India's goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh turned out to be the country's biggest find ahead of the much fancied Komal Thatal, Aniket Jadhav in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
HIGHLIGHTS
- He made 25 saves during the tournament
- He ended up being India's biggest star of the FIFA U-17 World Cup
- Positioning and shot stopping abilities are his key traits
India's FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign was over on Thursday after a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Ghana but the colts won a billion hearts with a strong display against the top teams around the world.
While the likes of Aniket Jadhav and Komal Thatal were in the limelight for their attacking exploits, a quiet 'man' from Manipur turned out to be the biggest hero for the hosts in the tournament.
And he goes by the name of Dheeraj Singh -- India's 5'9" tall goalkeeper.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
The 17-year-old really keeps it simple. Nothing flashy, nothing ambitious -- just keep the ball away from the net.
Yes! He conceded eight goals in the tournament. Three against the United States, one against Colombia and four in the last match versus Ghana. But if one saw the matches, they would know that not only is he much better than what the stats say, but also he is a leader on the pitch. A key trait for a goalkeeper.
The man from Manipur was commanding, decisive and was an ever-present wall of defence for the Indian team in the opposition's final third. One could always see him screaming, directing his players to maintain a shape and not to let their man go. That's what you want from your goalie and the teenager did all this and more to perfection.
GOOD PACKAGE
Very rarely do we see a goalkeeper, who has every trait to be a perfect custodian of his team's goal. And he is not perfect as well.
His handling and distribution is nowhere near perfect. While you can get away with the latter, even if you are not top notch, until and unless you are quite literally playing for Pep Guardiola, the former just cannot be an area you can get away with as a goalkeeper.
But then again, he is just 17 and with time and an experience like this, he will only get better.
But, where he excels is his shot-stopping ability and positioning -- perhaps the two most important areas for a goalkeeper. He has made 25 stops from the three-matches and if not for him, the scorelines would have been humiliating for the hosts.
So, what allows him to make these saves? It's his reading of the game and positioning. That is really good for a player of such a young age and this is exactly why he is there to make the saves when the shots are being taken. What also helps him is his reflexes. He is lean and is tall for a 17-year-old and that allows him to move quickly and cover a lot of area and make some swift and acrobatic saves -- much like Gurpreet Singh Sandhu -- India's senior team goalie.
His apt reading of the game also allows him to make right decisions and that we saw in plenty when the Manipur boy dashed out of the box and cleared the ball to save his team the blushes.
A strong statement but that's a perfect combination of two of the world's best goalkeepers -- Manuel Neuer and David De Gea.
He has a lot of ground to cover to reach anywhere near their level but all I am saying is that the signs are there.
BRIGHT FUTURE
How often do you see a goalkeeper overshadowing the forwards in terms of popularity and winning matches or saving them? Well in Dheeraj's case, he managed to do the former and also the latter in bits and parts.
After the three matches and during them, his name and saves saw the loudest cheers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.
People acknowledged his skills, passion and saw a star in the making.
And yes! Dheeraj Moirangthem is one for the future. If his displays are anything to go by, he will keep India's legacy of producing good goalkeepers alive and maybe end up being the best in two decades time.
Memorable moments of great sportsman spirit at the #FIFAU17WC, conveys the essence of true sportsman.#IndiavGhana @IndianFootball #SAI
