relegation places.

But Thaer, an opposition citizen journalist, doesn't feel the match is cause for celebration. "They are playing football on the ruins of Aleppo," he told CNN.

Thaer says he was forced to flee Aleppo during the December evacuation and now lives in Turkey. "This is a media war, to show the regime has gotten Aleppo back and made it safe."

The two teams pose with match officials before kick-off.

"The last match I saw was in 2010," Mohammed Ali, a football fan in Aleppo told AFP news agency. "It was bigger, and there were more people. Hopefully there will be a lot of people this time."

"Now, I am here with my friends, but some have traveled (out of Aleppo or Syria) and others were martyred (during the conflict)," he continued. "Now, we are back to watch the match. I hope that every game will be played in Aleppo in the future."

"It's a nice sport, a beautiful sport," football fan Ahmad Dahman told AFP. "It's art. It is the most enjoyable sport of all."

"The residents of Aleppo love sports and they supported Al-Ittihad," Thaer says. "When there would be games the stadium would be full and tickets would be sold out."

"But now look at the stadium, it's a few hundred people," added Thaer. "Before the revolution we supported Al-Ittihad because they were our team in Aleppo."

Amid the celebration and fanfare inside the stadium, police in riot gear provided evidence of the city's recent division.

As did a poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which loomed over the stands.

"But when the protests began the team split -- some who were against the government were forced to leave or detained," said Thaer.

"We don't consider this a sports team, we consider them regime recruits; members of the government. Support for them has left our hearts."

Aleppo: Football returns to war-torn Syrian city for first time in five years

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‘Indescribable, unnatural feeling’

Not since Aleppo was split between rebel forces and the Syrian army in 2012 have football fans been able watch the city’s two rival clubs, with both playing their home matches 175km away in the port city of Latakia.

“It is an indescribable, unnatural feeling to return to the pitch, in the stadium in Aleppo, after five years,” Al-Ittihad player Omar Hamidi told AFP before the match, which was played in the western part of the city.

Mahmoud Almawas of Syria celebrates after he scored a goal during the 2018 World Cup qualifying group A match against China at Shanxi Stadium in Xi'an, on October 6, 2016. / AFP / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

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“Today we come back to the stadium, the people are out.”

Though the pitch was dry and dusty and the damaged buildings that surround the Riayat al-Shabab stadium provided evidence of many bombing campaigns, the atmosphere was like that of any other local derby around the world.

“It has been five years, and we have been longing for anything to happen in Aleppo,” one fan, Ghassan Mahmood, told AFP. “Now, football matches are taking place again. There is an atmosphere of safety and security in Aleppo.”

With the west of the city having always been under regime control, a large poster of Syria president Bashar al-Assad hung imposingly above the stands, while police in riot gear watched proceedings.

For Thaer, however, the atmosphere was a far cry from when he had previously attended matches.

Related article 'There are no winners in Aleppo'

“The residents of Aleppo love sports and they supported Al-Ittihad,” he says. “When there would be games the stadium would be full and tickets would be sold out.

“But now look at the stadium, it’s a few hundred people. These are lies. Before the revolution we supported Al-Ittihad because they were our team in Aleppo.

“But when the protests began the team split – some who were against the government were forced to leave or detained.

“We don’t consider this a sports team, we consider them regime recruits; members of the government. Support for them has left our hearts.”

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Al-Ittihad won 2-1 thanks to a last-minute Mohamed Sorour goal which at the time kept the club top of the Syrian Premier League, while Al-Hurriya remains in the relegation places.

For many, whether for good reasons or bad, the end result was entirely irrelevant.