Paul inspires young goalkeeper

What does a striker do during a penalty kick when the goalie walks up to him, does a somersault, and goes back dancing to his goal line? The striker is likely to miss the goal.

At least that’s what happened during the final of the Mumbai University’s Inter-Collegiate football tournament, in which Rizvi College (Bandra) beat Pillai ASC (Panvel) 5-4 in tiebreakers at the Lords Universal sports ground.

Prakash Chauhan, the goalie of Rizvi College, whose aforementioned antics made Pathak Siddhant of Pillai ASC miss his penalty, said, “You play with the striker’s mind. Once he’s even a little distracted, he’s surely going to miss.”

The 21- year-old hasn’t conceded a goal in open play during the tournament.
He  said he learnt to play mind games from watching Subrata Paul’s performances.

“When India beat Syria 5-4 on penalties to win the 2009 Nehru Cup, goalie Subrata played mind games with the strikers. I learnt a lot from that game.” 

Chauhan, who represents Union Bank of India in the Elite division of the MDFA, has met Paul, and says it was a great learning experience.

“I met Paul when he was practising with the IMG-R League players at Cooperage ground and he told me that footwork is the most important thing for a goalie. He also told me that I should never take my eyes off the ball. That advice has really helped me improve my game,” said Chauhan, who wants to play in the I-league and also wants to replace Paul in the national team.