India hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since 1950, and it’s heartbreaking not to see our nation competing at the International stage. Indian football fans have been left frustrated many a time, but Indian footballers have always put in the hard yards to make their country proud. With time, many academics have come up to promote football by providing better training and infrastructure, the most notable being the Tata Football Academy.
Indian Football has seen more footballers coming through the ranks, and with Indian Super League, Indian Football fans can be really excited about India’s bright footballing future. With many young players on display in the I-League 2015-16, let’s take a look at some of the best to have emerged from the season.
5) Surchandra Singh (DSK Shivajians, 22)
The 22-year old from Manipur plays as a holding midfielder, always looking to play balls forward. His performances go unnoticed most of the times, just because he does the proverbial ‘dirty-laundry’. He might not be the biggest, but is well-versed in the dark arts of the game, making crunching tackles, tugging and pulling, and has a hunger of getting the ball back from the opponent at any cost.
Singh helped the back 4 throughout last season, always covering them and intercepting intelligently to stop threatening counters. His midfield partnership with Ongnam Milan Singh was essential to Shivajians losing only one match in the second-half of last season. He didn’t start the season as a regular but went on to make 13 appearances, substituted just once, pointing to the youngster’s huge potential.
4) Nicholas Fernandes (Sporting Club De Goa, 23)
The Goan started his career with Churchill Brothers in the Goa Professional League. Before the start of last season, Fernandes was loaned out to Sporting Clube De Goa, and he had a sensational season, making 14 appearances for the Flaming Orange. He scored two goals in the season, including the third-fast I-League goal ever, in just 16 seconds.
Fernandes was a vital part of the Flaming Orange for much of the last season and has truly been a revelation. The 23-year old had previously been the top scorer of Goa Police Cup and the first round of Goa League 2014-15.
Fernandes has got himself into the limelight after a brilliant debut in the I-League and is one of the brightest youngsters of the country. After an amazing debut season, the Goan will look to build on it to achieve greater heights for himself, and for Indian Football.
3) Avinash Ruidas (East Bengal, 21)
The winger has been a part of the Red and Gold brigade for a couple of years now and has recently been signed on loan by Atletico De Kolkata. This will be his first ever outing in the ISL, and he’ll be raring to go after a very good I-League campaign. The 21-year old started off his career in Mohun Bagan’s youth team and went on to join I-League second division outfit, Bhawanipore.
He first turned up for East Bengal in the Calcutta Football League, where he impressed pundits and coaches as he helped East Bengal win the Cup. Since then, he has been a vital cog for the Red and Gold, making 15 appearances and scoring the one goal against Bengaluru FC. The man from Budge Budge, Kolkata has been slowly establishing himself as one of the best young footballers in the country. It will be exciting to see him develop at Atletico De Kolkata.
2) Malsawmzuala (Bengaluru FC, 18)
Arguably, the best young player in the country right now, Malsawmzuala donned the colors of the champions, Bengaluru FC in I-League 2015-16. The youngster was a pivotal part of the Bengaluru setup last season and was instrumental in their triumph. Also known as Swamtea, the 18-year old hails from Mizoram.
The AIFF Elite Academy graduate plays the role of a holding midfielder, much like N’Golo Kante. The 18-year old has tremendous energy, covers the back 4, intercepts passes, he makes the crunching tackles and releases balls quickly to the forwards. He played 10 matches in the season (out of a total of 16), and he announced himself in Indian Football with a stunner against East Bengal.
The man from Mizoram scored a crucial goal to seal an important 3-1 win in the match. With more and more young footballers coming through every season, and with the advent of Indian Super League, Indian Football is set for a bright future, and this young man is arguably the best among them.
1) Udanta Singh (Bengaluru FC, 19)
The Indian International won the most coveted Young Player of the Year at Football Players’ Association (FPAI) Indian Football Awards. He beat his team-mate, Malsawmzuala to the title. Unlike his team-mate, Singh is more attacking minded as he plays the role of a winger. He has burst onto the international arena too, making his debut for India and has been hailed by Indian coach, Stephen Constantine as a “future superstar”.
Much of the credit of Singh’s development goes to the former Bengaluru coach, Ashley Westwood. Westwood has really done his part for Indian football by developing some bright young talent, and the Englishman gave Singh a lot of game-time during the course of the season. Singh made 12 appearances and scored 1 goal.
The most promising aspect of Singh’s game is his lightning fast pace. He can speed past defenders at will but sometimes dwells on the ball for two long. At 19, that’s not at all an area of concern, as the signs have been extremely promising. Watch out for this talent!
