Indian Football: Profiling The Future – Pune FC Wonder-Quartet

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In the sixth edition of “Profiling The Future” Series, TheHardTackle brings you an interesting feature, not only on a single player but on four young footballers from the Pune FC Youth Academy. The “Awesome-Foursome:, as they are commonly referred to as in the PFC Youth circle, can make it big not only for their club but also for the nation as well. When TheHardTackle’s correspondents, Chetan Zawar and Amod Kulkarni, visited the PFC Academy at Mamurdi in Pune on a refreshing Saturday Morning to profile the future, they got an opportunity to watch these kids live in action in a practice game and the talented kids did show some glimpse of their potential to mesmerize them.

1) F LALREMPUIA

Position : Central Midfielder

Age : 17 years

Birth State : Mizoram

Coming from a very modest family background, this 17 year old lad from Mizoram is touted as the next big thing from the Pune Football Club Youth Academy. If his coaches, Ranjan Choudury and Gift Raikhan are to be believed, then Lalrempuia is ready to step up into PFC senior team and can also play straight up in the I-League this season. His ball control and dribbling skills are unbelievable according to the coaches. Lalrempuia was spotted by PFC scouting team during the Subroto Cup last year and he is seizing the opportunity to train under the able guidance of Mr. Ranjan Chowdhury since then.

Lalrempuia’s favorite footballer is Cristiano  Ronaldo and he is a supporter of Manchester United Football Club.

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2) KARTHIK G

Position : Central Midfielder

Age : 17 Years

Birth State : Tamil Nadu

Chennai born Karthik G began playing football at a young age of six after watching his cousin brothers play in the colony. Having then represented Karnataka U-16  team,  he was selected by the scouts to be trained at the PFC academy. His composure on the ball and the ability to open up the defense are quite incredible. The Pune FC coaching team believes that if he can continue developing at the same pace, Karthik will be donning the national jersey sooner than the later.

Karthik idolizes Pune FC and former India captain Shanmugam Venkatesh and is a true Red Devil at heart.

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3) DAVID LALBIAKZARA

Position : Midfielder / Left Winger

Age : 18 years

Birth State : Mizoram

Eighteen year old David, a versatile talent, is a product of Mohun Bagan-SAIL Academy. Although he is a midfielder, he has the ability to double up as a left winger as well. He hails from Mizoram and started playing football at a tender age of five. David has represented school, district and then state age group team before he was spotted by Shillong Lajong recruiters. He represented Shillong Lajong at age group level and then went to the Mohun Bagan Academy to fine tune his skill-set. David’s expertise in delivering inch-perfect set-pieces is one of the best qualities of his game.

He is a supporter of English Premiership club Chelsea and his favorite player is Brazilian Neymar.

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4) NIKHIL KADAM

Position : Left Winger

Age : 18 years

Birth State : Maharashtra

Kolhapur born Nikhil Kadam is almost a local lad studying in Krida Probhodini Pune. Having been spotted during the Subroto Cup, Nikhil was immediately recruited by the Pune FC academy. He is one of the most hardworking youngster in Pune FC youth squad. Nikhil prefers to play on the left wing, although he is equally competent to step in a left back’s role as well. According to PFC Academy coach Ranjan Chowdhury, his pace and crossing ability are the hallmark of his game.

His favorite player is Lionel Messi and he supports Spanish giants FC Barcelona.

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Coming from different parts of the country, F. Lalrempuia, Karthik G, David Lalbiakzara and Nikhil Kadam have one thing in common – all of them want to play football for India more than anything else. We hope these young guns make it large and live their dream of playing for the Indian National Team soon.