“Here I understood football”

Muhammed Nemil reaches the Indian Super League and win the Durand Cup scoring 4 goals.

Muhammed Nemil does not remember how he started to like football. “I started playing at a very young age,” says the Indian midfielder: “It’s just a part of growing up in the part of the country I am from. I started playing barefoot on the streets when I was around 5. My first memory of playing football is that I used to play a lot of local three-a-side, five-a-side tournaments…”

Over time things got more serious, until Nemil joined the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC). The Indian midfielder successfully passed a series of tryouts before being able to enter the academy that organized these tests. Once inside, Nemil began to understand for the first time the “importance of discipline” in order to go far in football.

It was then the Reliance Academy itself to suggest him to complete his training process at Marcet. It was the 2019-20 season, and Nemil joined the Professional Program with the ambition of taking a definitive step towards professional football.

“TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE
OF THE DISCIPLINE WAS
FUNDAMENTAL FOR MY CAREER”

“In Barcelona I made a lot of friends from different countries. I got wonderful facilities and training sessions from some really experienced coaches,” recalls the Indian footballer, who also highlights the great rivals he faced during his stay in Spain: “Everything was very useful and helped me improve a lot. At Marcet I started to live football, to understand what this sport really is.”

The experience in the Professional Program led Nemil to sign for Grama after successfully passing a test organized by this Spanish club. “I played with them for a whole season and scored seven goals. I was happy with my performances.”

It was then that Nemil received the call from FC Goa, a club playing in the Indian Super League (ISL), the highest championship of the country. “I also got offers from other ISL clubs. It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but I was very happy. One of my biggest goals was to play in the ISL, so I was really excited to play for FC Goa. I was already a fan of their style of play and it really suited me. They pay a lot of attention to the development of the players as well. That made my decision easier.”

Nemil’s beginnings with his new club couldn’t have been better. While waiting for the championship to begin, FC Goa managed to win for the first time the Durand Cup, also thanks to four goals scored by this young midfielder who trained in Spain. “I’m really proud that I was a part of this history-making moment,” explains Nemil. If he continues like this, he will soon experience these same sensations again.