Soccer
Meet Dheeraj Singh, India’s rising football superstar
India’s star performer at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup was goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, a shy boy from Manipur who wasn’t sure he had a future in football.
Around half a decade ago, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem walked into a room full of his relatives. He was preparing to get accepted into the Rashtra Indian Military College in Doon Valley — the feeder institution for the Indian Armed Forces. But in his parents' hands was a letter from the All India Football Federation, informing them that their son had been accepted to their academy.
Dheeraj was an exceptional student at the time. "I used to stand second or third in class regularly," he says. Maths and science were his favourite subjects then. "Joining the army was a passion," he adds.
The choice was difficult. Here was someone who was brilliant at most sports — be it badminton or table tennis or volleyball, and of course, as a goalkeeper in football. Before they saw the letter, his parents were categorical about wanting their son to join a line with a secure job future. According to them, football was not this line. But they still gave him a choice — manning India's border, or the goal-line.
Dheeraj chose the latter. And today, at just 17-years-old, he is India's most promising footballer.
Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem
© AIFF
A stellar performance
Dheeraj's stock was already high before the nation saw him at the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India. His agent Anuj Kichlu has said that there was interest from multiple foreign clubs as well as Indian Super League teams. Bhaichung Bhutia called him the find of the tournament and former England goalkeeper David James had special praise for him. Rival head coaches raved about him. Even Sachin Tendulkar chimed in with a compliment. And he deserves all the attention.
He had an exceptional save rate of 64% at the tournament, making 16 saves in 270 minutes of football. However it was not the number of saves, but the sort of saves he made that counted — scurrying off the line just in time to sweep the ball off a striker's feet, gravity-defying dives to either side to palm away crisp shots, and reaction saves from point-blank range.
He commanded his area, rose high to collect corners and marshalled his defence like a leader. Dheeraj played for the under-14 team at age 11 and the under-16s at age 13. There was no doubting why he looked like a man among boys.
"I used to be a shy boy, but the confidence grew in me when I started playing with the older kids at various age-group levels. You become mentally stronger. What helped is that I was in a residential school since a very young age," he said.
But the real story is in how he started playing. Dheeraj was good at most sports, but he never took football seriously until convinced by a local coach that he had it in him. A belief was ignited in young Dheeraj, and he feigned a medical condition to join Sunday coaching with a local team called Amofa. The coach there was Surendra Philem.
However, there was a challenge to convince his family members too. The only support came from an uncle who would stay for extended periods with Dheeraj's family; but when it came to helping with getting his first pair of shoes, Dheeraj went to his maternal grandmother.
"I am her favourite grandchild and very close to her. One day I was playing in the courtyard barefoot and thought that I needed football shoes. My mother said she would rather spend on more important things. So I went to my grandmother, and she bought me my first pair of football shoes," Dheeraj says.
Technically talented
The shoes were sorted, but Dheeraj's position was not. Coaching on Sundays for such a young kid meant doing all the basic drills. "I would play a general position; the coach would just ask me to play. So one day I was a midfielder, the other day striker. But he trained me in technical skills — passing, shooting, dribbling, all the basics. Then one day he came in late and the others were taking shots on goal. I loved catching the ball anyway, so I went between the sticks and I dived. I flew."
Surendra had made his way to the pitch by then, and from what he saw, he was convinced that he had unearthed a goalkeeper with potential. He was also the coach of the district team and picked Dheeraj in goal for a tournament. From that tournament — Dheeraj's first competitive exposure — he got picked for Manipur's under-14 side. The then-AIFF Academy Instructor Scott O'Donell and his scouts didn't have any trouble picking him out. Ever since then, Dheeraj has shuttled between AIFF academies in Kolkata and Goa.
"Dheeraj came to us at the Kalyani academy when he was 12. The rest of the kids were 14. At that age, two years is a huge gap. But he had height, and he rapidly developed. So we decided that we'll continue playing him with older kids. I'll be honest. We did think about releasing him with the thought that we could bring him back any time due to the age gap. But then we thought let's keep developing him and giving him occasional games. As it stands, our youngest goalie played all the games at the SAFF Under-16s later on and is now one of India's brightest prospects," Goutam Ghosh, who was the under-16 India coach at the time, said.
Ghosh adds that Dheeraj responds remarkably to training. He's also someone who has never given him disciplinary or attitude problems. This receptiveness took his ability to another level with just one month of training with Paulo Grilo — the Portuguese goalkeeping coach who worked with Dheeraj in the run-up to the Under-17 World Cup.
"The only area we really had to work is to make him more expressive. A goalkeeper can't be quiet on the pitch. He has to scream and guide the defence constantly. So we educated him in that department the most," Ghosh said.
Dheeraj himself admits a "communication gap with defenders" may have led to him not being picked for the AFC Under-14 festival or the SAARC tournament in Japan the next year (2012). Both times he returned home disappointed but was quickly informed that he would be staying at the academy to develop his game.
