DFI - The Beginning

A 6 hour flight is pretty boring. But flying in this posh Etihad aircraft made it alot more entertaining. As soon as we landed in Munich, Jaineel and I were really pumped. It was really hard to contain our excitement as soon as we walked in for immigration. But we were also scared about immigration, considering we might not clear it. 

Need i say more? 

Fortunately, we did. Afterwards, we were waiting at the airport for Eric sir and the other lads to land at Munich from Paris.

The first thing that caught my eye was how clean Germany was. Spotless. Our journey from the airport to Bad Aibling took around 2 hours. 

Part of the DFI campus

Once we reached the academy, we were taken to our rooms. Mine was on the top floor which had no fans, one window and two bunk beds. My roommates were Franko(21), Shaurya (15) and Varun(17). The campus was amazing, it was a kind which actually made you feel like a pro footballer. Dressing rooms, laundry room, bistro, one Astro turf training pitch, a 4th Generation Football field, a grass pitch and an indoor football turf and a gym! It was literally paradise!

On my first day of training, it was raining. It was extremely cold, hard to breath at first but I gradually got accustomed to it. 

The 4-Gen Turf!

We did a few drills for our ball control and we failed miserably. Güler sir and Steven sir weren't impressed. On our second day, we were made to play against the U-17s and U-19s. As I had mentioned earlier, I played in the centre of the park. I was pushed and shrugged off everytime I tried to tackle anyone. But I did make a few good runs and that was the only highlight. Days passed and I stuck with my decision.

The Bistro

During our stay there, we went to Bad Aibling quite a few times. There was a volksfest in town and our somewhat caretaker/elder brother Julian took us for it. The food! Ahhh! Nutella crepes and nutella churros! Burgers of every meat! And n number of men and women enjoying their classic mugs of beer. Also, there were games like dashing cars and darts which made me enjoy my early childhood again.

Ah, it was the stuff of dreams.

Deutsche Fußball Internat, Bad Aibling, Germany.

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."


 

Red Phoenix Football Club

As soon as the bell rang for the break in school. All my friends came to my class for an important discussion. No, it wasn't about any girl. It was about establishing a club of our own. I had heard about US Club organizing a football tournament in the near future and I had a decision to make. I had received an offer from the club which eventually won the inaugural tournament or playing at some place called home.
I preferred the latter and told my friends about the idea and while some of them were skeptical about it, I went with my gut. We spent a whole 30 minutes just coming up with a name. From Banana Boys to Pokemon Club, we eventually decided on Red Phoenix FC. We played the first tournament and lost in the first round 3-2 to people 3 years older than us. Not bad for 6th graders right?
Ever since 2009, many vital players left due to transfers. Nevertheless, I continued looking for players to play for me and I must say I have now found a really good and talented bunch of players. We now play tournaments all across Mumbai. From Colaba to Thane to Andheri.
Many times I have found myself to be one of the youngest in the squad, but leading the team from the front has helped me develop.


Few of the biggest tournaments in which we made a name for ourselves are the Christmas Cup at Thane where we finished second, one at Cooperage where we were the semi finalists and the most prestigious was the Nike winners stays: Risk everything tournament in which we finished 6th out of 300 teams from the whole of Mumbai. I've met alot of the best players I've ever seen through RPFC, made alot of friends and learnt alot about the beautiful game.
We are always up for a challenge. We may not always win, but we certainly never back down. We may get shot down, but we always rise back up and we go again.

The Mental Aspect.

Life's hard eh?

Ive been through a lot over the years. Disappointment after disappointment. Defeat after defeat. But something has always kept me going.

Every single time i have not won a game or someone has had the better off me, it hurts. I myself feel that I'm not good enough to compete. Every time that I'm not selected, i doubt myself, i feel that i don't deserve to be there, i feel that i have wasted my Dad and Mums hard earned money on nothing. Quite frankly, i feel i suck. But something from inside keeps me going.

     

This something is your mental strength. 

As a footballer trying to make the cut as a pro, setbacks are a must. But should you let these setbacks actually set you back? The thing that drives me after every thing i haven't achieved is the dream i have of one day competing at the highest level possible. The biggest barrier you have to cross is your own mental barrier that you cannot do it. Once you leap, climb or crawl over this humongous hurdle, then you can start looking forward.

Every morning, i wake up and think about what i want to achieve in life. Setting s goal and working towards it helps in keeping you dedicated and determined to reach it. Taking disappointments in the right sense and using that loss to your advantage helps in your mental aspect.

Once you develop such kinds of mental strength that you can achieve whatever you want, you will achieve it. Because to be the best, you have to visualise the dream and the work towards it. On your journey to the top, you will make mistakes. Its alright to make mistakes because it shows that you're trying, because it is through mistakes that you learn.

