Subho Paul, a 17-year-old football player from Bengal, has been selected for the German club FC Bayern Munich's world squad, which includes 15 U19 prospects from 15 different countries. What makes his achievement all the more creditable is the fact that as many as 654 players from 64 nations applied for a spot on the roster. In the next few months, Subho and 14 others like him will be digitally trained by professional FC Bayern coaches with a view towards making them more attuned to the European way of training. All of that will eventually culminate in a match between the World squad and the FC Bayern U19s sometime later this year in Munich.
The digital training will be led by Bayern youth coach Christopher Loch and former club captain and World Cup winner Klaus Augenthaler, who were also involved in the scouting and selection process. The initiative, which aims to provide a platform to talented players from all over the world and at the same time facilitate cultural exchange between them, is a joint effort by Bayern Munich and Volkswagen.
Subho, who hails from Howrah in West Bengal, has been prolific over the past couple of seasons for Sudeva FC. In the 2019-20 campaign, he found the net 14 times in 11 matches in the AIFF Youth League. Promotion to the senior team followed soon, and Subho could score two important goals for Sudeva in their debut I-League campaign against TRAU FC and Indian Arrows. Based on his impressive displays, he was made the captain of the side too. The youngster, who already is a vital cog in India's U17 national team, also represented India in the 2021 AFC U16 Asian Cup qualifiers, where he scored thrice in as many games.
