Sahal Abdul Samad
|
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 April 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Kannur, Kerala, India[1] | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kerala Blasters | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2016 | Al-Ethihad Football Academy | ||
| 2016-2017 | Kerala Football Team | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Kerala Blasters B | 10 | (7) |
| 2018– | Kerala Blasters | 37 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2020 | India U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019– | India | 9 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 March 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2019 | |||
Sahal Abdul Samad is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the Indian national team.[2]
Club career
Early Life and Career(2010-17)
Born in Al Ain,UAE Sahal completed his 14 years of schooling from New Indian Model School in Al Ain.He started to play for his school team in 2010.Sahal joined the Al-Ethihad-Sports Academy in 2012 to pursue his dream in professional football.After completing his studies in UAE,he moved to his native place Kannur in Kerala to complete his degree and to focus on university football.A few months after starting his degree, his talent was spotted by coach Siddique of SN College in Kannur who convinced him to switch colleges.After excelling at University-level tournaments, he soon found a place in the district U-21 side, and then the Kerala team for the Santosh Trophy, while also playing in the local 7s scene.
2017-Present(Kerala Blasters)
2017-18:Kerala Blasters Reserves
His excellent performance during 2017 Santosh Trophy was noted by scouts of Kerala Blasters.Thus he got his first ever professional contract from Blasters as they signed and put him on the reserve side for the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division.In the 4th match against FC Kerala Sahal was also appointed as the captain for the rest of the season.He performed very well during the season as he scored 7 goals from 10 games and became 3rd top scorer in the league.As the senior team was struggling to find a get points in the 2017-18 Season of ISL,manager René Meulensteen decided to promote some youth players to the senior side.As a result Sahal was promoted to the senior sqaud for their sixth match in the league against Bengaluru FC but remained in the bench.Due to team's poor performance,Rene was sacked after this match and David James took over for the rest of season.Sahal was not included in the squad for the next 5 matches.But he was again called up to side and remained as unused sub in next 2 matches.Finally he debuted for the senior side by coming as a substitute for the Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov in the 80th minute of a match against ATK which ended up in a draw.Even though he only got few touches,he was noted by every Blasters fans due to his excellent dribbling skills.He was also given one more chance in the 90th minute of the match against Bengaluru FC.
2018-Present:Evolution into Blasters Icon
In the next season,Sahal surprised everyone by the inclusion of his name in the starting 11 of the season opener against ATK in which Blasters won by 3-0.He became an integral part of the senior side. Despite club's poor campaign in the 2018–19, Sahal enjoyed his breakthrough season and went on to win ISL Emerging Player of the Season. He was also announced as the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year. He scored his first senior club goal in a home game against Chennaiyin on 15 February 2019, at Kochi. On 11 May 2019, Sahal signed a contract extension with Kerala Blasters which tied him to the club till 2022.[3]
International career
Sahal has been called up for the India U23 football team for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers. Sahal made his debut on 11 March 2019 against Qatar U23 in a friendly ahead of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers.
Sahal was named in the preliminary squad of the senior team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, but didn't make it into the final squad. In May 2019, he was named in the squad for 2019 King's Cup.[4] He made his debut on 5 June 2019 in a 3–1 loss against Curaçao in the 2019 King's Cup..[5] He was also involved in India's unsuccessful 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 28 March 2020[6]
| Club | Season | League | Super Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kerala Blasters B | 2017–18 | I-League 2nd Division | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 7 |
| Kerala Blasters | 2017–18 | Indian Super League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||
| Kerala Blasters Total | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 47 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 8 | ||
International
- As of match played 14 November 2019[7]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| India |
2019 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
Honours
Personal
- Kerala Blasters FC
- Emerging Player Of The Season: 2018-19
- AIFF Men's Emerging Footballer Of The Year : 2019
References
- ^ Dhar, Pulasta (28 September 2019). "The amazing grace of Sahal". LiveMint. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "S. SAMAD". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "Indian Football Transfers: Sahal Abdul Samad signs contract extension with Kerala Blasters till 2022". Sportskeeda. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Squad for King's Cup". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "New look Blue Tigers go down to Curaçao". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "Sahal Samad career". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Sahal Abdul Samad". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
External links
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