Talking FC Goa vs Al Nassr, CAFA Nations bronze with Sandesh Jhingan

India Today

Sandesh Jhingan reflects on India’s CAFA Nations Cup bronze and gears up for FC Goa’s AFC Champions League clash against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. For Jhingan, it’s about more than spectacle, it’s India’s chance to prove grit on a global stage.

Transcript

00:00So, first off, I would like to ask you, how's the injury holding up?

00:12It's better now, healing well. I've started training already, without contact, but just to

00:21keep myself fit, all the cardio work and the gym work and hopefully the bone heals faster and I'll

00:29be back when I'll be back.

00:34How was the whole experience of Kafa? Like, I know that it was cut short, unfortunately,

00:40so for both you and us fans, but how was the experience getting into a new management

00:46with the same objective of rising up? How was it?

00:50Most good feeling, of course, whenever you get a cup for the national team, it's like I said,

00:55for any athlete. The greatest honour is when you get a chance to play for the country and I

01:01till date, you know, I've been in the national team for a decade now, but every time I get the call,

01:06I offer a prayer to the Lord, to the gods and I thank that I'm in the sport because it's the

01:12greatest, greatest honour for any athlete. And yes, working with Khalid Bhai, of course,

01:18I've worked with him before in Mumbai, but yeah, and I was very excited for it and I think the results

01:27kind of helped a lot for us as a nation and as a team to grow and get better.

01:33Like, moving away from the national team set up, you have big commitments lined up towards your club

01:45responsibilities with the whole AFC League 2 clash against Al Nasser coming up. How is that

01:52feeling within the camp and within the team itself? It's a big clash, right? For everyone involved,

01:59for Indian football as a whole. No, yes, as a team, it's good. First of all, it's very

02:09good for FC Gua to be in the AFC level and then getting, you know, in the group with Al Nasser

02:14because you want to play against one of the best. That helps you grow as a team. And of course,

02:20that one side of the point is, yes, Ronaldo is there, Sadio Mane and all those big players,

02:24so you feel kind of excited for the game because every now and then you get a chance to play against

02:29one of the greats of the sport. But the other side of the coin is probably we got the best,

02:35one of the best teams in our group. So, that makes our group very strong one and tough one to qualify

02:43to the next round. But our mindset, our target is to go to the knockout stage and we're going to give

02:51our best for it. And for all football lovers, of course, you have to acknowledge that Al Nasser

03:00coming to India would be a major boost. You know, if I ask myself 15 years ago when I was

03:10in the streets of Chandigarh and I say Al Nasser is coming and all those names are coming,

03:14I'll be over the moon just to watch them. And yeah, so, it's good for Indian football in that sense.

03:22And I just want to win that game, that's it.

03:26So, like being a Ronaldo fan and an Indian football fan, I want you to win the game too.

03:32Yes, for it.

03:34So, you are one of the most senior most, one of the most experienced footballers there in the Indian

03:42football setup right now. So, every other youngster, both in the national camp and also in FC Goa,

03:48will look up to you or look towards you for advices or maybe how to handle pressure or something of

03:55this bigger stage. So, how do you convey that message to the youngsters itself? Like, what is your

04:02starter pack for them? I think I learned it pretty early that words have the limitations no matter

04:10how much you polish them or serve them in the best way possible. They have the limitations.

04:19If you really want to teach someone, show them rather than telling them.

04:28And the advice is like what boys will learn the most is like how I am when there is setback.

04:40How I behave when I'm over the moon with success also. How I stay in the moments will teach them more.

04:48How I behave off the field. How I take my nutrition seriously. How I respect.

04:59the ones who are in the club and in general outside footballing world. Even if I have no work with them or no

05:06relevance with them. But yet, how I can have a conversation with them. How I am as a person.

05:12That will teach them more. So, actions in a way is something which I try to and be the right role model.

05:20Not for them but for myself also. In the end, yes, football is important. Everything is important.

05:28But the most important thing is to be a good human being. I have my flaws for sure. I have done many

05:33mistakes. Yes, but I own them off. And that's the beauty of being a human. That's why you are a human, not God.

05:40So, this Indian football team currently is going through a transition period if we can say that.

05:50Like there are young names coming up now. And like gradually we are moving towards and you are the

05:56one who has been seeing the transition from the very first-hand level. So, how has that been like?

06:01How are the youngsters stepping up? Because this time in Kafa, we have seen like previously it was for us

06:07that in the backline we have Sandesh Bhai. We have Virpil Bhai in between the goals. But now there are

06:14names coming up. Like Anwar is now like beside you. He is another pillar who is holding up the entire

06:20structure. So, how is this entire transition been like in terms of the youngsters coming in and how

06:26are they holding up? And if you can, could you also give a few pointers like what are the things that

06:32you guys need are planning to work on going ahead? I will rightly mention the youngsters are

06:41fast-stepping up. I remember when like the names you took yourself, me and Goodpreet. We were youngsters

06:46almost. When we made our debut in the same year, 2015. And a decade later, the grace of God and

06:55a lot of things, we are still there. And I have seen many players come help the country.

07:05And we have been together for a certain time. Like for example, you mentioned Anwar and then

07:09Suresh as well. And a lot of these boys who came in together almost four or five years ago.

