 Today, we'll be talking about a young Indian striker who has got the chance of a lifetime to go and impress and show everyone his skills in Europe. So, our brother, Dadi wale bhai, was moderating a press conference yesterday in which Sudheva FC's player, Shubha Baal, who played in the iLeague last season, who's been a consistent feature in the India under 16, under 17 teams and has been scoring as well regularly at that level. Anyway, what is the entire thing beyond just the news? I think everyone knows the news. The kids really want to hear this now because I can certainly see the chats. They've been saying for a long time that why are you talking European football, talk Indian football, talk Indian football. So, here comes the Indian football with some European context. What is this and what can we expect from Shubha? Because there's also a lot of, how do I put it, what is the word? There's a lot of offers coming from time to time. There's a lot of kids coming from time to time. But it's also seen with a lot of people that this is a marketing gimmick. Is there anything beyond this or not? That is the point anyway. Reliance was okay. Reliance Foundation had gone through a lot of guys. I don't know what happened. See, that's the thing. Reliance Foundation had gone through a lot of guys. But where are those guys now? That is the whole key. See, even if we go, where are they now? Are they coming back into our system? Are they increasing? There's a lot of play where I don't remember the names. I think a few of them must be doing reasonably well. I'm not sure. And also, I think some of these, I don't want to get into specifics of which program is sending, which players where and all of that. But by and large, the understanding across the board seems to be that the younger the player, the better it is to send them out. Particularly if you're looking to send them to, okay, maybe now in India, we think that our senior players are of the standard where they can play league football, competitive professional football already in some parts of Southeast Asia or maybe other parts of Asia. But when you're talking about Europe, it's still very much a developmental process. And so I think whether it's club owners in India, academy coaches and people learning academies, or it's even people who have interest in exploiting or developing the Indian market for their clubs which are based in Europe, even they are looking to get younger players in. So in the context of this is what something FC Bayern have started this year, called the FC Bayern World Squad where they are picking 15 kids from around the world. And those details I think everyone has and you guys can Google it how many countries, how many players, blah, blah, blah. But because of COVID, what happened was that everyone was kind of locked down in their own little bubbles. And there was no opportunity for people to interact, get along, etc. So they did this program basically virtually where because of Shubo's participation in the I-League, there was plenty of video material available. So his club, Sudeva Delhi FC were able to easily send across all of that material to the coaches at FC Bayern which includes a legend of West Germany and Bayern Munich legend Klaus Avindhala who is back to back World Cup finals with West Germany in 1986 and 1990 when they won it. So that is the level of input that these guys are getting. And that's the level of people who are selecting these players. So of course Shubo is the only Indian in the squad. And what they've done is they've done the selection based on obviously virtual videos and stuff. But the plan was to meet up in Mexico to play some games there and then to move to Bayern to Munich, sorry. And do an intensive training session with the players in the... How long? So all of these things are unfortunately being impacted by the pandemic. So nothing is really, really fixed and that's why even in the press conference the FC Bayern guys were quite reserved. They didn't want to kind of dindora pito about this whole scene. They were very much saying that this is just a start both for this program in terms of the World Squad as well as for Shubo Paul because he's a 17-year-old boy who has to start and Klaus Avindhala who was the Bayern legend was on the panel yesterday who's also the head coach of this team. He made a start with FC Bayern at around the same age. So he was talking about the kind of work that it takes from that level having the talent to realizing that talent and actually getting that professional chance, that chance to play as a pro in one of the top leagues or even a lower league in Europe. So you have to remember that now if you look at FC Bayern, they have Alfonso Davies who's a Canada international sorry, Canadian. Punjabi aagai api. They have in their second squad they have Sirpreet Singh who is a New Zealand international of Indian origin. So obviously they have a very wide scouting network and the best talent in the world is competing for playing chances. So to say that Shubo Paul is anywhere close to actually playing for any kind