Indian football and its footballers are definitely going places. After the success of the Indian Super League last year and the recent rise in its FIFA ranking, Indian football is on a high. And in keeping with that is the rising profile of 23 years old goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who made his first competitive début for Stabaek Football in Norway on April 22 and managed to keep a clean-sheet in his side's 0-6 win away from home in the first round of the 2015 Norwegian Football Cup.
Sandhu had put pen to paper on a three-year contract offered by Norwegian Tippeligaen side, Stabaek, last year, on Indian independence day. For months, he had been waiting in the wings as the second choice to Sayouba Mande, the Ivory Coast keeper. But, on Wednesday, the goalkeeper finally achieved his goal of becoming the first Indian player to play for a top division club in Europe in a competitive match.
As he tweeted before the match:
"I'm really proud and really happy that it happened. I was waiting for the chance – the team won, that's the main thing," Sandhu told the club's website in an interview. "I'm the only Indian player to play for a top division club in Europe in a competitive match so, I'm lucky," he added.
Sandhu may be the first Indian to play a first-division competitive match in Europe but he wasn't the first to play professionally in Europe. Mohammed Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Paul have preceded him.
Sandhu, a goalkeeper, had been tipped to become the first Indian to play in the English Premier League. “Both Everton and Wigan Athletic are interested in him," the former goalkeeper John Burridge told Gulf News back in August. "He just needs to get the work permit.” Wigan were impressed with Sandhu when he spent a one-month trial there in 2013. Unfortunately, Sandhu wasn't signed by any of these clubs.
Sandhu started off at Chandigarh's St Stephen's Football Academy in 2000 and joined East Bengal in 2010. He has played for the India Under-19 and Under-23 teams and even made one senior team appearance.
After Gurpreet Singh, the next hope for an Indian playing abroad is Brandon Fernandes. He’s only 19 years old and has already had trials with Leicester City, Sunderland and Reading FC in England. He’s trained and played in Spain, Belgium and Portugal. He had a two-year stint with ASD (Africa Soccer Developments) Cape Town. He apparently had a very good trial with Reading FC in November of 2012, but they didn’t end up signing him.
Here is a look at the players that have gone abroad before Gurpreet and tried to make a mark.
Mohammed Salim was the first Indian footballer to play abroad. His career started in 1926 with Chittaranjan Football Club and grew when he joined Mohammedan Sporting Club a year later. He eventually made his way to the UK and in 1936, playing barefoot, as Indians were most comfortable doing, he impressed selectors at the Scottish club Celtic. He was signed but almost immediately became homesick and returned to India. He rejoined Mohammedan Sporting Club, where he finished his career in 1938.
Before signing for Bury FC in 1999, he had unsuccessful trials at three Premier League clubs – Fulham, West Brom and Aston Villa. Most of his three years at the Greater Manchester club were injury plagued with a recurring knee injury. His greatest honour was appearing in a pre-season friendly match against Manchester United in 2001. But poor stamina levels meant that he couldn't play for more than 15 minutes in the game. However, Bhutia holds the record of being the first Asian-born player to score a goal in a professional English game.
Sunil Chhetri’s came into the limelight when he played for JCT Mills from 2005-'08, scoring 21 goals. In September 2009, the Hindustan Times reported that Chhetri had signed a three-year deal to play for Queen’s Park Rangers, but was denied a work permit because India aren’t in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings. In March 2010, he had a trial with Kansas City Wizards, a Major League Soccer club and a few weeks later, he officially signed. He played one pre-season friendly match and then came on as a substitute against Manchester United in a mid-season friendly. The next day, he went back to India to play for the national team until the 2011 AFC Cup and he left the club. That was the last of his stint abroad.
Subrata Paul hails from the suburb of Sodepur in Kolkata. His acrobatic skills as a goalkeeper have won him the nickname Spiderman. He started off at the Tata Football Academy before joining Mohun Bagan in 2004 and then East Bengal thereafter. Subrata had his first trial abroad with the Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps in 2010. In the summer of 2012, he had a trial-plus-training stint with the German fourth division side RB Leipzig.
In January of 2014, Subrata Pal signed for Danish first division club FC Vestsjælland. This made him the first Indian goalkeeper to play abroad. Having signed on as the third keeper, he only got playing time for the reserve team and now is back in India playing in the I-League for Salgaocar.
