Osama Abdul Mohsen gained international attention when he was tripped by a camerawoman as he and his son fled police at the Hungarian border.
It was an incident that highlighted what many believed to be callous treatment of refugees.
The Syrian soccer coach and his seven-year-old son Zaid had been making a desperate bid to cross into Hungary on their long journey from home.
"It changed my life but the accident was very bad for my child," he said.
"My child was sick for the next three days after the accident but I think it changed my life for the better."
The incident brought him to the attention of a Spanish sports academy which recruited Moshen as a coach.
Osama Abdul Mohsen's son Zaid, left, looks at Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Granada. Source: AAP
He's been living in Madrid for the past seven months with Zaid and another son, 17-year-old Mohammed.
Both boys have settled in well to school and even learnt enough Spanish to translate for their father.
"It's a new life for me, I'm happy here for that new life because now I have a job and I go to training," he said.
"I have a team to train.
"Everything I see is good and I see my future here in Spain because I coach football here in Spain, famous for football and there is more information for coaching for football. I like this life."
But Moshen's wife and two other children remain stuck in the southerrn Turkish town of Mersin, where the family had fled to four years earlier from its war-torn homeland.
He is trying to get visas for his family but it's been a slow process with no guarantees.
"I'm angry for my family not here," he said.
"I hope [they] come here and the war in my country stops. I'm very worried about my family in Turkey because I don't understand why they don't give them a visa for Spain.
"I'm sorry and hope the government here in Spain will slowly manage to get this and bring them here so we can be together."
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