The Subho Paul Story: Bengal to Bayern via Sudeva Delhi

Subho Paul, the boy from Bengal's Salkia, could be travelling to Germany to play with the Bayern World Squad in Munich this year. Bayern Munich, a club that doesn't need any introduction in world football, announced its world squad for an ambitious scouting project.

The 17-year-old Sudeva Delhi striker, who also played for the Indian U-17 national team, made it into the 15 member Bayern World Squad. The squad comprises of 15 players from 15 countries.

Christopher Loch, the International Youth coach of the FC Bayern World squad, explained the selection process and mentioned that due to the ongoing pandemic, they had to rely upon videos and online scouting.

"The process began in January with us focusing on players born in 2003-04. We had around 120000 applicants, and we narrowed it down to 35 players. We then spoke to all these 35 players and had a personal interview before finalizing the final 15 players. In total, we had entries from around 64 nations," Christopher Loch said regarding the whole scouting and selection process.

Scouts from Bayern thanked Sudeva Delhi for providing ample material to judge Subho. Subho playing in the I-League also helped his cause.

Subho joined Sudeva as a 12-year-old when he was selected to play for the U-13 team in the youth I-League. He has a record of scoring an unreal amount of goals for Sudeva in the youth leagues.

His performance in the youth leagues also earned him a call up to the U-17 Indian national team. Sudeva Delhi has been the backbone of Subho's rise by shaping him up as a player from a tender age. Their trust in the youngster is immense, as was made evident when they gave him the captain's armband at the age of 17 in the I-League.

Subho's heroics in the youth leagues earned him a call up for the U17 National team.

I was unaware that such a program was underway, and my details had been shared with Bayern: Subho Paul

Subho, who was playing for Sudeva in the I-League when the whole scouting process had started, said that he had no idea that his details were shared with Bayern and that scouts were monitoring him.

"I am at a loss for words" is what Subho said regarding his selection in the Bayern world squad. The surprise at getting selected for the Bayern world squad is still present in the boy's voice.

Klaus Augenthaler, the former World Cup winner and the head coach for the Bayern World Squad, mentioned Subho's trip to Mexico to be a part of the Bayern world squad is not possible due to the pandemic.

He also stressed the importance of seeing the player in person before taking things forward. However, Klaus had a lot of positive words to say for Subho and advised him to stay humble and grounded and not take too much pressure with the sudden media attention.

Bayern representatives have made it clear that even if Subho cannot travel to Munich to train and play with the world squad, he will have the opportunity to apply for the same next year. But, as things currently stand, both Bayern Munich and Sudeva Delhi are trying their best to get the boy to Munich by August.

"I hope more kids come out of India. India is a big country when compared to Germany, and football is not the number one sport there. But I hope with more coaches, more talent can come through from India in the future." Klaus said regarding India and Indian football.

Matthias Brosamer, head of sports in Greater China, Japan and Korea for Bayern, mentioned the importance of Subho's selection and how it would help Subho as the people from the German club would always be there to help him out. He also stated how it would open doors to other clubs and not just Bayern for Subho and other Indian kids.