After first team debut, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu raises the bar
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has broken into the first team of Norwegian club Stabaek FC.
Gurpreet was gripped by pre-game jitters and he started humming a Punjabi tune to ease his nerves. (Source: Express photo)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was a bunch of nerves before facing Follo Fotballklubb in a friendly match. It was a momentous occasion in the life of the 22-year-old, who was playing as first choice goalkeeper for Stabaek FC, the Norwegian club for which he had signed last year.
It was just before the game that Bob Bradley, the former US coach, informed Gurpreet that he will start against Follo Fotballklubb and asked him to the others for the warm up session.
Even though this was what he had been waiting for ever since he made the trip to Europe, Gurpreet was gripped by pre-game jitters and he started humming a Punjabi tune to ease his nerves. At the end of the match all his fears proved unfounded as Stabaek strolled to an easy 4-1 win over Follo Fotballklubb.
The season opener marked a new beginning for Gurpreet as he became the first Indian player since independence to play in the first team of a top tier club in Europe. Before him, Mohammad Salim turned out for Celtic in 1936. Between the two of them players like Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrara Pal had plied their trade abroad. While Bhutia played in the first division for Bury FC, Chhetri and Pal could not make the first team and were confined to Sporting Lisbon and FC Vestsjaelland reserves.
While Gurpreet is delighted to earn his maiden first team cap, he felt he could have done much more in the match.
“Even though my teammates and coach were happy with my performance, I thought I could have kept a clean sheet in the match. It was my first team appearance and I was nervous also but I was ready to give my 100 percent on the pitch. I am glad I started my first team appearance with a win,” Gurpreet said.
It was on Independence Day last year that Gurpreet had put his signature on a three-year contract offered by Norwegian Tippeligaen side Stabaek. After impressing the coaches during the reserve games, Gurpreet soon became the second choice keeper after Sayouba Mande, the Ivory Coast keeper. With Sayouba currently away for the African Nations Cup, Gurpreet is the automatic choice as the team’s first keeper.
“It’s better late than never. I am glad that the club showed faith in me and thought I was ready to make my first team debut. I will try to make the most of the opportunity while Sayouba is away and hope to play for the first team on a regular basis,” said the 6 foot 5 inch goalkeeper.
In just six months Gurpreet has shown that he has the talent to play regularly in first team. Gurpreet first made headlines when he arrived in England in 2012 to try his luck and was at English Premier League club Wigan Athletic on a week-long training-cum-trial. While the deal did not go through, Gurpreet managed to impress everyone, including ex-Wigan and current Everton coach Roberto Martinez, who showed his interest in signing him at Everton. At that time, Gurpreet was still with East Bengal. Not satisfied with the level of competition in India, his next stop was Europe, where John Burridge, former Manchester City keeper, helped him land a trial at Stabaek.
Now with a first team appearance under his belt, Gurpreet is looking to add more milestones. However, success for this former trainee of St Stephen’s Football Academy, Chandigarh, has come at a cost. Not only he missed out on a berth in the Indian team for the 2014 Asian Games, he also had to turn down offers for Indian Super League (ISL).
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