The first thing you notice about this lanky 17-year-old is his blonde mohawk. But what stays back with you, is amazement at his talent. When Aneel Soibam starts dribbling across the field, you realise why, from a camp of over 100 children, he is the only one who has been selected to represent the country.
Sports Village, a sports centre in Hyderabad, in collaboration with its counterpart in Barcelona, Spain organised a football camp in the city for soccer enthusiasts between the ages of eight and eighteen. The camp was supervised by Coach Mohammad Shamsuddin and Albert Vinas of Futbol Salou, the coach guiding Barcelona’s Marc Bartra, Sergi Roberto and Oriol Romeu. The coaches ended up choosing Aneel to participate in the prestigious Technifutbol International Tournament.
“Albert Vinar pointed towards Aneel, while he was playing on the field, and said that he thought he had potential and that he deserved a chance,” says Coach Shamsuddin.
A native of Manipur’s Thoubal, Aneel is a student of Hyderabad’s Abhyasa International School.
“I have been playing football since the age of 10. This is my dream. To train and become a footballer,” he says, grinning.
Now that he’s landed this incredible opportunity, what does he hope to achieve? “I am hoping to get noticed by a European football club or academy. It doesn’t matter if that’s a big club or a small one. The exposure will help me,” Aneel says.
The tournament will take place from 20 June to 2 July. Talking about his plans for the future, the young star says, “I am going to keep training with even more fervour. I want to play in the ISL, and the training camp in Barcelona will help me have a better understanding of how to proceed with my football career.”
Regardless of whether is picked up by a European club or not, Aneel Soibam is a force to be reckoned with. His determination to be a class apart gives us hope of seeing him represent the country in the future.
