Muhammed Nemil, at the age of 11, had joined VP Sathyan Soccer School in Calicut. When he was 13, Reliance Foundation Young Champs held a trial in Calicut & Nemil proved himself as he made it to the final list of selection. Later, he appeared in another trial in Mumbai. The first batch of 24 students at the RFYC Academy were selected from over 200 students, and Nemil was the chosen one!
A kid who grew up dreaming about playing in Europe is now making his name in Indian Football.
Being in the Reliance Foundation Young Champs Academy was a turnover for Nemil. During his last summer at RFYC academy in 2019, he was sent to train at Marcet High-Performance Academy in Spain. As he graduated from RFYC academy, FC Goa snatched him away & signed him on a four-year deal.
But, he did not only attended the Marcet High-Performance Academy’s training, but also impressed some people. Who? – The football scouts. FE Grama came calling after looking at his abilities and FC Goa too gave a green signal to send him on loan and continue his development.
Nemil played for the youth team of FE Grama while he was on loan.
“Nemil is an outgoing person, a player who lives for football, with maximum dedication and enormous enthusiasm”, his coach, Manu Peláez, told IFTWC in an interview recently.
The youth league, commonly known as the Juvenile Liga Nacional features the top young talents from Spain, where La Liga clubs keep an eye out to recruit their future stars.
“He understands the game very well, especially in the offensive phase. He is good at evading markers, associates well with teammates, and is skillful in 1v1 situations.
“We are looking at a promising player of Indian football”, says Peláez.
Also Read – Ferrando’s ‘Chosen’ One – What made FC Goa sign Airam Cabrera
The performance Nemil delivered caught the attention of every football fan in India. 11 matches, 679 minutes clocked & 7 goals scored. The statistics clearly demonstrate the quality he possesses.
Meanwhile, as his loan stint concluded, some other clubs from Spain were ready with their proposal but FC Goa’s management had chosen not to send him again on loan to another club. The reduced number of foreigners in the starting eleven could have been one factor behind Goa’s decision.
“I had a chat with Juan Ferrando in Spain itself. He told me about the challenges & competition I am going to face here at FC Goa & Indian Super League,” Nemil told IFTWC, in an online interaction.
“The culture, the staff, and all the players are helping me a lot. I am happy being at FC Goa,” he said smilingly.
On the other hand, Ferrando admitted that he tried to watch some of his (Nemil’s) games in Spain itself, but he was unable due to Nemil’s minor injury concerns.
“When we met, I explained to him about our methodology, our style, our targets, and what we need to improve,” said Ferrando.
Nemil understands very well that it is necessary to be the best in training to get picked in the starting eleven. He also acknowledges that the guidance he receives from others is valuable.
Nemil is fluent in Spanish. Meanwhile, the same thing is beneficial for him according to Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera. “Nemil? He speaks Spanish well, so it makes easy for us to communicate. I am trying to help him as much as possible because he has a great future. He can be seen improving with every training session that we do.“
Nemil also did not forget to admit, “We usually speak after training sessions, which helps me a lot. Taking care of myself is the primary aim so that I don’t get injured.”
“Giving my best in training is what I do to break into the starting eleven.”
“I received a lot of positive messages when I scored my first goal in Durand. But, I am not focusing at social media as it’s not the important thing right now,” he added.
Being an attacking midfielder, Nemil has tough competition in the squad for his position. The role has been held by Brandon Fernandes for quite some time now.
“My job is to pick the best eleven. If he (Nemil) is fully fit and ready he will start or else he will be in the substitutes as an option,” head-coach Ferrando told IFTWC. “Nemil wants to learn a lot, he wants to be physically and mentally fit. He understands how one should be in a team game.“
Muhammad Nemil holds a bright future at FC Goa, where good performances can make him the star of the show. However, it remains to be seen how much game time he gets in the upcoming Indian Super League season, and how much impact he can make in those minutes on the field!
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