October 22, 2008 - 9:04 AM

Albert Camus, the footballing philosopher

"In 1930 Albert Camus was the Saint Peter who watched over the goals of the University of Alger football team. He had occupied this position since childhood because it was where he used his shoes the least. Born into a poor family, Camus could not afford to run: every night his grandmother inspected the soles of his shoes and gave him a thrashing if they were damaged. During his years as the guardian of goals, Camus learnt a lot: 'I learnt that the ball never goes where one thinks it is going to go. That really helped me in life, especially in big cities where people are not in general what one would call straight-forward'."

A text taken from Le Football, Ombre et Lumière (Football, Darkness and Light) by the Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galearno (Editions Climats).

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