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The new face of Haryana football, Manandeep Singh, is turning heads all over the country with his superb attacking displays. Dubbed as the “angry young man from Haryana” by fans and friends alike, he is one of the brightest prospects for the Indian Football team.
Name: Manandeep SinghPlace of birth: Hisar, HaryanaDate of birth: 3rd of November 1992Height:180cmPosition: StrikerCurrent Club: FC Air IndiaState Represented: Haryana
Siddharth Sharma: First of all, Congratulations on making the provisional side for the AFC Challenge Cup.
Manandeep: Thanks a lot.
Siddharth Sharma: You took up football at a very young age(8), who was the person who first pushed you towards football?
Manandeep: There is a coach in my city Hisar (Mr. Madan Singh Rathore), and he is a really old man. I was in the games period in school where he saw me playing, and said that if I wanted to play I should come (to the training ground) and that we practice every day. He encouraged me to take up football and even when I was playing nationals, he constantly backed me. He was the only coach who trained me before turning pro.
Siddharth Sharma: And who are your idols or favourite players?
Manandeep: I really like Rooney, and Ronaldo.
Siddharth Sharma: Last year, the Indian Arrows(now Pailan Arrows) surprised everyone by coming 9th in the table. What areas did Des Bulpin lay emphasis on in training?
Manandeep: He made us stronger. He stressed on strength, gymming and basically everything important for the game.
Manan for the Indian Arrows
Siddharth Sharma: You also pulled off a surprise win against Mohun Bagan in a nine goal thriller. What went into that win? How did you lift your spirits after going down?
Manandeep: It was our last game, and we wanted to finish in a better way. With three points we could have gone much higher up on the table.
Siddharth Sharma: You’ve played for India from the U14 level…
Manandeep: Yeah, I played in Iran in the U14 Football festival.
Always winning aerial battles
Siddharth Sharma: And as part of the Indian age group sides, you’ve travelled to the US, UK, Germany etc for exposure trips. Does this give you a little bit of an advantage as compared to other upcoming players who haven’t trained abroad?
Manandeep: Its not that much of an advantage, but its a good thing when you practice outside India and you play matches with them(other countries), you understand their culture, their football, how they train. It’s good to see whats going on abroad.
Siddharth Sharma: So, how did you catch the eye of the national selectors when you were about 12-13 years of age?
Manandeep:I was playing for Haryana at the U14 level, and the tournament took place in Chandigarh. I was the top scorer(15 goals), so they called me for the India camp and that’s how it started.
Siddharth Sharma: So, how does it feel to be called up for the AFC Challenge Cup squad at just 19?
Manandeep: (Smiles) It’s great, I cant describe it in words. It’s a dream come true. I still cant believe it. As a child, I just wanted to play at U14, U15, U16. I was always thinking,”Can I make it? Can I Make it?” It was always on my mind. It’s my dream.
Siddharth Sharma: The I-League is dominated by foreign strikers, so what do you think is the reason behind it?
Manandeep: Hmm(Laughs). They are really good players.
Siddharth Sharma: Being from Haryana, we have noticed that players like you, Robin Singh and other players from Punjab and Haryana are physically stronger than the ones from the other parts of the country. Does this depend on the pro-sport mentality of the people?
Manandeep: It’s not really about the mentality of the people. If a person is not playing a sport, they are also quite strong. So we are naturally strong.
Siddharth Sharma: This season, you joined strugglers Air India(finished 11th out of 14 teams) from the Pailan Arrows. Now, your team is 8th in the table and you’ve performed some giant killing acts beating Dempo and Champions Salgaocar. What is the cause of this?
Manandeep: We just train hard, and our coaches and management are very good and they are very positive. We have a lot of young players, and we wanted to show everybody that Air India FC can play good football. That was what we were thinking about.
No-one can stop him!
Siddharth Sharma: So do you think you can climb even higher up the table?
Manandeep: In every I-League game, every team fights for three points. If we fight well, we can also go ahead. If we really want it, well play our heart out and try to be our best and go much higher.
Siddharth Sharma: In yourself and Sandesh Gadkari, you have two of the I-League’s top Indian scorers as of now with six goals each. So how is your on-field chemistry with him and the rest of the team?
Manandeep: On the field, off the field… we are young players. We are like a brothers, not only Sandesh..with everybody.
Siddharth Sharma: Now onto a pressing subject, we can see that the standard of refereeing has been questionable. So do you think that for the I-League to improve, we need to improve the standard of refereeing?
Manandeep: I can say something, but I really dont want to comment on it.
Siddharth Sharma: On to the PLS now. Do you think that this kind of a system, if implemented across the country and with the inclusion of I-League players can be good for Indian football?
Manandeep: Its just a two months tournament, and rest of the year..A player cant do anything. Fans too want to see players the whole year and not just for two months.
A Future coach?
Siddharth Sharma: In the I-League this season, most of the matches that are being telecasted are held in Goa and Kolkata. None of the matches in Shillong or Kerala are telecasted. So will it help attract new viewers, as the places that have televised matches already have a loads of fans?
Manandeep: No, it wont. My opinion is that every game should be telecasted so that people can watch games, get to know the players. Its good for the players too then.
Siddharth Sharma: Do you want to play abroad?
Manandeep:Yes, I want to play abroad.
Siddharth Sharma: Would you like to say something to the fans, to support the national team?
Manandeep: Yeah, obviously. When a fan comes, it encourages us. Not me, or anyone in particular..the whole team wants to play for them. We always try to give our best but when we have home support, we play better. If you are standing in a fight, and there is someone behind you..you can fight better. That is what fans do for us.
Siddharth Sharma: Thanks a lot Manan for taking the time out to give us this interview.
Manandeep: Your welcome.