Ghosh also mentions that Dheeraj was so good after these two early blows that Spanish clubs wanted him after his performances at under-16 level. However, the AIFF decided to develop him under their tutelage, and it is a decision that has been vindicated.
Dheeraj lined up with the Indian Arrows team for an I-League match
© AIFF
India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who is the only footballer from the country to play in a continental European competition (UEFA Europa League with Norwegian team Stabaek Fotball), said that now it is decision time for Dheeraj.
"It depends on where he wants to reach in life and what his goals are and who is guiding him. This might be the most important decision he has to make for his career. [He has to] go where he is sure he will develop into a better ‘keeper because he is not a finished product yet and there is more to come," the current Bengaluru FC goalkeeper said on Dheeraj's next move.
"I'm good at coming off my line, throwing and decision making; throwing and kicking come more naturally to me but I feel I have to work on my explosiveness," Dheeraj said, with 'explosiveness' being a collective term for speed, agility, jumping and power.
Polarising personalities
There's a certain way Dheeraj carries himself that adds to his likability. He is extremely down-to-earth and in the day and age of coloured hair, tattoos and fluorescent boots, he has a scholarly, almost nerdy appearance. His latest favourite subjects are political science and economics. Even the goalkeeper he likes the most gives away his affinity towards those who are grounded.
"My favourite goalkeeper is [Arsenal FC’s] Petr Cech. It's because he is calm, cool and reads the game perfectly. He doesn't do fancy things," Dheeraj said.
He admits he is moody, mostly spends his free time on the phone or sleeping, but hasn't taken to books, movies or popular television serials.
With India under-17 and Indian Arrows head coach Luís Norton de Matos
© AIFF
On the field though, Dheeraj is a different person.
"He is completely different on the field than he is off it. Off the field, he is very polite, cheerful and always smiling. But on the field he is always very aggressive," says Anirudh Thapa, who is two years older than Dheeraj but was one of his closest friends during their time in the AIFF Elite Academy. Thapa is just 19, but has already played 12 I-League games and scored one goal for Minerva Punjab. He is a highly-rated young midfielder who is currently with Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League.
Dheeraj in action during the Under-17 World Cup
© AIFF
Thapa also says that Dheeraj's shy demeanour quickly dissolved once he made friends at the academy.
"There are many funny incidents actually; some I can't go public about! We always used to share banter, and he would often get me in trouble. Once, he was shouting out my name so loudly from the first floor of a hotel [I was on the 4th floor], that one of our coaches overheard and asked in front of everyone that what is so special about me that Dheeraj was calling so loudly. But yes, we have a great friendship, and hopefully we will play together soon someday," he adds.
Dheeraj's mother Hemam Usha Devi says that she has scolded him just once. "Only once, when I asked him to concentrate on studies and not to play all the time. To be honest, he's never around for a scolding. And when he is, he does everything on his own. He is very independent."
It is probably vital for Dheeraj to be self-sufficient off the pitch, just as he has to be on it. Goalkeepers are the loneliest players on a football field, and maybe Dheeraj adopted that into his personal life too.
Dheeraj is credited for being a responsible footballer and son
© AIFF
Rare and pure adulation
Jeakson Singh's thumping header, Nongdamba Naorem's dizzying runs cutting in from the right, Anwar Ali's towering headers, Boris Singh's last-ditch tackles and Komal Thatal's blonde streak and pink boots — India may have lost all three of their matches at the Under-17 World Cup, but the team gave the country enough memorable moments.
One, however, stood out the most. When the team was walking away — jaded, bruised, and battered — sections of the crowd slowly started calling out Dheeraj's name. He says he heard it as it grew from a murmur to a steady chant while he trudged towards the dressing room. Then he stopped, soaked in the adulation — "I got very emotional at the moment," he recalls — and walked towards a group of fans stationed at the corner near the team tunnel. He took his gloves off, threw them into the crowd, borrowed a few phones from the fans and took selfies with them. There was a poster caught in the scenes which said, "Dheeraj, we came from Manipur to see you." A banner which didn't just describe the beginning of what can be an incredible footballing story, but also the untapped passion the country has for football.
After the World Cup
Alongside his Under-17 World Cup teammates, Dheeraj was placed in the Indian Arrows squad to play in the 2017-18 season of the I-League.
He played six matches, even putting in a man-of-the-match performance against Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan, before his contract with AIFF ended on 31st December 2017.
Instead of extending his contract with the Indian federation, Dheeraj opted to try his hand at trials in foreign clubs. Motherwell FC of the Scottish Premiership was announced as the first of his trials on foreign soil.
Aside from the Scottish club, Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers of the English League One, and West Ham United of the English Premier League, were also rumoured to have been keen to watch him in action at their training grounds.
The Man of the Match award for his performance against Mohun Bagan
© AIFF