For the first time in Indian football’s history, an Indian player has featured in the world squad of Germany’s Bayern Munich
For every Indian football player, participating for a club on the European continent is a great dream. So far, merely a handful of professionals from the country have been able to live that glorious dream. Now, in 2021, another Indian player has made his dream come true. Hailing from the small neighbourhood of Salkia in the district of Howrah, West Bengal; 17-year-old Shubho Paul has been named in the world squad of Germany’s Bayern Munich.
The 17-year-old phenomenal striker has been named in the under-19 world squad of Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich. Paul is one of the 15 participants to be handpicked by World Cup winner and club legend Klaus Augenthaler. From 64 countries, 1,200 applications were accepted by the club. However, Klaus Augenthaler settled with only 15 professionals and India’s Shubho Paul is one of them.
After the news shattered the internet, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal tweeted: My heartiest congratulations to Shubho Paul, who has been selected to represent FC Bayern Munich World Squad in Germany. At the young age of 17, he has shown the world what football truly means to Bengal - beyond sport, it’s an emotion. Proud moment for our country.
Started playing football at six, Shubho Paul rose to fame at 13 when he scored 58 goals from 12 matches while competing in the I-League under-13 category. After getting registered as a player under the All India Football Federation, Paulregularly proved his heroism on the pitch. In the past four years, Paul has played close to 41 matches. In the 41 matches, he has netted 87 goals.
On the international front, Paul scored three goals from three matches in the 2021 AFC u-16 Asian Cup qualifier. For the under-17 national team, the West Bengal-based played has netted eights from 11 matches. Not to forget, in the ongoing I-League season, Paul has two goals from eight matches for Sudeva Delhi FC.
As per a report by Sportstar, Paul reflected on the accomplishment by saying, “I am very happy and honestly, can’t imagine I have made the cut. All of it still feels like a dream. I didn’t even know Anuj sir had applied on my behalf. It was a pleasant surprise.”
