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The 2005 sports drama 'Goal! The Dream Begins' is his favourite movie and Neelakantan Anand is actually living his dream. The Grade 10 student of Abu Dhabi Indian School has been picked for the trials of the 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup that will be played in India. The 15 year-old will fly to Germany on Friday and join the Indian camp of probables.
The All India Football Federation along with the Sports Authority of India had launched a Global Scouting Programme to hunt for talented legs. As part of the project, AIFF director of scouting Abhishek Yadav had last month held a two-day trial in Dubai.
"As many as 250 aspirants participated in the trials and everybody gave their best. Five of us were lucky and we were selected by Abhishek Yadav sir and Vikram Nanivadeker sir."
Augustas Nixon, Arjun Sunil, Rixon Lobo and Yuveer Kelkar were the other shortlisted players from Dubai. All five will take part in the German trials to be held under the watchful eyes of Indian U-17 head coach Nicolai Adam.
Anand's love for the sport started from early years and he was playing from the age of seven. He joined the Al Ethihad Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi, in 2012-13 season and hasn't missed a day of training.
He plays as a defender and Spanish great Carles Puyol is his favourite player. Not surprisingly, he is a die-hard FC Barcelona fan and likes to see Usain Bolt race.
Anand credits coach Seth and Mikayel Zakaryan as the people who saw a potential defender in him. The footballer enjoys a good support system at home and school.
"My parents fully back my dream. (Al Ethihad Sports Academy) Coaches Mikayel and Salil Usman and president Arakkal Kamarudhin, and all friends and their parents are very supportive. My teachers, principal and vice-principal are also very encouraging," Anand said.
For last few days, Anand and his father Anand Lal were busy getting the visa and other paperwork ready for the German tour. Now, he is all ready for the trials that can change his life - just the way it did for Santiago Munez (played by Kuno Becker) in the movie 'Goal! The Dream Begins'.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com
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