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“Beta tu ghar aaja, kya rakha hai foreign mein? (Son, you come home what’s there for you abroad?), an 18-year old Amarjeet Mishra swelled up talking to his mother, as he contemplated his future life decisions after playing only one match in his first full-fledged junior season in Portugal. He replied, “Maa, main nahi aa sakta, mera sapna hai aap aur papa yaha aaye (Mom, I won’t come back, I dream of you and dad watching me play here).
Three years ago, the Balrampur born defender took a leap of faith by applying for a Schengen visa to ply his footballing trade abroad. Without a club and little to no playing history in India, his future looked uncertain at best. Cut to 2020, he is now an established member of a third division Portuguese league side, CD Estrela. However, his journey in the lower leagues of Portugal has been one of rejection, redemption and determination.
Just six months before India’s first major international football tournament, the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Amarjeet Mishra found himself in a unique position. Then 16 years of age, he was all set to travel to Mexico with the Indian team that was going to take on the world. A hectic pre-World Cup calendar included international exposure trips in North America and Europe. Exactly a week before his flight to Mexico City, Mishra was told that he’s surplus to the national team’s requirements by coach Luis Norton de Matos.
“It was tough, I didn’t play that well in the exposure trips, although I didn’t think I was the worst, there were many more who were worse than me. After that I went back to my town and took a month’s break, Minerva Academy was calling me back, but I wasn’t in the mental state to go. I spoke to my father and we got my visa done, once I went back to train with them, I told them I’m going to Portugal, they didn’t agree at first, but I convinced them,” Mishra told Sportskeeda.
From Minerva to Lisbon: How a 17-year-old reached Portugal
It was the national team’s U-17 assistant coach, Hugo Martens, who helped him attain trials with various clubs at the youth level, when he decided to go to Portugal. He added. “I was so distraught, a lot of well-wishers told me that you will not be able to make it there and that people who went there before have not been successful. I didn’t listen to them, because I knew I could do something different. Life here has been a struggle, but then I’ve finally reached a point where I’m in the first team. Sadly, COVID-19 might cancel the season, but my goal is to stick around here till I make the first division.”
After trials with multiple youth clubs, Mishra signed a one-year deal with another third division team’s youth extension, Sociedade Uniao 1 Dezembro. However, due to restriction put on minor by FIFA, he could only register two games after he turned 18 in later 2017.
Mishra added, “To be honest, I didn’t play that well and it took me time to adapt, so once my contract ran out I didn’t any extension. I played only two games, but that itself was a positive for me because it took me so long to adapt to the game, that kind of trust helped.”
In 2018, after months without a club, a successful trial with CD Estrela saw him sign a one-year contract with the junior side. This was a time of struggle for the Full-Back, who found it tough to find game time in the first season in his new club.
He added, “I found it tough to adapt in the beginning, the pace was nothing I’ve ever seen before. Even when I was playing in India and exposure tournaments, the pace wasn’t this fast, it was around this time I decided that I will etch my future here.”
Survival to Senior team contract in Portugal
The biggest problem for an 18-year old to survive in the doldrums of Portugal’s lower leagues is money. Apart from the Primera division, players below that struggle to make ends meet with the minimum wage as a yardstick. Mishra’s father, a clerk in Uttar Pradesh’s irrigation department makes a modest amount, but put in all his savings to fulfil his son’s dream. After the initial five to six-month period of uncertainty, Mishra stopped taking any financial help from his father understanding his constraints.
He added, “Yes it was tough, especially in early 2018 because I stopped taking money from my father and during the junior career here, money is low, but during my time at Estrela, I got paid minimum wage, so I saved as much as I could to continue my sporting career. That’s the thing I feel, most people leave early because the money is really bad in the beginning. Compared to that ISL and I-league clubs pay so much, that it becomes a comfortable life. My father gave me a fantastic platform, but I know his means, and now it's my turn to get them here, and I’m fully focused on that.”
Mishra’s decision to continue fighting for a senior team spot in a third division paid a dividend in 2019 when he was offered a senior contract by CD Estrela. A moment of sheer joy after struggling for two and a half years. The club has often been termed as a feeder entity to bigger and higher division outfits such as FC Porto and Benfica.
The likes of former Manchester United midfielder Bebe and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario, all played with Estrela at some point of their career. Despite not being the first-choice full-back, Mishra has played a total of 8 matches in the ongoing Lisboa Division 3 season, highlighting his natural progression from being a junior to a senior team player.
With the third division suspended indefinitely for the next three months, the 19-year old is currently living in a gated community in Lisbon. He said, “Right now, things were going well, I was finally feeling comfortable in Portugal, then coronavirus happened. I was getting much-needed game time, and I think the coaches were liking what I had to offer as well. But, now all I can do is wait. After working this hard, I’m not going back to India.”
Despite specific approaches from Indian clubs, Mishra wants to continue fighting for a higher division spot in Portugal and repay his family’s faith in him. He added, “My family doesn’t watch a lot of football, my father has not watched me play live properly. My dream is to get my parents here with my own money and make them watch my matches.”
The Indian Super League (ISL) and I-league offer security and lucrative contract for youngsters to grow with the hierarchy. However, seven Indians including Amarjeet Mishra have taken the road less travelled in an attempt to play in a top European club. The money and fame might be low, but the reward at the end of the route is second to none. It’s about time India’s scouting network looks beyond its shores to recruit potential talent.
