"I am not scared of making mistakes" - Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz 

Picture this: the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa is packed to the rafters as Mumbai City FC prepare to clash against one of their fiercest rivals. The atmosphere at the ground has defied all the dreariness that has usually surrounded top-level sport in the COVID-19 era and has, for a moment or two, made people believe that things can become alright again.

The Mumbai City FC players line up for the national anthem. The Indian footballers sing it with as much gusto as they have ever done, with the masses of people in the stands also joining in.

A few who have not watched an Indian Super League fixture but have always wanted to live that experience, begin their quizzical conversations around how both ISL teams look (from the outside).

A spectator tries to identify who Mumbai City FC’s goalkeeper could be. His initial reaction is to point towards Ahmed Jahouh and Mourtada Fall. Not because that person hasn’t seen some of the wizardry they are capable of, but because both, due to their build, seem ideal goalkeepers for Mumbai City FC.

Among those, there is also another individual who has watched Mumbai City FC play countless times and is attuned to every fine detail. He corrects his friend and tells that neither of Fall or Jahouh are Mumbai City FC’s goalkeepers.

Unsurprisingly, a bit of head-scratching ensues. Well, at least until Mohammad Nawaz stands under the Mumbai City FC crossbar, tightens his glove and almost provokes the opposition forwards to have a tilt at goal. The head-scratching among people who haven’t watched Nawaz play becomes a lot more frantic.

They start off with the usual rhetorical. A keeper can’t be so short, he does not have any reach at all and what will he do if strikers try to chip the ball over his head?

The public jury has, after looking at all possible physical characteristics, already delivered its verdict – the verdict being that Nawaz isn’t just good enough to play in the ISL, let alone for a club like Mumbai City FC.

A quarter into the game, though, something happens. Something that makes the entire PJN Stadium sit up and take notice. This goalkeeper, who people thought wasn’t tall enough to thwart opposition attempts at goal, flies like a gazelle – one-handed and at full stretch to palm a shot onto the post. A shot, lest we forget, was destined for the top corner.

All of a sudden, the murmurs of discontent morph into a rapturous applause. The spectator who had begun the entire question-answer session about the keeper is the first to chime in, “He may not be tall but he’s pretty darn good, isn’t he”?

Ever since his debut in the ISL, Nawaz has had to battle countless queries about his height and if he can sustain himself as a top-drawer goalkeeper. However, he has not bothered himself with much of that chatter, instead insisting that his goal is only to improve.

“Every goal I concede, people talk about my height. I have gotten used to it now (chuckles). It doesn’t affect me anymore. I just want to keep improving,” Nawaz told Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview.

It is quite revealing that the Mumbai City FC goalkeeper has adopted this kind of mindset, especially in a country where everyone (rightly or wrongly) has an opinion about everything. Had it been an experienced keeper, it would’ve been a lot easier. For someone like Nawaz, who is just 21, this is indicative of the incredible mentality he boasts.

Speaking of his mentality, there is also another intriguing attribute that Nawaz possesses – an attribute not many youngsters are blessed with but one that seems imperative to succeed at the highest level and at a team like Mumbai City FC.

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Nawaz has continued playing out from the back for Mumbai City FC

In the past few years, Nawaz has, through his stints at FC Goa and Mumbai City FC, shown an inclination to play out from the back – something that is riddled with plenty of risks because, well, it looks very good when it comes off but relatively tragicomic when it doesn’t.

That, of course, means that he has made mistakes. In fact, he made an error in the first game he played for the Gaurs against NorthEast United FC. Thankfully, though, he is someone who doesn’t pay much heed to the mistakes that he has committed.

He tries to learn from it – as all good footballers do. Yet, he doesn’t dwell on it long enough to detrimentally affect the next time he tries to play out from the back.

“My biggest strength is that I forget my mistakes very quickly. I don’t think about it too much and try to forget it immediately. Obviously, I learn from my mistakes and try not to repeat it but I am not scared of making mistakes. I try to correct it and do it in the right way the next time,” Nawaz elaborated.

With Nawaz idolizing the likes of Ederson (Manchester City keeper), Iker Casillas (former Real Madrid keeper) and Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern Munich keeper), it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out the vast reserves of self-confidence at his disposal.

Nawaz has also worked under coaches who have completely trusted him and have given him the belief that he can continue playing out from the back, despite the risk of failing and leaving the team open to counter-attacks.

“Since I was 12, I was like this only (playing out from the back). I got the confidence to believe in this ability during my time under Lobera. The playing style (under Des Buckingham at Mumbai City FC) is not very different. He trusts me and I am trying to do what he asks of me," Nawaz said.

The goalkeeping coach (David Coles) and the head coach are all very supportive here (at Mumbai City FC). The goalkeeping coach is of a similar stature to me and has trained some big names. So it has been massive help to me at Mumbai City FC,” Nawaz added.

Having said that, everything hasn’t been plain sailing for the youngster. In the 2020-21 season, he only featured 10 times for FC Goa and was frozen out towards the end of the campaign.

“It was a very difficult moment (not playing in the second half of the season). But I was working hard because I knew I had to keep going. I kept telling myself that there is a long way to go for me. I was more focused when I wasn’t playing and I kept training hard,” the keeper quipped.

Nawaz kept a clean sheet on his Mumbai City FC debut (Pic Credits: Mumbai City FC)

A reward, as it often happens after hours of hard work, arrived in November 2021. Not only did Nawaz start Mumbai City FC’s ISL opener this campaign, he also kept a clean sheet and underlined that he has what it takes to be a constant fixture in any ISL outfit. That it came against FC Goa only added to the theatre.

Thus, there is plenty to learn from this beautiful story Nawaz has weaved for himself. He has, at times, confronted pre-conceived notions and answered them through his innate talent. On other occasions, the Mumbai City FC goalkeeper has also illustrated that the best way to not repeat mistakes isn't by avoiding them but by doing them better.

In a microcosm, that is perhaps emblematic of Mumbai City FC too. Mumbai City FC have a very clear blueprint for how they want to play. Even if it has come at the cost of conceding a few goals, they have remained steadfast in that approach.

Nawaz, too, might have endured the odd nervous glance over his shoulder, especially after an error that led to a goal. Yet, very rarely has he sulked and allowed one moment in a game to define a season (for Mumbai City FC) and, of course, a blossoming career.

Mohammad Nawaz has been brilliant for Mumbai City FC this season (Pic Credits: Mumbai City FC)

As far as public perception is concerned, there will still be instances when he will be dubbed not tall enough. In people’s minds, a keeper is conceptualized as tall, lanky and someone who can be a shot-stopper primarily.

But when Nawaz flies and pulls off saves that would make any tall goalkeeper proud, those murmurs will quickly fall on deaf ears. The penalty save against Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri is a perfect example.

A great man had once said, it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight that matters but the size of the fight in the dog. Nawaz embraces that philosophy more (arguably) than any other footballer in the ISL.

That he is pretty good at it and is not afraid to make mistakes tells you there is plenty more to come from this brave and feisty Indian goalkeeper, who not only challenges previously-held beliefs but also actively tries to prove otherwise.