Ready to start a new life

“Morgan sir was one of the best coaches I worked with. He had a different style of play and it worked perfectly for us,” shared Gurpreet,a former trainee of St Stephen’s Football Club under coach Surinder Singh.

Now,he gets ready to start a new innings under Colaco- widely regarded as one of India’s best managers after the success he enjoyed at Churchill Brothers SC and Dempo SC.

In fact,Colaco was the first I-League manager to guide an Indian club to the last four stage of the AFC Cup- which he did in 2008 with Dempo. Two years ago,he became the interim coach of the Indian football team. No doubt,Gurpreet is excited to work with Colaco.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to work with a coach who has the experience of winning all the important tournaments in India,especially I-League which we are really looking forward to win. I think it will be a good experience to work with one of the best Indian coaches,” said Gurpreet.

East Bengal,currently languishing at tenth spot in the I-League points standing,will take on Mohun Bagan in the highly-anticipated derby on Sunday. However,like the Red and Gold brigade,Gurpreet is also looking to hit top form as the season trudges on.

Overcoming errors

Gurpreet,21,regarded as one of the best young keepers in the country right now,has shown flashes of brilliance on the field this season. However,he made a few errors under the bar too. “I have made many mistakes on the field but I always try to work on it and avoid repeating those in the next matches. Every player makes mistakes on the pitch. However,I take lessons from it and hope not to make more mistakes in the future and help my team win,” said the keeper,who has a towering presence under the bar at 6 ft 5 1/2 inches.

Like many of his contemporaries,Gurpreet has been attracted by the concept of Indian Super League (ISL),an initiative by IMG Reliance,which is on the lines of Indian Premier League. ISL will see several high profile former international players like Robert Pires,Hernan Crespo,Freddie Ljungberg,Dwight Yorke and Louis Saha taking part in the prestigious event.

“I think it’s a great initiative to promote Indian football in a different way. It will definitely help in improving the standards of the players as big names of the football world will be a part of it. The young players will definitely learn a lot from them. I was approached by IMG Reliance but since I am committed to East Bengal,I cannot take part in the event. As of now,my plans are to play well for my club this season and hope for the bext,” he signed off.