Goalkeepers occupy a special place in the hearts of Mumbai football lovers. S. S. Narayan (1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics) stood tall and upright, Sanjeeva Uchil (1948 London Olympics) was wiry and agile. Bandya Kakade (1970 Bangkok Asian Games) started counter-attacks with looping goal kicks to unmarked teammates, Bhaskar Maity hustled forward with positioning. Imposing Shekhar Bangera, athletic Henry Menezes, and aggressive Yusuf Ansari kept the spotlight on the man under the bar.
Lean and lithe at 6 feet 4 inches, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is making heads in Mumbai turn again. India’s captain for an international friendly against Puerto Rico, he is a rough diamond. Polishing his goalkeeping skills in faraway Norway, the 24-year-old from Chandigarh is in passionate pursuit of a career as a full-time pro with Norwegian club Stabæk. Turning down the glitz of the Indian Super League to carve out an international identity for himself, he became, in 2016, the first Indian ever to play a UEFA Europa League game.
While his national squad teammates gear up for the ISL’s pre-season preparation in exotic locales like Madrid (Atlético de Kolkata), Rio de Janeiro (FC Goa), and Perugia (Chennaiyin FC) under the guidance of foreign coaches, the India skipper will return to Bærum’s Nadderud Stadiun and work towards regaining a first-team place at Stabæk club in the Tippeligaen, the Norwegian professional league. A hand injury suffered during the UEFA Europa League tie necessitated rehabilitation. Now recovered, he is eager to catch up on lost time.
Goalkeeper Sayouba Mandé from Ivory Coast is a close competitor. Snadhu's contract runs out in 2017, but he is ready for the grind amidst the loneliness and adjustment demanded of an Asian in Europe. “Going to Norway is the best decision I made. I will play in any club, any country … it does not matter,” says the former East Bengal player.
India coach Stephen Constantine admires his grit and intensity. “Having coached in many countries, I can assure you that for any player in Europe, there is no rest from the time your eyes open to when you shut them. To keep going for three years is amazing.” Goalkeeping is a specialised skill, with limited opportunities for shot-stoppers to secure first-team places, compared to strikers Baichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri who took the European route earlier to England and Portugal respectively.
Like Sandhu, Bhutia, and Chhetri went abroad while in demand with Indian clubs. A top-notch forward with stunning international goals to his name, Bhutia joined English Second Division team Bury FC, but was pushed into a withdrawn role. Four seasons (1999 – 2002) under coaches who tested his ability to fight for balls in limited spaces, instead of hunting for goals in the goalmouth, forced the Indian captain to return to Mohun Bagan.
Chhetri’s exposure to the Portuguese league was limited to Sporting Lisbon’s ‘B’ squad. With one year remaining in his two-year contract, the striker negotiated a return to India and joined newly-formed Bengaluru FC. Bhutia’s time and talent may have been better utilised higher up in the Premier League, rather than wasted in Second Division’s crude hit-and-run brand. After returning from a frustrating season in Portugal, Chetri’s success with Bengaluru earned him a Rs 1.20 crore deal with Mumbai City FC in the second season of the ISL. Chetri is a senior national squad teammate, so is fellow goalkeeper Subrata Paul, whose foray into Europe did not get him beyond Denmark club FC Vestsjaelland’s reserve team.
