For the first time ever, seven Pune FC players have been called up for a national camp in one go. Six out of those seven - Dhanpal Ganesh, Amrinder Singh, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Lalrempuia Fanai, Nikhil Kadam and Denechandra Meitei - are Peninsula Pune FC Academy graduates and have come up through the youth system.
We caught up with PPFCA director Ranjan Chowdhury for his thoughts on this historic moment.
Excerpts;
How important is the fact that six Peninsula Pune FC Academy graduates have been called up for the national camp?
It is a great moment for all at PPFCA. We started our academy in 2011 and within four years we have had a host of players representing India at various levels. I would like to wish Dhanpal Ganesh, Amrinder Singh, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Lalrempuia Fanai, Nikhil Kadam and Denechandra Meitei all the very best.
Our process is very strong and we always wanted to create a winning environment at PPFCA. These players have worked really hard over the past few years. The important thing is that despite being in a much higher competitive environment of the senior team now, these youngsters have maintained the same hunger for success that they displayed when at the academy.
What sets PPFCA apart from other academies all over India?
Since we have players from all over India in our academy, the most important thing is the ability to adapt as a unit. I can say the players that go through our system are very flexible and can adapt to various environments, coaching techniques, training methods etc. This is the most important quality any professional player must have and I believe this is what sets us apart. When you are part of the national camp or the team, your ability to gel in with players from different clubs comes in very handy. Moreover, at PPFCA, we focus on the holistic development of every player because we don’t just want good players but also good human beings.
It’s been close to four years since the start of our academy. How do you asses the progress made in these years?
We have definitely made a lot of progress. When we started, we had just one residential team of Under-19. Today we have two with the Under-17 too being fully residential for the last two years. Furthermore, we are very focussed on the grassroot development and have a full Under-15 team as well as the Under-13 and Under-10 sides. It is not just the number of teams that have increased but also our training methods have improved a lot. We now employ a lot of advanced techniques in our training sessions across all age groups from Under-10 to Under-19. I am very happy with the fact that a few of our U17 boys are playing in the U19 team while a few U15 boys are also part of the U17 team. This integration helps in the smooth transition of players moving up from one age-group to the other, and is exactly what we want at the PPFCA.
In the last four years, the PPFCA has become one of the best academies in India with a lot of hard work from everyone at the club. Aspiring footballers from all over the nation want to be a part of us which shows that we are definitely are in the right direction. But this is just the start and there is still a long way to go.
What was your message to the six PPFCA graduates called up for the camp?
All the six players who are part of the national camp have the right character and attitude which is very important at this level. I always stress on the fact that you shouldn’t think of just playing for the country but your aim should be performing for the country. Playing for the country is the first step but it’s not enough for me. The target should be giving a high-level performance for the country.
