'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
30-year-old Winand Kiran Madhankumar Bechan was born in Amsterdam, and was regarded as a huge talent at Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam before he travelled the world to play football.
In a recent interview, he not only tells me that but also that the Player of Indian origin would like to play in the I-League one day and coach in India in the future once he retires. Here are the excerpts:
Please tell us a little about yourself? How did you get into football?
Born in the Netherlands, I started playing football when I was about eight years old at a local amateur club FC Amtelland and after two years, Ajax Amsterdam scouted me at the age of 10 to play in the Ajax School of Excellence.
I stayed there for 11 years and signed a seven year contract when I was 16!
Which clubs did you all play for in your career? Where did you enjoy playing the most?
I made my Eredivisie debut at Ajax Amsterdam at the age of 18. After this, I went to Sparta Rotterdam to get more experience, and played there for two years with success. Interestingly, my coach there was Mike Snoei, who is now coaching Pune FC. I regard him as a very good coach!
After two seasons at Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax Amsterdam took me back but I was bought by FC Groningen. After two years in Groningen, I went to FC Den Bosch where I had a very good season and earned a move to Spanish side Hércules Alicante CF, a club who two years ago beat FC Barcelona in La Liga. It’s a very good club and I loved playing in Spain.
After this, I went back to Holland to play for FC Emmen because my daughter was born and I wanted to stay close to her, but after six months I left for Cyprus to join Ermis Aradippou in Larnaca.
I played there for a season and left for Qatar which was a beautiful experience. After the season with Al-Mu’aidar SC, I left to play for FC Atyrau in the Kazakhstan Premier League.
Kazakhstan is another really beautiful country and football is developing very well there as they sign a lot of good foreign players. It will be like Russia in a few years. They have a lot of money as it is an oil rich country.
A year later I moved to China but got a small injury, and I left for Qatar to train with my old club Al-Mu’aidar SC to keep fit and I’m now looking for a move.
You told me you would be interested to play in India. Why?
Kiran Bechan
As for India, I would love to play there!
I think the I-League is getting better and better, and with signing of experienced foreigners, they can bring Indian football to the next level.
I had a chat with coach Mike Snoei before he left for Pune FC, and he also told me that India is an up and coming football nation with a lot of opportunities. My dream is to finish my playing career in India, experience life there. I’d like to play for at least another five years.
Also, I want my daughter to learn Hindi, and after my career, I want to go for my coaching degrees and become a coach in India. [I'll] Maybe even coach the Indian national team one day, you never know.
I played in many countries, and I have see the game. I hope I can reach my goals!
If approached in the past, would you have considered playing for the Indian national team?
I have been invited several times through people to play for the Indian national team, but the problem was always the passport.
India doesn’t give dual citizenship otherwise I would love to play for the Indian national team. Maybe if I play in the I-League, there is still a possibility to play for the national team. I’m only 30 and have at least 5 or 6 years to go before I retire.
