The other day I was looking for trial dates when there was information given about selections regarding a two month trial in Germany which was being conducted by an ex-India International, Eric Benny.
I was not able to show my game to Sir during trials at Cooperage because I had to leave for Thiruvananthapuram for my NDA exam. But I still gave my best in the without ball drills and somehow that managed to impress sir enough.
Fast forward a month and a half, I was completely dressed up in a suit ready to depart for Germany. My destination was the Deutsche Fußball Internat, Bad Aibling in Germany. My travelling companion was a goalie, Jaineel. We became pretty good friends as time passed, I scored quite a few crackers against him too. :P
Germany is a really beautiful country, it is bloody amazing. It is green, completely, every car is either an Audi, Merc, BMW or a Volkswagen. There are no traffic jams and absolutely no honking! Honestly, I missed the honking later on.
I spent a month in Germany. The first day was freezing cold, really hard to get adjusted at first. The second day we played against the German lads and I got whacked. I expected myself to be outshone comfortably, but they whuped me. Literally. I decided that I would play my favoured role of a central midfielder but this decision came back to haunt me for the first two weeks. I couldn't adjust with the physicality of the rest of the players. It really showed me my place, I lost alot of confidence. The drills and practice sessions were amazing! Güler sir always kept us active. Either would take us on a run at night or practice sessions on holidays. There were two training sessions a day. One at 8 AM which was a personal training session and the team training session at 6 PM. This helped me get accustomed to how the U-17 Germans played.
Two weeks in, there was an India Vs Germany match in which I was included. This was the match in which I played alongside various internationals. I was a substitute and was introduced at half time as a left back. I was out of position as I had never played there before. But I made a few good runs, had three shots on target and I loved it! Later on, I was part of the U-17 DFI team to play against Munich Football School. Coach Schröder (Best coach) made me play as a left back and I played the whole 90 Mins! That was the BEST game I have ever played in my entire life!
The number of memories and stories of DFI are endless. And you would need to speak with me for quite some time to get it all out of me.
DFI taught me alot. It helped invigorate a fire inside me to play the best I can and always be versatile. It taught me to experience before making up your mind.
I was offered to go back for two years, but I didn't due to a few reasons. I would love to go back because I know that I would give it my all to make my mark.
"Playing football with your feet is one thing, but playing with your heart is another."
I was not able to show my game to Sir during trials at Cooperage because I had to leave for Thiruvananthapuram for my NDA exam. But I still gave my best in the without ball drills and somehow that managed to impress sir enough.
Fast forward a month and a half, I was completely dressed up in a suit ready to depart for Germany. My destination was the Deutsche Fußball Internat, Bad Aibling in Germany. My travelling companion was a goalie, Jaineel. We became pretty good friends as time passed, I scored quite a few crackers against him too. :P
Germany is a really beautiful country, it is bloody amazing. It is green, completely, every car is either an Audi, Merc, BMW or a Volkswagen. There are no traffic jams and absolutely no honking! Honestly, I missed the honking later on.
I spent a month in Germany. The first day was freezing cold, really hard to get adjusted at first. The second day we played against the German lads and I got whacked. I expected myself to be outshone comfortably, but they whuped me. Literally. I decided that I would play my favoured role of a central midfielder but this decision came back to haunt me for the first two weeks. I couldn't adjust with the physicality of the rest of the players. It really showed me my place, I lost alot of confidence. The drills and practice sessions were amazing! Güler sir always kept us active. Either would take us on a run at night or practice sessions on holidays. There were two training sessions a day. One at 8 AM which was a personal training session and the team training session at 6 PM. This helped me get accustomed to how the U-17 Germans played.
Two weeks in, there was an India Vs Germany match in which I was included. This was the match in which I played alongside various internationals. I was a substitute and was introduced at half time as a left back. I was out of position as I had never played there before. But I made a few good runs, had three shots on target and I loved it! Later on, I was part of the U-17 DFI team to play against Munich Football School. Coach Schröder (Best coach) made me play as a left back and I played the whole 90 Mins! That was the BEST game I have ever played in my entire life!
The number of memories and stories of DFI are endless. And you would need to speak with me for quite some time to get it all out of me.
DFI taught me alot. It helped invigorate a fire inside me to play the best I can and always be versatile. It taught me to experience before making up your mind.
I was offered to go back for two years, but I didn't due to a few reasons. I would love to go back because I know that I would give it my all to make my mark.
"Playing football with your feet is one thing, but playing with your heart is another."
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