Football Prodigy Impresses with Dribbling Skills, Ball Control
Every once in a while, a promising young footballer rises and announces himself as a potential star of the future. But rarely do they make such an impact as someone like Mohammed Nemil did as young as 12 years of age on the field.
Nemil, a teenage talent from V P Sathyan Soccer Academy, impressed the Indian Super League (ISL) selectors with his dribbling skills and fine ball control that even the Kerala Blasters technical director, Terry Phelan, called him a “gifted” kid.
“He has got some real football skills. He can grow big with proper training. I find him really gifted,” the former Irish international had said during a selection trials held in Kozhikode to the Indian Super League grassroots-level camp.
The fledgling attacker from Kozhikode district did not disappoint his admirers, winning a spot in the residential school training programme launched by the Reliance Foundation for the development of football for boys aged between 11 and 14 years, in Mumbai. “I am more than happy to earn a place in the group. It was difficult initially to cope with the rest of the group because they spoke only Hindi. But the atmosphere here is awesome. I never imagined that I would be able to lead a life like this,” says Nemil.
“They have a clear style and a definite plan in the camp. The outdoor and indoor sessions are scientific and systematic. We have doctors, dietician and technical experts. Everything we do is closely monitored by them,” he explains.
Nemil started kicking the ball around on the VPS Academy ground as a ten-year-old boy, under the tutelage of coach Anil Kumar. He was a favourite of many that his former coach describes him as a delight to watch on the field.
“He was bit of a selfish player with good ball control when he came to the academy. I remember how quickly he adapted to the passing game that football is. Nemil is a sort of player who can use both legs alike,” Anil says about his former ward. “Nemil scored a goal with an overhead kick in the under-14 state football tournament organised by the Universal Soccer Academy, Kozhikode, last year. It was reminiscent of a goal scored by Indian international I M Vijayan in a Sait Nagjee tournament in Kozhikode.”
“Everyone stood up and clapped for that piece of skill he showcased,” Anil recalls the moment.
While being billed as an emerging talent by many, Nemil thanks his mother, Naseera Backer, a fashion designer and football enthusiast, and father Abubacker, a footballer himself, for what he is now. “My parents, especially my mother, are behind my success. It is only with their backing that I achieved all this,” he says.