So do NOT give up, no matter what. Keep pushing, fight through all the pain, fight through the bad days and only then will you earn the best days! 

Never stop working hard, because with hard work and mental strength, nothing can stop you!

Rise and Grind.

Bajaj Allianz Camp 2013

Hindustan times. Page 25. An article regarding Bayern Munich and selections. Boing! My antennas went up. Right away i followed the instructions and messaged the given number. And exactly a month later, I'm standing at the Mssa grounds in between a few thousand. Registration done and play time was on call.

Luckily i found a few friends of mine, the Kumar brothers and a few of my school mates. It was like God was keeping an eye on me constantly when i was placed with my friends in the same team. I was comfortable and my game showed for it. The Kumar brothers and I qualified for the next round.

Again, I was with Praful on the same side. We were combining really well. Someone crossed the ball in, with one touch Praful changed direction and BAM! Bottom corner. Praful was in for the final round. Later on i was fouled at the 30 yard line. A war of words broke out regarding who will take the free kick. With my mouth, there was only one winner. I placed the ball with love.  Caressed it. Hehe. Aiming for the top corner i took my stride and sweetly struck the ball. It didn't reach the intended target but it lay perfectly in the bottom corner. The keeper didn't even attempt to save. What luck! I too made it into the final round along with the Kumar brothers.

The final round was scary. Alex Ambrose was the chief selector. And my match was in the end. The final game. Everyone played extremely well. I really don't remember what happened in the match. But all i know was that i gave my 500%. God repaid my hard work with a spot in the top 26 out of 1200. We were divided into two teams. A and B. I was placed in Mumbai-A. Mumbai-A was the dream team. We were unstoppable. We headed for Pune later that month. The whole squad gelled really well. All smooth flow.

We were supposed to play the Pune A & B sides as well as the Mumbai-B in a round robin style tournament. The top 2 teams would play in the final. The best player would be selected to fly to Germany to train in Bayerns world class academy! 

We all gave our all. I captained and even assisted a few goals playing in the centre of the park! We played the best football Pune has seen. We killed each side. Praful, Melroy and I were on the shortlist for the best player. But in the last match, Melroy suffered from cramp, Praful's game deteriorated and so did mine. In a matter of minutes my dream of going to Germany shattered.

Nevertheless, my team did well as we took home the trophy back to Mumbai! Each player got a cash award of Rs. 5000, a personal trophy, a shirt, a medal, a football and a ride back home with memories that i can never forget. And it is true, there is a higher power. I worked my socks off and God helped me get selected for Pune FC U-17!

I didn't get selected, i didn't maintain my game throughout, but hey, look at the positives. I made my mark in Pune, i made a whole lot of friends, i improved my game and i crossed another hurdle in my journey.

My Friends

I had woken up quite early. I prayed to God and asked that he bless my family, dear friends and myself. I looked at my cupboard and decided to look through all the material i had collected over the years. I found this sheet of paper. It had the names of three players. Namely, Shaunak, Anindya and I. I then found many thin sheets with many all of our names on them. Later, I realized that all those thin sheets were ballot papers. They were of the elections for the post of Captain in Red Phoenix Football Club. And then it all started. A flashback into my past of my many friends.

I had the best group in the world a guy could probably ask for. I had become very emotional when i thought about all my friends and how we had been separated. I remember the guys who i had the most fun with. Anirudh, Anindya, Vidur, Shaunak, Jenson, Shashank, Aniket, Amartya, Aayush and many countless more. I had what one could call the best childhood. Filled with ups and downs. Football and friends gave me the perfect childhood.We started playing football in the garage space between two buildings. It was fun. Everyday with your friends, laughing, fighting, playing hide and seek, having the time of our lives. Gradually after uncountable complains from families about the ruckus and damage to the vehicles we created, we were asked to leave the garage space. We then went to Apollo ground.

Apollo ground is a football and hockey field. Vast, green and always crowded. We somehow managed to find someplace in the corner. We used to organize tournaments amongst ourselves. 1 on 1 and penalty tournaments. The dimensions of our field were 30 yards by infinite yards. Based on the results of the penalty and 1 on 1 tournaments, a ranking table used to be made. The guy who topped the table the most was Anindya. I must say, in his heydays he was the best. Fast, strong, respected, amazing shot power and master of juggling the ball on the thigh. After him came Aniket and then Shaunak. Both tall monsters. Shaunak was the best goalie i have ever seen. He has this aura about him. Tall, strong and athletic when needed to be. Aniket was lanky and a stick figure. But his game spoke for itself. He was the dead ball specialist. Jenson was my favourite player. As a right winger he had everything needed and was always my first choice.

