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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  Indian footballers on the move
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Indian footballers on the move

Over the last five years, four Indian players have bagged contracts with foreign clubs

(From left) Subrata Pal; Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Romeo Fernandes; and Sunil Chhetri.Premium
(From left) Subrata Pal; Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Romeo Fernandes; and Sunil Chhetri.

NEW DELHI :

There is a certain romance attached to Brazilian football, especially for Indian fans, many of whom support the Brazilian national team in world cups. It was thus a moment of pride when Goan winger Romeo Fernandes turned out for the Brazilian professional club Atlético Paranaense on 3 May.

Fernandes is the first Indian to play a professional game in Brazil. His debut against Nacional PR, which lasted just over 20 minutes, came less than five months after another Indian, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, became the first Indian to play for a top division club in Europe. Sandhu started as goalkeeper for Norwegian club Stabaek on 18 January. “Big Indian, big hands", ran a local newspaper headline on the 6ft, 5-inch goalkeeper.

Fernandes is 22; Sandhu is 23—they are part of a generation of Indian footballers that is slowly breaking into the traditional power centres of football, making their way into European and South American clubs.

After Mohammed Salim played for Scottish club Celtic Football Club (FC) in two friendlies in 1936, it took 63 long years before another Indian appeared on a foreign club’s roster. Bhaichung Bhutia signed a three-year contract with English second division club Bury FC in 1999.

Something has changed since then, despite India’s lowly standing in world football. In the last five years alone, India has exported four players. Sunil Chhetri, 30, signed on for American Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City in March 2010 and then won a contract with the Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal in 2012-13. He played for their B team. Indian goalkeeper Subrata Pal, 28, joined top Danish side FC Vestsjaelland in January 2014 and played for the reserve team. Fernandes and Sandhu have followed in their footsteps.

“I think it’s a brilliant advert for Indian football," Chhetri says. “Till a few years ago, it used to be such a big deal when an Indian footballer was even associated with a club abroad. When Bhaichung signed for Bury FC, there was a buzz and it lent belief to young professional footballers that if you did things correctly, there was no telling where you could end up playing your football. And that’s exactly what’s happening."

The three primary reasons for this development are football’s increasing interest in the Indian market, the growing level of professionalism in the domestic set-up and the Indian Super League (ISL), which was first played in October, showcasing Indian talent to the world.

“Football is, at the end of the day, a business, and India is a big untapped market," says Dhruv Ratra, chief executive officer of Anglian Management Group, a football management firm that was instrumental in Fernandes and Pal bagging their respective contracts. “Having an Indian player on board means the clubs can reach out to more fans and sponsors. Almost everyone wants to make a connection with India now."

While a few Indian players are breaking new barriers, the national team still does not have a cohesive playing style it can be identified with. It is currently 147 in the Fifa rankings.

Chhetri, however, says Indian footballers still have a lot to offer the sport. “What we may lack in technique, we make up for in hard work," he says. “A lot of times, coaches and teams need players like that, players who put their head down and work their socks off."

“It is true that India doesn’t really have a footballing identity," says Ratra. “But what it has is a lot of
variety. Players from Punjab, someone like Gurpreet, are big and strong; players from the North-East have speed; players from Goa have a lot of stamina. We have almost every body type that football needs."

The lanky Sandhu, plying his trade in the Norwegian cold, says India’s potential as a market for football will present more of its players with opportunities. “Smarter countries and smarter clubs are looking at the bigger picture," he says over the phone.

Chhetri, though, believes the football world is too ruthless for players to bag contracts simply because clubs see it as a smart commercial step. “Indian players are getting better. No one signs you or is interested in you just because they are curious about your country and the football played there," he says.

Sukhvinder Singh, managing director of player management company Libero Sports India, which manages young Indian players like Raju Gaikwad and Robin Singh, explains: “While the heightened interest in India opens up doors, the player still has to be of good quality to earn a spot on a team. The coach or technical head of any team would select players based on their footballing abilities and not worry about the marketing or visibility issues."

It works both ways: exposed to the best practices in coaching and infrastructure in the game, Indian footballers in Europe and South America have a chance to improve their skills manifold.

“I think the first and foremost thing is the basic infrastructure, the training pitches and the match grounds," Sandhu told the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website on his experience in Norway. “They are top class and the amount of professionalism in every single department and the level of coaching, how to nurture a player, is also very good and positive.

“I have been working on every single aspect of goalkeeping, just to make myself faster and agile and quicker. The training methods are different and everything over here is concentrated on your body balance, core strength," he said.

With the popularity of football growing in India, thanks to exposure to the sport via television and the Internet, facilities have also improved. “The football structures are improving in the country, and the level of coaching is constantly getting better," Singh says. “A number of good foreign coaches are coming into India, and they certainly help put in a good word about certain players in international networks."

The first edition of the ISL, which saw international football stars, albeit ageing ones, play alongside local players, was held in 2014. It has already become the world’s fourth most-attended football league. It managed to tie up the burgeoning talent and market potential into one big spectacle and broadcast it to the world.

Fernandes has, within a year, gone from playing for ISL team FC Goa to making his debut in Brazil. FC Goa’s coach Zico, the former Brazil player, reportedly recommended Fernandes to Atlético Paranaense.

“The ISL has made the world stand up and take notice of Indian football," says experienced Indian defender Gouramangi Singh, who played for Chennaiyin FC in the ISL. “It was on the news all over the world. People wanted to see how good the Indian players were, and a lot of them made a mark. I have been travelling with the Indian team for 10 years, and nowadays everyone is more interested in it; people ask me about the football structure in India."

Ratra, though, warns: “It will take at least a generation before top European clubs start taking Indian football seriously."

“Of course, we have to be realistic about where we stand right now," adds Gouramangi. “It’s not the Manchester Uniteds of the world that are interested in us. But the process has started."

The short history of Indian players in foreign clubs

Mohammed Salim

Joined Mohammedan Sporting Club in 1934, after a year in East Bengal FC, and helped the Kolkata club to three Calcutta Football League titles in a row. Travelled to Scotland in 1936 and played barefoot in exhibition matches to high praise from the local press.

Bhaichung Bhutia

India’s most celebrated footballer was the first from the country to sign a professional contract with a foreign club, when he entered into a three-year deal with Bury. He only got a handful of matches, and little playing time, before coming back. Stints with Malaysian clubs were not fruitful either.

Sunil Chhetri

The Indian team’s former captain and its highest-ever goalscorer had a forgettable time at the US club, and played just three matches for the premier division Portuguese side’s reserve team. He now plays for I-League champions Bengaluru FC.

Subrata Pal

The first Indian goalkeeper to sign a contract with an European club, Pal played for the reserve team for a year before being released by the club. He is India’s first-choice goalkeeper, and currently plays for Salgaocar FC.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

The former East Bengal player is the first Indian to actually play a match in the European top flight, when he made his senior team debut for Norway’s Stabaek on 22 April, keeping a clean sheet in a 6-0 win.

Romeo Fernandes

The Goan winger made his debut for the senior team on 3 May, after being loaned to the Brazilian club for a short term by I-League club Dempo FC. Though Paranaense had the option of extending the loan, they released Fernandes on 25 May after a four-month stint.

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Published: 27 May 2015, 08:34 PM IST
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