Subrata Pal
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 November 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Sodepur, India | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Pune | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001-2004 | Tata Football Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004-2007 | Mohun Bagan | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | East Bengal | 40 | (0) |
| 2009-present | Pune | 36 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007-present | India | 43 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Subrata Pal (Bengali: সুব্রত পাল) (born 24 November 1986), often known as Subrata Paul,[1][2] is an Indian football player, currently the goalkeeper of India national football team and Pune FC. He has previously played with the Tata Football Academy club,[3] but rose to prominence with the leading Kolkata-based football club Mohun Bagan AC. In August 2007, he was part of the Indian team that won the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2007 for the first time. In January 2011, he was part of the Indian team which played in the AFC Asian Cup 2011 after a gap of 27 years.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Mohun Bagan
Paul started his career in Mohun Bagan. During the Federation Cup final against Dempo on 5 December 2004, he was involved in the incident where Dempo striker Cristiano Júnior lost his life after the two collided. Paul was suspended for two months as a result of this [1].
[edit] East Bengal
After playing for Indian club Mohun Bagan A.C., Subrata was signed by rivals Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. in 2007 and was one of their most important players from 2007 to 2009. He was adjudged the I-League's best goalkeeper in 2007 due to his athleticism and commitment, he even pulled off many improbable saves, giving his team many crucial wins, the biggest one being in the Federation Cup in 2007. This enabled them to play in the AFC Cup 2008.
[edit] Pune
On 2 June 2009 he joined Pune F.C..[4] In the middle of the I-League 2009-10 season Pal had a trial stint with top Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the summer of 2010, and said he was looking for a chance to play in professional leagues in Europe and Asia. He later said "There was no offer coming from any club agent of any country during the Asian Cup. But I am looking for any offer to play abroad. Europe is the best place to play. But I am game to go to countries like South Korea, Japan, Australia and even the West Asian countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia,"[citation needed] On 22 January 2011 Pal played and started his first I-League match of the 2010-11 season with Pune FC. Sadly the match ended in a bad note as Pune FC lost 0-1 against Churchill Brothers S.C..
[edit] International
Subrata has played for India at all age groups. He rose to prominence with the Under-23 team in the Pre-Olympic qualifiers where he pulled off 3 saves in a crucial penalty shootout against Myanmar hence enabling India to qualify for the Group stage. In the group stages his goalkeeping abilities helped India pull off an unexpected draw at home against the formidable Iraq.
In 2007 he replaced Sandip Nandy as the Indian Senior Team's number 1 for the Nehru Cup in 2007 where he was adjudged the best goalkeeper in a competitive field which included the likes of Mosab Balhous.
[edit] Nehru Cup 2007
Pal was noted for his sharp goalkeeping as part of Baichung Bhutia's successful Indian team of the Nehru Cup 2007. His saves were noted in the semifinals against Kyrgyzstan,[5] which enabled India to reach the finals of this tournament for the first time. In the final, India faced Syria, against whom they had lost an earlier group stage match.[6] In this match, he together with Mahesh Gawli of Goa and other defenders, staved off wave after wave of attack by the pre-match favourites, Syria.[7] India defeated Syria by a 1-0 margin to win the tournament for the first time. Indian team coach Bob Houghton said that "Subrata Pal was splendid in the goal",[7] while The Hindu wrote:
- India owed the triumph immensely to an impeccable performance under the bar by Subrata Paul. His anticipation in cutting off Syria’s aerial forays was the most striking feature of the contest.[8]
[edit] AFC Challenge Cup 2008
He was part of the victorious Indian National team in the AFC Challenge Cup 2008. His important saves especially in the finals helped India qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 24 years.
[edit] Nehru Cup 09
He was also part of the victorious Indian National team in the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2009 He was involved in three spectacular saves, and put the Cup back in India's hands. Due to his keeping, India won the final match 5-3 on penalties. He stopped the deciding shot on goal to help India clinch the Nehru cup.
[edit] AFC Asian Cup 2011
He was the goalkeeper for the Indian football Team in the AFC Asian Cup 2011. He made more than 35 saves in the whole tournament and has become one of the stars of the team since. After the game against South Korea, he made the headlines by some leading newspapers who were calling him 'Spiderman', 'real MVP (Most Valuable Player)' and with headlines like 'Indian team GK, 16 times super-save! Who is this guy?'. To these references, he humbly said, "I am not a spiderman, just a novice learning my goalkeeping. I am happy that I have made those saves and done something for the team and country." The Times Of India said that Pal was the best performer among the Indians in the Asian Cup in Doha where they lost all their group matches. Had it not for Pal's heroics, India would have lost by bigger margins in all the three matches.
[edit] World Cup 2014 Qualifiers
He was also the first choice goalkeeper for India in their World Cup Qualifier match against United Arab Emirates national football team Subrata even captained the side in a warm up practice match for this tie, which India won against Qatar 2-1. Unfortunately, he could not repeat his heroics against the UAE side as he was sent off rather controversially in the first 30 minutes, and India were reduced to 9 men. India lost that game 3-0 as a result of two rather controversial penalties and ultimately the tie 5-2.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] International
Statistics accurate as of 11 December 2011.[9]
| National team | Year | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| India | 2007 | 7 |
| 2008 | 11 | |
| 2009 | 6 | |
| 2010 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 11 | |
| Total | 43 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Subrata Paul rejoins practice". Rediff. 2004-12-09. http://www.rediff.com/sports/2004/dec/09paul.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ Subhankar Mondal (2009-06-02). "Pune FC Sign Subrata Paul". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/222/transfer-zone/2009/06/02/1301396/pune-fc-sign-subrata-paul. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ Soccernetindia-Home of Indian football - Content
- ^ Subhajyoti Banerjee (2009-06-02). "Pune FC signs Subrata Pal". IndianFootball.Com. http://www.indianfootball.com/en/news/articleId/898. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ Jaydeep Basu (2007-08-27). "Bhaichung leads dazzling display: India demolish Kyrgyzstan 3-0 to make final for first time". The Telegraph (Kolkata). http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070827/asp/sports/story_8241762.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ Valiant India go down to Syria
- ^ a b Press Trust of India (2007-08-29). "This is the beginning of Indian football: Bhaichung". CNN-IBN. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india-achieve-rare-football-feat-lift-nehru-cup/47687-5.html. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ Vijay Lokapally (2007-08-30). "India wins Nehru Cup". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/30/stories/2007083062172500.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=24581
[edit] External links
- Subrata Pal – FIFA competition record
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