07:17And you know, they have literally grown with the team. You know, most of them are the same boys

07:22who were there when we qualified together. They should come in 2023. So, they have a lot of experience

07:27now. They all have around 30-35 appearances for the country. So, it's a good blend. And

07:33in general, for any growth of a nation, a constant supply of talent is something, you know, which

07:46is important. Because like you said, you can never rely on certain few players. Of course, they will have

07:51their relevance always and their importance. But football needs, you know, the country needs a constant

07:59supply of talent, which we are doing well. And I think the ones who played now, you know,

08:04Rashad Moussa and the 23-batch, I think they also did really well. The batch with Bibiana, of course,

08:09also is doing really well. Same for women and the girls' team as well. Our senior teams are doing well.

08:15The juniors are also doing well. So, as an ecosystem of the nation, it's very good where all departments

08:21are succeeding. Of course, the men's team had a tough batch lately. But going forward, I sense good

08:28results for us. And yeah, that's it pretty much.

08:36As you said, like this is a very, this is a very high, like this is one of the times where you guys

08:40needed this CAFA Nations Cup performance itself. Like you, Indian football as a whole needed that.

08:46So, would you say that this Al-Nasr clash that is coming up for FCGO, it's coming at a very high time.

08:52Like this can actually help you guys push up for the entire Indian football level itself. And if you could

08:58highlight how important this clash is for any perspective of Indian football as a whole.

09:04I think being the Al-Nasr game would be massive for Indian football.

09:09That's it pretty much. I want to win every game we have in that group stage.

09:15And top the group. Of course, we didn't have a great start against Alswara in terms of his

09:19result. But I think we've got a very strong performance. And yeah, the main target is to

09:26qualify. Beating Al-Nasr. That's the whole point of football, not being arrogant.

09:35They want to win, we want to win as well. And in November, we got in October,

09:41we got those qualifiers also coming up for the National. So, it's a busy, busy month up ahead.

09:48And I hope we can get the desired results and continue to grow.

09:58So, the last couple of questions from my end. First off, we know that the top-tier league of

10:04Indian football, ISL, is currently in a bit of a limbo. The clouds are gradually clearing up.

10:10Yeah.

10:11But that's, like, one thing is to look at it from a management level. And one thing is to look

10:16at it from the players and the support staff level. Like, how do you guys hold up during this

10:22point of uncertainty, if I can call it that?

10:26There is fear always. But if I tell you right now your job

10:30is in jeopardy and you don't know, you know, if it's going to continue, of course,

10:33going to put fear. Because at the end of the day, you know, we have to put food on our table.

10:39You know, we have to take care of our families. And if your job is uncertain, it's going to put

10:44fear on you. And that was our condition. And how I dealt with it was, I asked myself,

10:55can I change it?

10:58I told myself, no, you can't do anything about it. So, what you can do is focus on your

11:02duty, focus on what I can do. And at that moment, it was preparing for the all-seed game.

11:10So, we qualified for the Champions League. And then it was preparing myself for the Kafa Cup.

11:17So, I stick my guns to where, you know, I can make a difference. So, I stick to my duty. And then,

11:23like you said, the clouds are finally clearing up. And the ones who are involved there, they also want

11:31the player for football. And yeah, I think pretty soon everything will be sorted. And

11:37the league should start soon. But we need the league to start soon. We need to play competitive

11:44games regularly. But I understand the situation, you know, sometimes it happens. And you have to

11:52adapt and just accept it. Hopefully, it's been sorted. We'll sort it soon. And football

12:00start soon. So, I'll start back.

12:06We have seen Sandeesh Jigwin moving on from one team to another and consistently being a rock at

12:12the Indian defense. But this is not something that has been going on for like five, six, seven years.

12:18This has been going on for a long while. You have continued to provide your services at the highest

12:23level for all this time. You have like, yes, unfortunately, you've had your fair share of

12:28injuries in your career, you have battled them, you've come back again, you've been hit with another

12:34obstacle, you've come back again, then now you are in another circle, and you're already making progress

12:40again. How do you motivate yourself at like, after every obstacle, at every obstacle, how do you motivate

12:47yourself? How do you push yourself to that extent, to come back from because you have had serious

12:52injuries too? Some people don't like, touch wood, I don't say that, but some people don't usually

12:58come back with that same intensity after those injuries. How do you push yourself to that extent?

13:11If you feel that life is unfair to you, or if you're suffering,

13:18remember, there's always someone who is suffering more than you. And if you think you have achieved a lot,

13:31always remember there's someone who has achieved more than you. So be content, be humble.

13:41You know, everything happens for a reason. You must work hard, believe in God, and be grateful for what you have.

13:55That keeps me known.

13:56Very well said. I was just expecting you'll give me something which will like, make me sit and think about

14:03holy hell, holy hell. Glad you got the answer. Yeah, thank you so much, Amish Bhai. Like this is,

14:11as I say again, this is like a huge deal for me because it's a big pleasure and best of luck going

14:17forward with both the national team and your club. And hope you recover soon and we see you back in,

14:23back on the field in no time. Thank you, Devo. Lovely talking to you. Lovely talking to you too, sir.

14:33Lovely talking to you. Lovely talking to you. Lovely talking to you.

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