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Sandhu had put pen to paper on a three-year contract offered by Norwegian Tippeligaen side, Stabaek, last year, on Indian independence day. For months, he had been waiting in the wings as the second choice to Sayouba Mande, the Ivory Coast keeper. But, on Wednesday, the goalkeeper finally achieved his goal of becoming the first Indian player to play for a top division club in Europe in a competitive match.
As he tweeted before the match:
Just on my way to the stadium - making my competitive debut for Stabaek in the Cup tonight #TimeToDeliver @Stabaek pic.twitter.com/2LAjzBNnfu
— Gurpreet Singh (@GurpreetGK) April 22, 2015"I'm really proud and really happy that it happened. I was waiting for the chance – the team won, that's the main thing," Sandhu told the club's website in an interview. "I'm the only Indian player to play for a top division club in Europe in a competitive match so, I'm lucky," he added.
Happy to get a clean sheet on my debut for @Stabaek tonight - thanks coach! #HitForSix #ProudIndian
— Gurpreet Singh (@GurpreetGK) April 22, 2015Sandhu may be the first Indian to play a first-division competitive match in Europe but he wasn't the first to play professionally in Europe. Mohammed Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Paul have preceded him.
Sandhu, a goalkeeper, had been tipped to become the first Indian to play in the English Premier League. “Both Everton and Wigan Athletic are interested in him," the former goalkeeper John Burridge told Gulf News back in August. "He just needs to get the work permit.” Wigan were impressed with Sandhu when he spent a one-month trial there in 2013. Unfortunately, Sandhu wasn't signed by any of these clubs.
Sandhu started off at Chandigarh's St Stephen's Football Academy in 2000 and joined East Bengal in 2010. He has played for the India Under-19 and Under-23 teams and even made one senior team appearance.
After Gurpreet Singh, the next hope for an Indian playing abroad is Brandon Fernandes. He’s only 19 years old and has already had trials with Leicester City, Sunderland and Reading FC in England. He’s trained and played in Spain, Belgium and Portugal. He had a two-year stint with ASD (Africa Soccer Developments) Cape Town. He apparently had a very good trial with Reading FC in November of 2012, but they didn’t end up signing him.
Here is a look at the players that have gone abroad before Gurpreet and tried to make a mark.
Mohammed Salim
Credit: Wikipedia Commons
Mohammed Salim was the first Indian footballer to play abroad. His career started in 1926 with Chittaranjan Football Club and grew when he joined Mohammedan Sporting Club a year later. He eventually made his way to the UK and in 1936, playing barefoot, as Indians were most comfortable doing, he impressed selectors at the Scottish club Celtic. He was signed but almost immediately became homesick and returned to India. He rejoined Mohammedan Sporting Club, where he finished his career in 1938.
Bhaichung Bhutia
Credit: Raveendran/AFP
Before signing for Bury FC in 1999, he had unsuccessful trials at three Premier League clubs – Fulham, West Brom and Aston Villa. Most of his three years at the Greater Manchester club were injury plagued with a recurring knee injury. His greatest honour was appearing in a pre-season friendly match against Manchester United in 2001. But poor stamina levels meant that he couldn't play for more than 15 minutes in the game. However, Bhutia holds the record of being the first Asian-born player to score a goal in a professional English game.
Sunil Chhetri
Credit: Manjunath Kiran/AFP
Sunil Chhetri’s came into the limelight when he played for JCT Mills from 2005-'08, scoring 21 goals. In September 2009, the Hindustan Times reported that Chhetri had signed a three-year deal to play for Queen’s Park Rangers, but was denied a work permit because India aren’t in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings. In March 2010, he had a trial with Kansas City Wizards, a Major League Soccer club and a few weeks later, he officially signed. He played one pre-season friendly match and then came on as a substitute against Manchester United in a mid-season friendly. The next day, he went back to India to play for the national team until the 2011 AFC Cup and he left the club. That was the last of his stint abroad.
Subrata Paul
Credit: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP
Subrata Paul hails from the suburb of Sodepur in Kolkata. His acrobatic skills as a goalkeeper have won him the nickname Spiderman. He started off at the Tata Football Academy before joining Mohun Bagan in 2004 and then East Bengal thereafter. Subrata had his first trial abroad with the Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps in 2010. In the summer of 2012, he had a trial-plus-training stint with the German fourth division side RB Leipzig.
In January of 2014, Subrata Pal signed for Danish first division club FC Vestsjælland. This made him the first Indian goalkeeper to play abroad. Having signed on as the third keeper, he only got playing time for the reserve team and now is back in India playing in the I-League for Salgaocar.