Note to budding footballers in India -Want to become a professional player – then do what the Kiwis do
In India, the path to becoming a professional footballer is a rather difficult one. Let’s not even get into what makes it difficult. I can probably write more than a few thousand words about it and we will still not be done. So we will concentrate on an alternate path – one which has been laid out by some footballers from New Zealand and is a lot easier than the current one.
This is what the Kiwi footballers have recently started doing.
They move to US Universities on a football scholarship. Play in the collegiate system and then try getting into the MLS. A good stint in the MLS brings them on the radar of the European clubs – not the big ones but more of the middle of the road variety – which is still far better than toiling in the obscurity of their domestic league or the A-League in Australia
This is why it works
Football is decently popular at the collegiate level in the US and there are enough scholarships on offer. A decent junior from New Zealand has a very good chance of winning a scholarship to one of the numerous universities. The competition is far less intense than what one will encounter at one of the coaching academies in Europe. The infrastructure, training and coaching facilities are world –class. But the competition is not too great – making it easy for someone with a modicum of talent to shine and get picked by an MLS club.
The college system serves as the main feeder for the MLS clubs and again there are plenty of opportunities. It’s far easier to get noticed by an MLS club when you have played in the US. Again the level of competition is nothing compared to the tough trials at European clubs. An MLS career in itself is good enough. If you are really good you have a chance to get noticed by European scouts. The MLS is flush with veterans from Europe who act as pseudo-scouts for their old clubs and also enrich a young player’s football intelligence with their experience.
You can end up getting a direct contract rather than going through the grind of trials. The competition is just good enough to help you improve and too tough to leave you frustrated.
The US collegiate system has already worked wonders for Indian Tennis and Golf and it could do the same for football as well.
The gulf between Indian players and their European or American counterparts starts to really swell around the age of 16 as fitness, stamina, coaching and exposure to quality competition starts becoming increasingly important in a players development. At around this age an Indian footballer still has a fighting chance to win a scholarship to the US. Once he gets there, he will have access to everything that players in the US have and players in India don’t – world-class coaching, fitness and training facilities. He can then compete on an even keel with footballers from other nations and win a spot on an MLS side. That would be more than anything that an Indian footballer has achieved till date. We can have football’s version of a Jeev Milkha Singh or a Mahesh Bhupathi. A path like this will appeal to those who get de-motivated by the road to becoming a professional footballer in India and its rewards.
The mantra is simple. Go the Kiwi way.
This is what the Kiwi footballers have recently started doing.
They move to US Universities on a football scholarship. Play in the collegiate system and then try getting into the MLS. A good stint in the MLS brings them on the radar of the European clubs – not the big ones but more of the middle of the road variety – which is still far better than toiling in the obscurity of their domestic league or the A-League in Australia
This is why it works
Football is decently popular at the collegiate level in the US and there are enough scholarships on offer. A decent junior from New Zealand has a very good chance of winning a scholarship to one of the numerous universities. The competition is far less intense than what one will encounter at one of the coaching academies in Europe. The infrastructure, training and coaching facilities are world –class. But the competition is not too great – making it easy for someone with a modicum of talent to shine and get picked by an MLS club.
The college system serves as the main feeder for the MLS clubs and again there are plenty of opportunities. It’s far easier to get noticed by an MLS club when you have played in the US. Again the level of competition is nothing compared to the tough trials at European clubs. An MLS career in itself is good enough. If you are really good you have a chance to get noticed by European scouts. The MLS is flush with veterans from Europe who act as pseudo-scouts for their old clubs and also enrich a young player’s football intelligence with their experience.
You can end up getting a direct contract rather than going through the grind of trials. The competition is just good enough to help you improve and too tough to leave you frustrated.
The US collegiate system has already worked wonders for Indian Tennis and Golf and it could do the same for football as well.
The gulf between Indian players and their European or American counterparts starts to really swell around the age of 16 as fitness, stamina, coaching and exposure to quality competition starts becoming increasingly important in a players development. At around this age an Indian footballer still has a fighting chance to win a scholarship to the US. Once he gets there, he will have access to everything that players in the US have and players in India don’t – world-class coaching, fitness and training facilities. He can then compete on an even keel with footballers from other nations and win a spot on an MLS side. That would be more than anything that an Indian footballer has achieved till date. We can have football’s version of a Jeev Milkha Singh or a Mahesh Bhupathi. A path like this will appeal to those who get de-motivated by the road to becoming a professional footballer in India and its rewards.
The mantra is simple. Go the Kiwi way.
This article was originally published on www.goal.com
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2 comments:
superb info... jeez, I wish the indian footballers can read.
So do I...Sadly none would :-(
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