11-year-old Indian boy to join Bayern Munich academy

Odisha, Aug 23: 11-year-old footballer, Chandan Nayak from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha will be going to Bayern Munich after he was selected to train with academy of the German giants for two months.

The young Indian football prodiogy hails from Sabar Sahi slum of Bhubaneshwar and his coach claims that Chandan's beolongs to an extremely underpriviledged and poor family.

A fan of FC Barcelona and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, Chandan wants to be a top footballer in the future.

Speaking to ANI he said: "I am very happy, want to become a player for the Indian team one day. I really want to thank my coach."

Chandan's coach Jaydev Mahapatra spoke about his pupil with high regards. He said: "His family is a broken one. His father had deserted him at a very young age.

"His mother works as a servant at various places and is able to manage the family. She has sacrificed a lot to ensure that her children are brought up in a proper way. Chandan coming from a poor family stands as a sign of bravery because against all odds, he has proved his talent.

"The boy is a talented played and we spotted him when he was very young. He has been training with us for the last three to four years.

"In the last one year, we have taken him from some very rigorous training and used modules which we see in international clubs and it has paid us rich dividends.

"When he was selected in Odisha, he was the youngest (11). The selection criteria says that the age should be between 14 to 16 and being an 11-year-old kid he was not allowed but we asked them to give him a chance, he surprised everyone.

"The same thing happened when he went to Pune. He surprised everyone including Sunil Chhetri, who was the head selector for this academy."

Jaydev further added: "He will be leaving on 25th. In Germany, he will be playing asides greats like Phillip Lahm.

"The best coaches of the world will train him. Around 120 students from across the world will be coming.

"The training he will receive there is beyond comparison that we can give him in India. It is a huge opportunity. He will create a huge expectation for the slum kids who play soccer today,"

Chandan Nayak's opportunity bring a gush of fresh air into Indian football. Nayak will definitely benefir from this experience as he will get to gather knowledge about the sport from some of the best youth coaches in the world at the Bayern academy.

OneIndia News