The match day magazine interviewed defender Gabi Zakuani recently and you can read all about the former Leyton Orient man's life since leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo below.
'Gabriel Zakuani has lived most of his life in the United Kingdom, but he was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the third largest country in Africa - a country that has been involved in devastating conflict which has left mainly treacherous conditions for the inhabitants.
Zakuani recently returned to his homeland and saw at first hand the state that some parts of the country are in. The Second Congo War, which took place from 1998 to 2003, decimated some areas of where he grew up and it is one of the reasons the centre back is so patriotic about his country.
The 22-year-old has been a regular in the Congolese squad over the last two years and following the fixture with Leeds United, he jetted off to link up with the national party ahead of an African Nations qualifying fixture in Malawi.
Playing for his country is a 'dream come true' and he looks back at his first call-up with fond memories and one of his most prized possessions is a Congolese shirt which is currently waiting to be framed.
'I hadn't played for Congo at youth level. I think when things were going well for me at Leyton Orient I was noticed and I received my first call-up for a game against Guinea, which was about two years ago. Most of the Congo home matches are in France, the national language is French and the coach is French.
'The facilities are not great in Congo, so it seems logical to play the matches in France. I am fluent in French, but obviously I would say my first language now is English having grown up in this country. I am very patriotic, it means a lot to play for my country, especially because Congo is very deprived.
'People find it hard to leave Congo and the people look up to you because you made it out and you have to try and help however you can. When I went back with the national team, it is very noticeable that the better parts of the country are a lot better nowadays than they were maybe 10-15 years ago, but the poor parts are still very poor.
'The hotel we stayed in when we went back was excellent and you can't really tell the difference from Congolese hotels to English ones, but once you step back, it is very noticeable that they need help. The conditions are not great at all and it is hard for the people,' Zakuani said.
Football does tend to unite a nation and in the Republic of Congo, it is no different. They are ranked 68th in the world and are currently ahead of nations including Bolivia, Costa Rica and Iceland. In fact, the DR Congo are less than five places behind Latvia - a team that have always caused Scotland problems in recent qualifying campaigns.
'On the football front, things are definitely improving. A lot of the players in the national squad play in Europe now and I think there are only four players that actually play in the Congolese League that are now in the national squad. I think the standard is high nowadays.
'It is very hard to qualify for the African Cup of Nations though, which is what we are trying to achieve at this moment in time. We have a game against Malawi this week and we need a victory. We are currently second in our group just behind Egypt who are the African Champions.
'The top team in each group goes through automatically and then eight runners-up go through so hopefully we can get into the next stage and take it from there. We have a lot of travelling to do as international players and it is quite tiring.
'You have to adapt quickly, the last time I came back I slept straight after training. Everyone wants to play international football and you can't complain because it is your dream to play for your country. I have made three starts for my country and hopefully I can improve on that this season.
'Last year I was called up quite a few times, but things didn't work out. There were misunderstandings with the faxes and I don't think Stoke City really wanted me to go because they were doing so well. This year I hope things are different,' Zakuani added.
Zakuani is not the only British-based player to be called into a recent squad. Former Leeds United front man Tresor Kandol, who is currently playing his football with Millwall, was a recent addition to the national squad and there have been many others who could have been pulling the DR Congo shirt on before switching allegiance.
The most famous of those was former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makalele who went on to play for France, while recent additions to the Premier League, Vincent Kompany and Jose Bosingwa da Silva, were both born in DR Congo.
'I think everyone wants to play for the country they were born in and I was no different. The first time I played I received a cap, but there are so many games they don't keep that up, but I have a Congo shirt, which I am going to frame. It is something to look back on with pride later in life,' Zakuani added.
The powerful centre back arrived in England at six-years-old and started playing football for his local club near Tottenham. Making the trip over from his homeland was difficult but one that Zakuani believes he had to make.
'There was a lot of trouble over there at the time and it was a big decision to leave and come to England. My immediate family came over and obviously it was the right decision. My father got a translating job, that was the reason behind the move.
'My father took me to the local club near Tottenham and I soon got involved with a team in Essex where plenty of scouts came to watch. It didn't happen straight away, but soon Leyton Orient and Watford were interested in me and I went on trial at both clubs.
'Orient wanted to move things quicker and that is why I agreed to sign for them. I was about 13-years-old at the time. It was a bit of a whirlwind for me at Orient because I progressed through the youth system quite quickly. I played a year up each time and I actually made my first team debut at the age of 16 which was really surreal.
'My debut was away at Bournemouth and it was really weird and nerve-wracking. The year before I was still in school doing my GCSE's and here I was playing professional football. I came on and we were 3-0 down so there was nothing for me to lose really!
'I think we actually ended up losing 3-1 so I would like to think that I contributed! It all happened so quickly at Orient, I managed to play about 100 times for the club and I left Brisbane Road after they secured promotion so it was the right time to leave.
'I never thought it would happen that quickly because I was still young when Fulham came in for me. It was a massive step for me. I had been playing my football in League Two and it took a little while to adjust to life in the Premier League.
'Chris Coleman was the manager at the time and he had seen the potential that I had at the time and spent the money that he did. I was on the substitutes bench plenty of times and that was an incredible experience for me,' Zakuani continued.
The defender, who supported Arsenal as he grew up, had the perfect opportunity to meet his heroes when he was named on the bench for a clash against the Gunners.
'You can only dream about that. I got a couple of appearances under my belt, but to be on the bench against Arsenal was amazing. It was really big for me, I supported Arsenal all of my life so to be on the same team-sheet as some of those players was incredible. It was the best feeling ever,' Zakuani said.
Last season, Zakuani helped Stoke City secure automatic promotion to the Premier League, making 30 appearances for Tony Pulis' men. The Potters have come under scrutiny in recent weeks for their tactics with the long throw of Rory Delap a key weapon.
'You have to use what you have to your advantage. Stoke are a big side and Rory has an incredibly flat long throw. I think if Rory got injured then they may have a few problems because he is very key to that side. They play football too though and I am sure they will cause one or two problems for teams in the Premier League.'
Zakuani has signed for three months at London Road and scored his first Posh goal in the 2-2 draw with Tranmere Rovers, powering home a Russell Martin corner at the back post. Zakuani was delighted with that goal and admits it is a surreal experience sometimes in training when he looks around the squad.
'I think I am one of the oldest members of the Posh squad,' Zakuani quipped. 'I am only 22-years-old, but there are a lot of young players at this football club. They are handling the pressure well though. We had a little passing game at training and I looked around the players in my little circle and I was the oldest.
'I am not used to that. At Fulham and Stoke I was one of the youngest players and now I am one of the oldest, but the lads are a talented bunch and I am sure we can start moving up the league table soon. I was pleased to get my first goal for the club and I hope it is the first of many because the onus is on myself and Craig Morgan at set-pieces because we are not the biggest side in the world,' Zakuani concluded.'
The football club would like to thank House of Flags Display Solutions for the flag was used in the match day magazine and also in the photographs that appear on theposh.com. You can find out more about what the company has to offer by visiting their website at www.flags.co.uk.
They were very helpful in acquiring the flag for us and the service they provided was excellent, so if you need a flag, we recommend that you use House of Flags Display Solutions.
