Support for clubs should translate into support for national team: Gurpreet Sandhu

This is the second in a two-part series about Gurpreet Sandhu. In part one, he spoke about his beginnings in football and Kolkata football.

Gurpreet Sandhu’s first-day in Norway was far from an easy one.

In what would be a pre-cursor to his time there, Gurpreet got hit with a ball in his face in training on his first day there. “It hurt. The cold makes it even tougher, getting hit in the face,” he said.

He went on to make 11 appearances for the Norwegian side, as well as making history when he became the first Indian to appear in a Europa League match.

Life-changing experience

Now back in India, Gurpreet is a funny, shoot-from-the-hip guy off the field. Norway moulded him in more ways than one.

“After getting to Norway, I couldn’t relate to anyone as I was the only Indian player there,” he said. “I had to bring out myself to feel included. I didn’t want to sit in a corner and not talk. It affects your mentality and morale. If you make jokes, it makes you feel like yourself. People then look at you as a person they can talk to.”

According to Gurpreet, it took him two years to adjust to the life in Norway. “It’s quiet. It’s not masaledaar [like India]. The weather, I got used to it. I’m not doing a job there which every Indian can relate to. I’m not doing an IT job there. I’m a footballer and it was very hard to link to someone there.”

Norway and Stabaek taught him to be independent. In a hotel for the first month, Gurpreet ate beef steaks and burgers – the only two things on the menu there – and bread with peanut butter for dinner till he got his own place.

“I used to call up my mother every time and ask her, ‘Daal mein kitna paani daalu (How much water do I add to the daal),’” he said, laughing. “There, I would have had to pay my entire month’s wages to hire a cook. I come back to India and suddenly every club gives its footballers a cook. Sunil bhai and the others, they make fun of me calling me stingy because I cook for myself. I tell them it’s been very difficult to become independent,” he added.

Coming back to India

Gurpreet decided to come back to India last year because he wasn’t getting enough game time in Norway. Playing in Europe had enhanced his reputation but not the appearances column next to his name. “At 26 and now in the national team, I felt I had to come back,” said Gurpreet.

Bengaluru FC were the recipients of his services when he came back to India. “It was a very obvious choice for me. Bengaluru FC has been very good for the past five years. I came because of the type of games, not to play the Indian Super League but the AFC Cup is a big priority for me. My aim is to play the AFC Champions League with this club.”

After the ISL final, in which Bengaluru lost 2-3 to Chennaiyin FC, Gurpreet said that a neighbour finally recognised him. “Usually, no one does,” he said. “This guy points to me and goes, ‘Goalkeeper?’ I say, ‘Yes.’ He says, ‘Why you let in three goals?’”

When asked if he was joking, he replied, “No, no, seriously. I was sitting in this Mumbai coffee shop with Joe [Morrison]. Someone recognised Joe but came up to me and asked me if I was a wrestler.”

Football watching culture

The video that India captain Sunil Chhetri posted during the Intercontinental Cup earlier this year, where he pleaded with Indian football fans to come and watch the national team play in Mumbai, had gone viral, but it can’t be a permanent solution to India’s viewing problems, Gurpreet insisted.

“It’s a pan-India problem. Punjab should have a JCT and more. Mumbai should have Mahindra United and more. The culture is waning whereas it should grow,” he lamented. “Will the buzz remain is the real question? It’s not a one-time thing. It shouldn’t take a video. Just watching your national team give their hearts out, regardless of the result, is one thing. Don’t just see that once, watch it again and again.”

Bringing viewers into stadia may get them hooked, he argued. “It’s a question of choice. Some people watch it on TV. Once you experience it in stadiums, they get addicted. The live experience matters more.”

The keeper also spoke about the experience of playing to empty galleries. “[Against] Myanmar in Goa, [against] Turkmenistan in Kochi, where we had 300 people [in the stands]. It doesn’t motivate you. You enter the stadium, see nobody. Imagine you have 60,000 people cheering for you. I thank the support these clubs are getting and it should divert them to the national team. The national team should be more vocal about reaching out. People should be like, ‘I’m in Mumbai and I’m experiencing this for sure.’”

Would he ever resort to making a video like the one Chhetri did and share it online? “Credit to Sunil bhai for doing that and, why not, if I had a fan following like him, I’d make a video every day.”

Jokes and tastes

Born to two Deputy Superintends of Police, father with the Punjab Police and mother with the Chandigarh Police, Gurpreet said that his parents have rarely caught a game. “They’re fighting crime. they don’t have the time to come watch.

“The first time my father came to watch me was when I captained the team against Puerto Rico. He just showed up unannounced at half-time and I was stunned. I told him, ‘What are you doing? At least call me so that I would have arranged for tickets.’ Later, he saw me giving interviews and just sat there watching me,” he said, laughing.

Manandeep Singh, who has played with Gurpreet at the junior levels and at East Bengal, is one of his good friends. “Before I came to Mumbai, Manandeep, four of us just drove down from Bengaluru. I was supposed to go Leh Ladakh with them. I love road trips because I hate planes. They don’t make them in my size.”

In Bengaluru, does he take enough road trips with his teammates? “Udanta [Singh] is alright because he stays quiet. Everyone else has their own life and family. Sunil bhai is a big superstar, you can’t ask him.”

On one such adventure, the Bengaluru traffic dished out its unique brand of punishment. “We took a road trip to Phoenix Mall. It took us two hours to reach, three to return. We switched the car off and sat in traffic, road trip complete.”

The keeper is also quite the accomplished doodler, known for his cartoons while in transit or not playing. “I used to love to draw. I started cartoon drawing when I got a Dragon Ball Z pencil box. I used to watch a lot of cartoons – Dexter’s Lab, Johnny Bravo. After 2007, I stopped abruptly. After coming back, I’ve got back to it again. It keeps my mind running.”

While not spending time playing Fifa on his PlayStation, documentaries keep him interested. “Recently, I watched The Defiant Ones about Dr Dre. My favourite one is The Cosmos. I watch it to understand the boundaries that we can push ourselves to.”

Akin to The Cosmos, Gurpreet has a similar challenge on his hands as the Asian Cup approaches – to see what boundaries he can push himself to.