Meet Subrata Paul: India’s Goalie No. 1

It is hard to forget the past. But India’s goalkeeper Subrata Paul has buried the ghost of his past and moved on in his life to become the safest pair of hands under the bar, correspondent A. Roy reports.

It’s hard to believe that someone who even four years back  was contemplating to give up his gloves  is now the country’s sporting hero after his three brilliant saves during the tiebreakers that saw India retaining the Nehru Cup title with a 5-6 win over Syria at the Ambedkar Stadium.

While playing for Mohun Bagan in the 2004 Federation Cup, his career was hit hard when a collision with Dempo striker Cristiano Junior resulted in the Brazilian’s death on the ground. It was just the start of a bumpy road for Subrata. Next year, Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutta allegedly made false allegations against him of taking bribe to let in goals against East Bengal.

At the age of 19, it was tough for any youngster to handle such adversities. But every time Subrata was up against odds he emerged stronger.

The 23-year-old from Sodepur in the suburbs of Kolkata doesn’t like to talk about his past and is enjoying his new star status, which was only limited to national captain Bhaichung Bhutia.

The soft-spoken Subrata was surprised to see his pictures splashed all over the leading dailies and news channels.

“It was a pleasant surprise when I woke up in the morning. Never thought that I would be star overnight,” Paul says.

But for him the Nehru Cup win is now a thing of past and he is looking to scale greater heights.

“The Nehru Cup is over for me. I don’t live in the past. Now my target is to keep up the good work for my club Pune FC in the IFA Shield,” Paul says.

Saving three penalty kicks is a rare achievement in Indian football, but Subrata sees nothing great in his performance, possibly because he has been through tougher tests in life.

“You can’t predict tie-breakers. Luck was on my side and I saved three penalty kicks. Nothing great about it,” he says.

He may make it sound it easy and cool, but the Nehru Cup performance showed Subrata’s mental strength that has been his hallmark since a rocky start to his career in 2004.

Subrata was the darling of fans at the Ambedkar Stadium. Chants of ‘Subrata Subrata’ spurred the young goalkeeper to achieve glory on a night that he will not forget in a hurry. Quite a contrast to that evening in 2005 when the Kolkata crowd labelled him as a traitor.

“What more can I ask for? Never in my life I have witnessed such scenes like Monday night when the crowd was chanting my name. It was an inspiration for me. I wanted to prove that I am right,” he says.

Amid the euphoria, Subrata stood grounded and remembered those who shaped his life — his childhood coach and former India goalkeeper Debashish Mukherjee and national coach Bob Houghton.

Mukherjee gave him the courage to fight that troubled phase in 2004-05. Houghton showed faith in his potential when the country’s top club East Bengal discarded him this year, saying he was unimpressive.

“I have no grudge against East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. I had nothing to prove. For me I didn’t want to let down Bob sir. He had a lot of faith in me and I am happy that I made my contribution in the win. Today I owe my success to both of them. I will never forget what they have done for me.  Had it not been for Debashish-da, I wouldn’t have been playing at the Ambedkar Stadium today. I shall always be grateful to him,” he said.

Both Mukherjee and Houghton are surprised by Subrata’s mental strength and determination.

“He went through a lot as a teenager — the Junior incident and then allegations of bribery. But it was his mental strength that has carried him so far,” Debashish Mukherjee says.

Houghton feels that consistency is key to Subrata’s success.

“He is the No.1 goalkeeper in the country and he has achieved it because of his consistency. In the last three years, I have not seen a more consistent player like Subrata,” he said.

The India goalkeeper is now targeting to play in top football leagues in Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Subrata’s six-month contract with his American agent Eddie Rock expired recently. But he is excited about the new Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rule on overseas players that makes mandatory for all clubs to use one Asian player.

“I am not extending my contract with Eddie since he couldn’t do much. I am on the lookout for a new agent. My target is Europe but things are not going to be what I want. I feel leagues in South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia are of very high standards and I will also try my luck there,” he says.

Houghton, who has coached top Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad, said that club leagues in West Asia are of high standards and Indian players stand to benefit from those leagues.

“Leagues in West Asia are a light years ahead of India. It is a good option for Indian players,” he says.