 Anirudh and Vidur were my really good friends. They were with me through thick and thin. They both would do anything to get the ball, something i admire a lot. Shashank and I used to have frequent fights but when we needed each other, we were always there. Aayush was my best bud in eighth. We were always in trouble and a visit to the principal was always on the cards. Amartya and I got really close later on during tenth standard. He was a music freak, can sing anything and had a taste for all kinds of music. Gaurang was another heavy metal music freak. By far the best guitarist i have ever seen. And last but not the least, Niranjan. Also known as Dopey. One of the most funny people i have ever met. He would make us laugh even without trying to.

In eighth standard, my friend Aayush and I were called to the principal because we corrected a teacher and then laughed like crazy. She had repetitively misspelled a word many times. We corrected her from time to time. She eventually got very flustered and complained to the principal. Next thing you know, Aayush and I were standing in the principals office trying to spell " parents " out correctly. That didn't go to well.. And to top it off we were trying to control our laughter. We ended up laughing about it almost everyday hence.

I loved playing football with my friends. There was always this assurance that you can do whatever you want and no one can blame you. So one would play seriously or just for fun. I must say, even though we were young we had a HUGE ego and attitude problem. For instance, I was in seventh standard. We used to play football in the volleyball court. Everyday a few seniors would come and chuck us out and start playing. It wasn't right. So one fine day I got the nerve and guts, walked up to a senior named Tanmay and gave him a piece of my mind. Told him you cannot throw us out everyday and a few abuses flew out from here and there. He was so agitated that he picked up from my collar and  banged me against the iron bars. It was upsetting during those days but now it's just a memory which i laugh on.

My many friends and hundreds of memories lit up my childhood. I thank God and all these friends for giving me the chance to have such memories.

The AIFF Camp

It was sometime in March 2012. I was walking down the staircase of my school. I heard someone call my name. It was the sports sir calling me. I went up to him and wished him. He told me the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was holding trials for the India team for the U-17 world cup in 2017. He asked me to inform my teammate Bosco and suggested that we both go for it as we both were invited.

On the day of the trials i found myself to be the only person from my school participating in the camp. Bosco hadn't showed up due to exams. I didn't really care about my exams or studies. I was lost. I didn't know what to do or who to go to. It was my first actual competitive selection. I saw some kids checking if their name was on a list. I followed them and to my surprise my name wasn't there. I didn't know what to do. I just said "Oh" and started walking away when the guy at the registration desk asked me if my name was Ankit Nagar. I just smiled. He asked me for my signature and birth certificate. I was then shown the way to the ground.

Wow! What a ground!! Lush green!! Cooperage had been redeveloped and had been fitted with an artificial turf. I was one of the lucky 125 who were selected to play on the new pitch. There were 5 selectors. The head selector was a foreign coach recognized by the AIFF. He made us stand according to our positions. There were around 15-20 in strike, 10 in midfield and 2 in defense. The selectors wanted to know if any of us could play defense. Many of the players from strike voluntarily went to the defense.We were then divided into teams of seven or eight. The ground was divided into 4 pitches. It was very well organised. After each game we were provided with water bottles and we had our own coach. I thought i played well. I lead the team well and played the role of a right winger. Those days i was a selfish player, never passed the ball until i was in trouble. I would go solo and shoot.

I was full of attitude and thought that i was the best. I considered myself to be untouchable. I was overconfident. But on the first day of trials i was very nervous. Maybe that's why i could play well. At the end of the day, i was selected in the top 36 out of the 125. I still remember how tensed i was when they were announcing the names of who have qualified. As soon as my name had been called up people started clapping. It felt good to be appreciated by all  the people there. The final day of trials was my downfall. I was overconfident. I felt that if the first day of trials were a sign of how the rest of the players played then i was sure to get into the India team.

We were now to play in the main field. 11 vs 11. Proper matches with offsides and referees. I played on the right wing again this time. But unfortunately, i had this very tall guy as my marker. He kept pushing and shoving me. As i would get the ball, he would take the ball away. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my performance. I considered this as just a rough patch before i play my real game. Before the start of the last game, the coach told me that i was going to be a substitute. I was devastated. By the end of the match the coach realized that i hadn't got to play and instantly put me on. I fouled a player. It was a severe injury. I had whacked him in the stomach. He was puking. The referee yellow carded me. I asked myself if this day could get any worse.

After the game had got over we were told by the selectors that the results were to be declared by them a month later. They said they would contact us. I would eagerly wait every day for a call. I realized later that i wasn't good enough and just couldn't get selected. I went back and thought how i played and discovered that there was nothing special about me and i was just a kid with dreams which couldn't turn into reality. I was upset and thought of chucking the sport.

After listening to Gangopadhyay sir's advice i learnt a lesson that one will face setbacks in life and that doesn't mean that one should give up. One should keep moving forward. Life is full of hurdles and at times it will hit you hard. From then on i made my motto not to give up, ever.

" It's not how hard you can hit, It's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky ( the movie)