As a child, Sanjeev Stalin was scared of being alone at night so his parents would rarely leave him on his own even at home. Then, one day his father decided to take his son (then 8) to Chandigarh, not for sightseeing, but to drop him off at a football academy to fulfill a dream.

The child was rejected for being too young and probably not up to the mark in the trials. But the father-son duo returned two years later with the youngster mentally prepared to spend many more lonely nights about 2400 km away from home with no knowledge of the local language and little idea of what to expect.

His father was worried whether he will get along with other kids from different parts of the country, his mother whether he will be able to live alone. But Sanjeev was willing to sacrifice to fulfill his and his family’s dream.

“He was ready to stay there even at the age of of 10, he told me ‘don’t worry papa, I will manage’,” his father Stalin told The Field.

“We would visit him a couple of times in a year at first, leaving our son there wasn’t easy and we are happy that all those efforts finally bore fruit,” Sanjeev’s mother Parmeshwari said in broken Hindi over phone from Bengaluru.

The jubilation in her voice was understandable as Sanjeev has been picked in the Indian squad for the Fifa U-17 World Cup to be played from October 6 and was reportedly one of the top four picks for the captain’s armband during an internal poll among the players by coach Luis Norton de Matos. It was a culmination of a life-long dream for both Stalin senior and junior.

“My family always wanted me to play football and represent the nation. I am thankful to god that I have a family which supports me through thick and thin. My father made everything possible for me in life and he has been my biggest inspiration to never give up in life,” Sanjeev was quoted as saying on the All India Football Federation website.

Humble beginnings

“Jab who do saal ka tha aur theek se khada bhi nahi reh sakta tha, woh ball dekhta toh kick karne bhagta tha... haath main nahi pakadta tha bas kick karta hain” [When he was two years old and couldn’t even walk properly, he would run to kick any ball he saw.... He wouldn’t hold it, only kick] 

— Parmeshwari, Sanjeev's mother

The family of five which includes a sister and an orphan adopted from Maharashtra, had been understandably anxious till the squad was officially announced on September 21. There were, however, no over the top celebrations as they just prayed together and now want to see Sanjeev perform to his best in India colours.

“What can be a bigger happiness for a father than to see his son play for India,” said Stalin, who was the driving force behind Sanjeev’s career and also his first coach.

The Stalins are not economically well-off, the mother has a clothes shop on a footpath and the father works at the CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme). “Despite coming from a poor family, he reached this stage because of his father’s dedication and support,” Sandeep Singh, football coach at CFA, reiterated.

But Stalin made sure his son had all the resources to pursue his passion, one that he couldn’t. “I could play very little in Karnataka, because there was nobody to help me. But my son was interested in the sport since he was a child and his style was also good so we pursued it and I took him to Chandigarh where he improved a lot,” said Satlin, who was told about the academy by former Iranian international Jamshid Nassiri, who was conducting a short camp in Bengaluru.

Parmeshwari recounts how Sanjeev would keep a ball under the sheets and play with it even while going as a child. And though she wasn’t comfortable sending her son all the way to Chandigarh seven year’s ago, she is happy that all the sacrifices of her son have borne fruits.

The Chandigarh Chapter

“I was 10 when I first joined the Chandigarh Football Academy and my life changed from there.”

— Sanjeev Stalin

When Sanjeev joined the Chandigarh Football Academy, he primarily played in the midfield and the academy coach Sandeep Singh narrates how the 17-year-old was converted into a central defender.

“During a match in the U-14 National School Games, we had a problem as our side-back was injured and we were wondering which player to place as the stopper,” recounts Singh. “Stalin then came and volunteered to play as the stopper. ‘Are you confident?’, I asked him, he replied that he is 100% and he played so well in his new role that we went on to win the tournament.”

At CFA, which takes care of boarding, education and other finances, Stalin came into his own. He slowly built his game there and is now known for his controlled precision deliveries, speed, and excels at set pieces, according to his coaches at the academy.

In his six years in Chandigarh, Sanjeev went home only once every year, in December during vacations. During the rest of the year, he studied and trained at the academy, never missing a single day of practice. It is also this work ethic at the CFA that is responsible for him making it to the Indian team.

‘A rare player’

“His confidence sets Stalin apart from the rest, it is very rare.”

— Sandeep Singh

According to Singh, the turning point for Stalin came when CFA beat the Indian team at the World Cup camp – a team that he will now play for – in a practice match in Goa. The academy’s team beat India 3-0 and so impressive was their performance that about seven to eight of their players were picked by the Indian think tank.

From that World Cup camp, Sanjeev went on to represent India at the Asian Football Confederation U-16 football championships in September 2016. Although India lost that match against UAE (3-2) in Goa, he made an impact with stunning curler free kick, which was included in the top 10 goals of the tournament by AFC.

Play

However, it is not only on-field that Sanjeev stands out. Off-field, he is described as shy, but keen by almost everyone who The Field spoke to. So it comes as no surprise that he is a studious kid who scored a CGPA of 8.5 out of 10 in his Standard X exams.

“It is rare to see a student do so well in studies especially after hectic football training all week,” his headmistress at the Government Model High School Sector 36, Satnam Kaur, told The Field.

Unusual, yes. But then again, so are most things associated with Sanjeev. His favourite football player is not one from the Ballon D’Or shortlist but it’s the man who taught him the game, his father. When asked about his aim, he doesn’t say representing India first, it’s fulfilling his family’s wishes by playing for the country.

This unusual player has come a long way from the two-year-old obsessed with balls to the 10-year-old living alone, from U-16 to the first ever Indian team at a Fifa event. The first step of the dream fulfilled, it will be interesting to see how Sanjeev Stalin stamps his mark in what will be the biggest test so far.