The Interview

Interview between Jose Blaise Moza & Kim Streets 18th February 2002

Jose-Blaise Moza, 31, grew up in Mulhouse, near Strasbourg. Football is his number-one passion: at 14 he trained at the Marseille Football Academy before playing semi-professionally for FC Mulhouse. Following a serious knee injury Jose-Blaise had to give up the professional game and now works as a football coach and community worker in the area. Of the game he says, ‘You play football today, but you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, what will happen after 90 minutes’. 

What is your idea of happiness?
Meeting people, talking about life and how we can have a better life you know? That’s really my idea of happiness. It’s not really money, or the best job in the world. That’s not what I really want. You know, I want just to be with people, to talk to them, to listen. That’s going to make me happy. When someone has a problem, I want them to say, ‘I know someone I can talk to – I can see Blaise’, – that is going to make me really happy.

What is your greatest fear?
If people turned their back on me you know, and I had nobody to talk to, nobody to see. To be alone in life. When I lost my Mum, I was really alone.

What do you dislike about yourself?
When I try to do something and I never finish it, that’s when I dislike myself. But then I say to myself, ‘No, you should do it – you should go for it. You should never give up’.

What do you dislike about others?
People who don’t take other people the way they are you know? Like critics – if people want to talk about you they should know your face. And really, I dislike men who will beat women, you know, who treat women like objects or animals. Men should never, never, beat women, we should respect women – like I respect my wife or my friend or my Mum. 

What makes you sad?
When I see people dying of cancer – there is not really a cure. No one can save them. There are two things; dying of cancer and poor people dying because they have no food. That’s very terrible for me.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
It’s possible to say three? One is my Mum – I miss her so much, she was my best, best, best friend you know? And my kids - Kevin and Eden.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
‘You know’ or ‘I will see’ or ‘how I say?’ – that’s it. 

What is your greatest regret?
A long time ago when I was in France at the Football Academy, people from football in England used to come to see us play football. I was supporsed to meet for a trial. A woman called Karen gave me the dates, she came to me and she said, ‘We would be pleased to see you in Birmingham’. They talked with my ex on the ‘phone, they said the date but alas I didn’t go. I said, ‘I don’t like English football – I don’t want to go’. It was 10 years ago and I was so young – I didn’t know what I should do and I had nobody there to tell me. I liked French football. I didn’t go and that is my regret. If I could put everything back, I should go, believe me I should go.

What is your earliest memory?
I used to fight all the time. That’s what I remember – I used to fight at school. I was 14 when I left school to go to Football Academy – it was too early for me. When I was 12 they used to call me Pele because I was so good – I can’t forget that. 

If you could have one wish – what would it be?
To change the world; no poor, no rich – no black, no white, no yellow, no red. So everybody is just the same – just human beings that’s all.

Which living person do you most admire?
Nelson Mandela. But for this century, after September 11th, it is Major Guilliano. He is the man of the century because he showed everyone how to be.

What is your favourite smell?
All smells I like. The mountains, the sea - natural fresh smells.

How do you relax?
Spending time in the sea, on the beach relaxing and thinking.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Everybody says money, but money is not really everything. You can have money and be sad and alone. Better health and people around me.

What is your favourite fantasy?
To see the world change into paradise. No wars, nothing - just an easy life in paradise.

If you could change one thing about Burngreave, what would it be?
People are thinking bad about Burngreave, about drugs – I want people to know that it is not really about drugs because you can find drugs everywhere. I want people to know that there are some good people here. If we can do something to change that bad name that is going to be great. 

What keeps you awake at night?
Worrying too much – worrying about my health about the future, about my kids. Sometimes I cannot sleep for thinking about my kids – they are so far from me. It is hard to live so far from the people you love. It is not easy but it is just life.

How would you like to die?
In peace, a natural death with people around me.

How would you like to be remembered?
For the kind of person I am. For love maybe, I give so much. For the love I give, the friendship, everything.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

To love and to share everything with people. My Mum used to tell me, ‘Son, if you want to live for many years you have to love people, never be arrogant’. That is the man I am.

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