Subrata Pal lauds Gurpreet, says its brilliant he is persisting with stint in Europe

Pal, a veteran now has been one of the better custodians in ISL so far

Md Salim to Glasgow Celtics and Bhaichung Bhutia to Bury FC; when it comes to remembering sporadic appearances made by Indians in leagues abroad, these come to mind first. While Sunil Chhetri and a host of other players have tried and failed at featuring prominently for a top tier foreign outfit, our current national team and former East Bengal custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has seemed to have settled in his role at Norweigan outfit Stabæk.

Talking about his progress exclusively to Sports Keeda, compatriot and senior in the national team - Subrata Pal asserted, “A lot of us are sceptical when it comes to deciding if we want to continue playing as a reserve there (for a foreign club) or return to India and feature in the first team here. Gurpreet fortunately has age on his side and I am really happy and proud that he has stuck to his decision of playing there and didn't rush back for ISL.”

Pal, interestingly had a stint at FC Vestejaelland of Denmark himself. Recollecting that he added, “My stint there was really enriching. However I had already turned 27 then and from what I could gauge, I wouldn't have got much playing time there.

I was of the opinion that at that age I would rather be playing in the I League here than warm the benches there.”

Labelling the tussle between Gurpreet and him to be India’s number 1 shot stopper as ‘healthy’, Pal asserted, “It’s very important that both of us keep learning from one another. The process of improvement never stops.

We meet during these camps preceding the games and try and help each other out.

He is a lot junior to me and I am glad he is investing his time in Europe. If I am not wrong, his team has also qualified for the Europa League for next season. Such exposure will only hone his skills further.”

Returning back to the ‘playing at home vs away’ debate, Pal reiterated, “We have great players here too; in fact if the I League and the ISL were to merge and we were to have a 18 team league, there would still be good players waiting on the sidelines.

I thus believe that with improved infrastructure, playing in India is as good as playing anywhere else in the world. Its important though that we give our 100% and keep striving to improve our standards.”