"Never did any formal training" - Chennaiyin FC's Samik Mitra outlines his football roots and how his love for the color red kickstarted his career

Chennaiyin FC custodian Samik Mitra has gone from strength to strength over the course of the ISL 2022-23 season.

The youngster began the campaign as the Marina Machans' third-choice goalkeeper but has started their last nine league games. He has managed two clean sheets, with his predecessors managing just one in ten. However, this wasn't always the plan for Mitra. In fact, when he began playing the sport, he never expected to become a professional.

The 22-year-old revealed all that and more during an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda. When asked about his earliest footballing memory, the Chennaiyin goalkeeper said:

"Earliest memory - my father was also a goalkeeper. That is where it started. He used to take me to the football ground because he used to train. He used to make saves, and I also used to play with the ball, make some saves.

"I never did any formal training, and to be honest, never had this (thought) that I would be a footballer because I used to be good at studies. Football was a thing for me to be fit and was good for my health."

Despite being a goalkeeper himself, Mitra's father did not have much of an influence on his son's decision to pursue the sport.

"No, he never had an influence; he never told me to play football and all," Samik said. "It just happened suddenly. I didn't have any formal training of goalkeeping or anything when I went for a trial, and it just happened. I went there, I stood there."

Rather, it was the colour red that played a key role in the first step Samik took towards becoming a professional. He explained how his love for red landed him in a trial with East Bengal, saying:

"One day, East Bengal had organised a trial in our academy, a regional club in our place. I was very impressed with the colour red and because East Bengal's colour was red, I went there wearing my father's shoes and gloves.

"The only thing I knew is what I learnt by seeing my father because he was a goalkeeper. And I hate running, so standing in the goal was good for me. I gave my birth certificate and said 'I'll also give the trials.' I naturally made some saves, and they said 'Okay, you're a good goalkeeper.' That's how it happened, my first trial."

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"I never thought I'd get the call" - Chennaiyin FC's Samik Mitra on his most memorable moments so far

Samik Mitra is still in the early stages of his career and at 22, he has played just ten senior games for Chennaiyin. However, he has faced his share of ups and downs since he made football a profession.

Even after making a strong impression in his first trial with East Bengal, Mitra still didn't think he would make it big in the sport. He said:

"Even after the trial, I (never thought) I'd play at a big level. Like I said, I was very impressed with the colour red. I got the tracksuit, and I was happy with it. I thought I'll play for my fun, and I kept doing that.

"From there, some changes happened, I became more mature, and I thought 'I can do this as a profession.' From then, the real hard work started, and I became more serious about it. I went for training every day and worked hard. I got into the Indian (U19) team and then to Chennaiyin FC."

Mitra spent a couple of seasons with East Bengal before joining the Marina Machans' reserve team in 2017. He then transitioned to the senior team in 2020 (details via Transfermarkt).

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When asked about the most memorable moment in his journey so far, Mitra named the call from the Marina Machans and getting selected for India's U16 team. He looked back on both moments fondly, saying:

"In this journey, signing for Chennaiyin FC was a big thing for me. At that time, I never thought I'd get the call or offer to sign for them, and it was obviously a big moment.

"But I'll still say the moment when I got selected for the India U16 team. That was a big moment because I was just playing for East Bengal in the junior I-League. We didn't qualify for the main rounds, but we had a chance to play with the Indian team."

He continued:

"I got the last 15 minutes of playing time. When the coach came and told me 'You are selected for the Indian team,' was a very big moment. The journey of going to the higher level - that's where it started. I knew these were the levels I had to achieve."

Mitra has tried to maintain those levels since then, and that has culminated in what has been a promising career so far for Chennaiyin. However, he also leads an interesting life off the pitch with a love for the gym and video games.

"I like to hit the gym a lot and a video game guy. I had a console (here), a PS4, but I sold it off because I was getting into it a lot. I like playing FIFA, Call of Duty, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint and everything," he said.

I thought football maybe wasn't for me - Samik Mitra on most difficult moment of his career so far

Along with the fleating highs, Samik Mitra also faced a difficult low very early on in his career.

The goalkeeper suffered a meniscus injury during his time with the Indian U16 team. The injury left him doubting if he could become a professional footballer, but he resiliently bounced back with some help from Chennaiyin FC. He reflected on that moment and viewed it as a massive learning experience.

"I was injured while I was in the Indian Elite Academy with the India U19s in Goa. I got a meniscus injury, and I was out of the team. I got sent home," Samik Mitra said.

"I had played matches before that, but after the injury, I didn't play matches," he added. Then I got the call from Chennaiyin FC. So that period between signing for Chennaiyin and being left out from the squad because of that injury was a pretty bad moment for me."

He continued:

"I learnt a lot from that time because I was very upset. I thought maybe I was good at studies and football wasn't for me because I was injured and couldn't cope with it, I didn't perform well after recovering. But I still kept going. I went home, and I still kept training. I learnt from that moment. Then Chennaiyin helped me out and signed me."

With those difficulties now behind him, Samik Mitra's career seems to be on an upward trajectory. His next assignment will be Chennaiyin's final game of the ISL 2022-23 season against NorthEast United FC at the 'Marina Arena' on February 24.