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Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India's number one goalkeeper, has left Norwegian top-flight outfit Stabaek and is heading home to India. His stint in Europe wasn't the first time an Indian footballer plied his trade abroad, but the 6ft 4in stopper still broke quite a few records along the way.
The 25-year-old is poised to play in the Indian Super League for the first time in his career, as a move to Bengaluru FC has been all but confirmed by the player himself.
That said, Gurpreet leaves behind an important legacy at Stabaek, having been the first Indian to play in the club's colours. Here are the five records Gurpreet set during his time at Stabaek.
#1 First Indian to start a top division league in Europe
While Mohammed Salim was the first Indian to turn out for a European club at Celtic in 1936, Gurpreet's time at Stabaek saw him earn the record of being the first Indian player to play in a top division league in Europe.
The Norwegian Eliteserien has been dominated by the likes of Rosenborg and Molde, and Stabaek last won the title back in 2008. Gurpreet made only three Eliteserien appearances in three years at Stabaek, but that was enough for him to enter the history books.
#2 First Indian to play in the Europa League
Another of Gurpreet's numerous achievements at Stabaek was starting a Europa League game. The lanky shot-stopper was part of the playing eleven that took to the field against Welsh outfit Connah's Quay in a Europa League qualifier.
Although Stabaek went on to win the two-legged tie, Gurpreet's action was short lived as he went off nursing a broken thumb inside the first half hour of the first leg. Those 30 minutes, however, were enough for the man from Chandigarh to reach another Indian football milestone.
#3 First Indian to captain a European top-flight club
During his time at Stabaek, Gurpreet captained De Blaa on more than one occasion. It was in April 2016 that he was part of the Stabaek team that thrashed Korsvoll IL and FK Sparta in a combined 11-2 scoreline in the NM Cup. Gurpreet started both the matches and also guarded the Stabaek goal in two more NM Cup matches last year but failed to lead his team to cup glory.
The then 24-year-old kept just one clean sheet in four NM Cup 2016 games, but his record of only three goals conceded in those games serves to highlight how impressive he was in the limited amount time he played.
#4 First Indian in FIFA 17 Ultimate Team
As if breaking records on the pitch wasn't enough, Gurpreet also became the first Indian player to feature in EA Sports FIFA's Ultimate Team in FIFA 17. Indian footballers rarely make headlines in the console gaming scene, but with Gurpreet's first appearance, it seems times are slowly changing.
In case you are wondering what it is, the FIFA Ultimate Team is a game mode which allows a user to build “All-Star” squads to play with online against other people. In this game mode, the user is able to acquire players from various teams to build their own squad. The way the user acquires players is through packs and gets money for the packs by playing in games or trading their existing players on this auction system.
#5 First Indian with 80+ rating in any version of FIFA
Staying with the virtual world, Gurpreet received an 80+ rating in the latest FIFA Mobile update, making him one of the top goalkeepers in the mobile version of the EA Sports FIFA series. That made him the first and only Indian so far to get an 80+ rating in any version of FIFA.
He received impressive attribute ratings of 88 for diving, 84 for positioning, 85 for handling and 86 for reflexes in his FIFA Mobile card and etched his name in the history books of the gaming world as the first Indian to make waves in EA Sports FIFA.
