Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem
India had a disappointing outing at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup as they were knocked out in the first round with no points and a goal difference of -8. This equaled UAE’s performance at the 2013 U17 World Cup which is the worst for a host nation in the competition’s history.
However, India’s cloudy tournament had a few silver linings. Their goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, one of the future champion of Indian football is one of them. Giving up studies despite being a bright student, Dheeraj enrolled in the AIFF Elite Academy. He later joined the U17 squad as their first choice goalkeeper. Dheeraj conceded nine goals but also made 16 saves from three matches. This was the third most number of saves throughout the group stages.
Dheeraj produced some brilliant saves against USA, Colombia and Ghana and a number of them were pretty hard to pull off. His performances led to a few foreign clubs expressing their interest in him. Provided Dheeraj continues to keep like this, it won’t be long before we see him in the national team or maybe even at the 2019 Asian Cup.
Dheeraj came to us at the Kalyani academy when he was 12. The rest of the kids were 14. At that age, two years is a huge gap. But he had height, and he rapidly developed. So we decided that we’ll continue playing him with older kids. I’ll be honest. We did think about releasing him with the thought that we could bring him back any time due to the age gap. But then we thought let’s keep developing him and giving him occasional games. As it stands, our youngest goalie played all the games at the SAFF Under-16s later on and is now one of India’s brightest prospects, Goutam Ghosh, who was the under-16 India coach at the time, said.
Ghosh adds that Dheeraj responds remarkably to training. He’s also someone who has never given him disciplinary or attitude problems. This receptiveness took his ability to another level with just one month of training with Paulo Grilo — the Portuguese goalkeeping coach who worked with Dheeraj in the run-up to the Under-17 World Cup.
“The only area we really had to work is to make him more expressive. A goalkeeper can’t be quiet on the pitch. He has to scream and guide the defence constantly. So we educated him in that department the most,” Ghosh said.
Dheeraj himself admits a “communication gap with defenders” may have led to him not being picked for the AFC Under-14 festival or the SAARC tournament in Japan the next year (2012). Both times he returned home disappointed but was quickly informed that he would be staying at the academy to develop his game.
Ghosh also mentions that Dheeraj was so good after these two early blows that Spanish clubs wanted him after his performances at under-16 level. However, the AIFF decided to develop him under their tutelage, and it is a decision that has been vindicated.
India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who is the only footballer from the country to play in a continental European competition (UEFA Europa League with Norwegian team Stabaek Fotball), said that now it is decision time for Dheeraj.
“It depends on where he wants to reach in life and what his goals are and who is guiding him. This might be the most important decision he has to make for his career. [He has to] go where he is sure he will develop into a better ‘keeper because he is not a finished product yet and there is more to come,” the current Bengaluru FC goalkeeper said on Dheeraj’s next move.
“I’m good at coming off my line, throwing and decision making; throwing and kicking come more naturally to me but I feel I have to work on my explosiveness,” Dheeraj said, with ‘explosiveness’ being a collective term for speed, agility, jumping and power.
There’s a certain way Dheeraj carries himself that adds to his likability. He is extremely down-to-earth and in the day and age of coloured hair, tattoos and fluorescent boots, he has a scholarly, almost nerdy appearance. His latest favourite subjects are political science and economics. Even the goalkeeper he likes the most gives away his affinity towards those who are grounded.
“My favourite goalkeeper is [Arsenal FC’s] Petr Cech. It’s because he is calm, cool and reads the game perfectly. He doesn’t do fancy things,” Dheeraj said.
He admits he is moody, mostly spends his free time on the phone or sleeping, but hasn’t taken to books, movies or popular television serials.
“He is completely different on the field than he is off it. Off the field, he is very polite, cheerful and always smiling. But on the field he is always very aggressive,” says Anirudh Thapa, who is two years older than Dheeraj but was one of his closest friends during their time in the AIFF Elite Academy. Thapa is just 19, but has already played 12 I-League games and scored one goal for Minerva Punjab. He is a highly-rated young midfielder who is currently with Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League.
Thapa also says that Dheeraj’s shy demeanour quickly dissolved once he made friends at the academy.
“There are many funny incidents actually; some I can’t go public about! We always used to share banter, and he would often get me in trouble. Once, he was shouting out my name so loudly from the first floor of a hotel [I was on the 4th floor], that one of our coaches overheard and asked in front of everyone that what is so special about me that Dheeraj was calling so loudly. But yes, we have a great friendship, and hopefully we will play together soon someday,” he adds.
Dheeraj’s mother Hemam Usha Devi says that she has scolded him just once. “Only once, when I asked him to concentrate on studies and not to play all the time. To be honest, he’s never around for a scolding. And when he is, he does everything on his own. He is very independent.”
It is probably vital for Dheeraj to be self-sufficient off the pitch, just as he has to be on it. Goalkeepers are the loneliest players on a football field, and maybe Dheeraj adopted that into his personal life too.