of Bayern team is a huge, huge stretch. What this is in essence is the chance for him to get valuable technical and other inputs on his game from top level international coaches because it does seem that Bayern are genuinely interested in A meeting and spending time with the player. They are doing whatever they can to make sure he goes over. And secondly, for him to be exposed to, like the owner of Sudeva was saying, that it's very important for players to have ambitions, goals, not just highly guys that can play, but if I can go anywhere from there, then where can I go? And the third thing is the reality check. If you are playing professionally at the age of 16-17 or at any age, if you have got an ISL contract, let's say you have become a captain of North East United for 20 years, then you may feel that you have already reached and established. But when we go out and play with talented children of different countries, then we get a little reality check that we need to work as much as possible and what is our actual level. So I think this is what Mota Mota thinks, in terms of the actual process, keep you updated because these are the shut, Indians cannot get B class to go to Europe. So nothing can really happen at this point until some of those things are solved. Sir, see, why I feel this is different and I am just trying to get you in. By the way, you were talking about reliance. The kids in the chat have put up already. These kids know everything. Mohammed and Nameel, they are saying, is playing in Spain, apparently. He is coming through the Reliance Foundation. And your secret thing, he has already gone on loan to FC Nuremberg. The kid who is going now, he has been the top scorer for India under 16 or under 15, under 17. So he is a proven player in your Indian system. Unlike the kids who have gone in the past, we all know that he is not going to get into Bayern. As much as we like to say that he is going to Bayern, it is there for the exposure. But because his club owns another club in Spain, so the machinery to set you up in Spain or to set you up in a lower league in Europe is at his disposal. So in that sense, it could only be good for the player. Certainly, it will also open his eyes. He will see the world. That's a big thing. He will see what football actually is. We are sometimes in a groove. We talk about players and matches and which is in a groove actually. Now he will say, going to Europe is not a small thing. He will understand what football is all about. And he will also realize where he stands at the moment. And if he has enough ambition, then he will try to attain the standard that he will watch. Whether he will be able to do it or not, that's a different issue altogether. But that ambition, that fire will be within him. See, in India, what happens? As you said, Siddhant was saying that he has become a captain in 20 years. So that's the end of our ambition. That's the fire I have within. But there is a bigger thing, which I think was shown to us, if you remember, by Chinbukhya. Because when he went to an English second division club, by that time he was India's most established footballer. But he still went there and tried his luck. That is his biggest achievement, I think. He was playing for East Bengal at that time and he was getting an amount of money, which is higher than anybody else. So Super Bowl should also follow that example. In India, the problem is that unfortunately, if you are an established player, you make decent money. You don't have to go outside and struggle. So it's good that he has gone at this age, so he will be able to see what exactly football is all about. I'm just saying what works for this kid is the support system around him. So he's been with this club for several years. I think he's with them. So I was talking to Anuj, I said, look, if any of you saw Sudeva's campaign in the ILEE, you saw that they did not have a proven goalscorer. So sometimes midfields and others are scoring goals, but he was not an out and out striker. So I said, if you are an 18-year-old boy, who is a junior level player, you will open up a day and he will become your main goalscorer. To which he said, why do I want to waste him over here? His growth will be zero. If I have the option of sending him to Europe where you can get a reality check for a good 2, 3, 4 years, even at the age of 23, 24, suppose he doesn't make it, or before that, there is always the option to come back because right now that bracket is there with him. How do I go? Buffer, buffer time is there with him right now. I still feel he's going late. I think if a player has to go, should go 13-14. Actually, you know, particularly because we're talking about Shubhapal in this subject and René, unfortunately, again has internet issues, wherever our producer would have been a great guy to have on the show today because he's actually followed Shubhapal. But he's followed Shubhapal very closely from the age of around 12-13. And hopefully very soon on New Slick, he's written a very nice piece talking exactly what you're saying, Pandit, about the support