Four boys have made their first tentative steps into a professional career in football by going into the next round of the Airtel Rising Stars competition
The walk is diffident,perhaps it is the uncertainty that marks the entry into the teens but placethese guys on a football field and the transformation is quite remarkable. On a rather cloudy Sunday afternoon aCalangute football field played host to 140 kids trying to make their firsttentative steps in the long journey to becoming professional footballplayers.
For these boys it was acase of being watched by trained eyes as they dribbled, passed, went one on oneand tackled through the day. A hard introduction of what life could be as aprofessional athlete. As the day progressed and the lads displayed theirskills, coaches claimed that the standard was high but it was difficult to marka single individual out as someone really special.
At 5.30 pm as the sungradually began to say goodbye to another day, the names of Joel Fernandes from Holy Cross High School - Siolim, Endurance Chukwuma from Don BoscoHigh School - Panjim, Akeraj Martinis fromDon Bosco High School - Panjim and GawinPinto from Saraswat Vidalaya HS School was announced as the winners ofthe Goan leg of the ‘Airtel Rising Stars’. These boys were selected as per the ManchesterUnited Scouting Guidelines.
Gavin Pinto, the goalkeeper, who won the right togo to Bengaluru after facing off against other qualifiers in Mumbai, said hehoped to make it all the way to Manchester since he wanted to go and play inPortugal.
Endurance Chukwuma said that it was his dream toplay in the Manchester United team and this was a great start to that dream. Playingsince the age of six in Nigeria, this win was due to his father who is also hiscoach.
For Joel this has been a happy turnaround. Lastyear he lost out on being selected due to a lack of stamina. This year animprovement in his basic skills and in stamina helped him clinch a place in theselected finalist. Asked what his dream was, it was pure and simple, he said,“I want to be the first Indian to play in Manchester United”.
The three footballers from Goa will join three playerseach from 16 other centres to participate in the six-day final selection trial,scheduled to take place in Bangalore this September. The selected players nowstand the chance of winning a week long training camp at the Manchester Unitedsoccer school. From India 12 players will be sent to England.
