Atlanta United 2 midfielder Amir Bashti talks about a few of his favorite things
- How have you been filling your time recently?
- I’ve been trying to stay busy, workout my body with the workouts Ricky, our fitness coach, has sent us. Today we had repeated sprints, some core work and then at the same time trying to find some space in and around the house to play with the ball and keep my touch sharp. Also I’m trying to spend some time working out my mind, read a little bit. Just trying to stay busy the best I can.
- What have you been reading?
- One book called Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. It’s the case for reason, science, humanism and progress that deals with the details of human history and makes an argument for human progress. It’s inspirational in that sense but also very informative about how we’ve grown as a human species.
- What’s your favorite color?
- I’d say turquoise.
- What’s your favorite TV show right now?
- I’m in between shows right now; I haven’t started a new one. I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones though.
- What’s your favorite food?
- Persian kabob.
- Do you cook a lot?
- I try to. I’ve been doing more so now; I do enjoy cooking. I like to experiment with different vegetable stews. I have a base of rice with stew. I make nice salads with lots of fruits and veggies and greens.
- Do you have a favorite sport to watch besides soccer?
- I kind of spread it equally; there’s not one in particular. Growing up, I watched a decent amount of tennis. I play some tennis on the side.
- Who’s your favorite tennis player?
- Roger Federer. Also, my dad would have me watch some of Bjorn Borg because I had a two-handed forehand when I was young. But that’s a classic since I wasn’t there in his prime.
- If you weren’t a professional soccer player, what would you be doing?
- I’d probably be learning; I’d be in school or in some sort of hybrid position - technical and social impact position. I definitely see myself making an impact in the community I’m in but also trying to help society and help people live a better human experience be that through innovation or providing essential services to people. I’d just always want to be learning like I continue to do with soccer and try to do off the field, growing my knowledge but also extending an impact into different communities both locally and nationally as well as internationally. I’d definitely be exploring and trying to make an impact.
- What got you into soccer?
- I started when I was really young. I remember my parents having balls around the house and I’d be playing and messing around with them. My older brother, who’s 2 ½ years older than me, started playing when he was super young, so I always wanted to play with him and keep up with him. I picked it up and tried other sports but nothing really caught my desire as much as soccer. I stuck with it ever since I can remember ever since I was a little kid, following in my brother’s footsteps.
- Do you have a favorite soccer memory?
- I’d say winning our national championships at Stanford. We took a long journey together and it was the culmination at the end of the season to get that reward for all our hard work.
- Do you have a favorite thing about Atlanta?
- I like how diverse it is. You can go to different parts of the city, and it still has that natural feel on the outskirts, you can get a nice hike in or a nice walk around the BeltLine but at the same time there's the city feel. You go right outside and there’s a lot of space but you see a lot of cool diversity in the city, a lot of character.
- Do you have a favorite fan memory?
- I have a couple. One would be Kathi Stearns and Bradley Hartloge, they made me this awesome flag and they’d show up to every game, repping. They gave me a new one this season.