system that it has taken to, even like I was saying in the beginning, Shubhapal's career might take off from here. He's at the starting point. Today, other than playing that few games for Sudheva, he has not really achieved much in the game, right? No, under 16, under 17 India. There are hundreds of players like that who play age group level football around the world that don't have a pro career after, right? So we have to take that into context, but even to get to this beginning stage has taken a lot of sacrifice and collective effort from a whole bunch of people, ranging from of course Shubhapal's own family. It's not like he comes from a rich family. He comes from a small town called Salkia in West Bengal, but maybe a couple of hours out of Calcutta. So from there, to reach the Bayern Munich World Sport, all the people who have worked hard, absolutely spot on, whether it's clubs, whether it's coaches, it's trusts or foundations who are financially supporting him. And the very interesting point that both you guys were talking about earlier that will also bring out properly in the story is that Shubhapal is not an academic minded kid. All he's done since he's been a baby probably is played this one sport. So even to grow as a human being to get an education, get an exposure, his frame of reference is always going to remain football. So going abroad will not just teach him and put him or going to Europe or wherever he ends up going. We'll not only put him on a good platform as far as his football on the pitch is concerned, but if whatever he is to do in the future with his life, I think his education will be founded on what he does through football and not any kind of classroom stuff. So that's an important thing that we need to remember because end of the day we are talking about kids, man. 17 years old, he's not even an adult. So it's important to think about this. And it's great to see that so many people are thinking about it. Sir, by the way, you have a fan on the chat. Indian football addicts have spammed behind you. Bhaskar, I've seen you. He's saying, I only watch 420 grams because of Jaydeep sir. Wow! Me too. I'll tell you, there are two groups. One is the fan of Ani Bhai's politics. And the other is yours. It was fun. Sir, I'm saying that it can be good for us. Because if a boy plays, I'm not saying that he'll play outside. He's a striker. Sir, if we look at India right now, we don't have a goal scoring option. We're still depending on a 37-year-old who's been doing it for so long for us. So it's important for us. We'll have it in the morning. So instead of being taken by some franchisee or club for 60 lakhs per year and being benched forever, it is better to go somewhere and play. At least he will fill the pitch. I'm very worried about Vidya Sagar Singh, frankly speaking. Next year's job will be justin. He'll never play. Where is Jobby Dustin, by the way? He was one of the best players two seasons ago. He scored 9 or 10 goals for his swing ball. Last year he went to a franchisee for 60 or 70 lakhs and never had a feel of the pitch. He was injured, of course. Even he was out of the national team. Not only the national team, he was out of the national camp also. Yes. If he had been in the I-League for a year, for his own good, I think it would have been better. Same is happening to Vidya Sagar Singh, don't you think? Same could happen to Vidya Sagar Singh. Good. Because 3 plus 1 will come into effect. That is also there. 3 plus 1 will come into effect. So if it impacts Vidya Sagar, then good for him. At the end of the day, sir, I think in clubs, he has been taken to score goals. If he starts scoring goals, then there's no reason why. Because we don't have any goalscorer. So let's hope this 3 plus 1 and the timing of 3 plus 1 is transferred to, where has he gone? He's gone to Odisha or he's gone to Bengaluru? He's gone to Bengaluru. Vidya, yeah. Vidya Sagar has gone to Bengaluru. Yeah. He's gone to Kerala. Yes, that's right, sir. It's very difficult. But at least you've gone to a setup where you have a reserve team that's given... I remember you had done a very nice interview with Sunil once who had said that on the back of your league, the main team was played. The next day, he made the reserve team play. Yeah, he told me in the interview. And if Vidya Sagar Singh has played in the ILE, he should now live to the next level. If he goes back to a reserve team, it's a setback for him. He has played in the ILE. It's a good league. He has played a good competitive league against foreigners. This is one reason why we're not talking in Indian football because then we will talk for hours again. And then you'll say, then uncle people will start. People have increased on the chat. People will keep on reading on the chat. You'll live for two hours. 300 people will come in two hours. I haven't gone to chat for two hours. Move on. Vidya Sagar Singh, we're moving on. We're moving on. Shubha Paul all the way, best to you. We hope that you become a force to reckon with because that will only be good for Indian football in the long run.