Rhea, dressed in a Barcelona jersey, on the Dalhousie Institute greens. Don’t miss her Number 10 shorts. Just like her idol Lionel Messi. Pictures: Rashbehari Das

You have been playing football for how long?

Pretty long. I started when I was I think around seven. I always used to play for fun in my compound with my neighbours and then come to the club (Dalhousie Institute) and play there. Once our school (La Martiniere for Girls) formed a team, I joined it. I had also gone for a month-long summer camp in Rabindra Sarobar. From there a bunch of girls had got selected and we had gone for Bengal selections. And, I played for Bengal for the first time when I was 12 (for U-16). We had gone to Haldwani (Uttarakhand) for an inter-state tournament. It was something more than just playing football during weekends.

For school, out of all the tournaments we have played, we were runner-up in three and we had won one tournament when I was in Class IX. I was the highest scorer. Last year we won the Keventer Cup and I was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. I scored 16 goals. By then I had played for the state thrice… twice for U-16 and once for U-19.

What is your preferred position?

The first time I played for Bengal, I played wing and the other two times, I played striker. Once I had played midfield too, but I usually play as a striker.

Football is…

Fun. It’s not about winning or losing. You play because you love it. Nobody judges you. It’s about how you play and how much you love the game. It’s got nothing to do with where you are from or how you dress or talk, whether you’re a boy or girl.... When you are playing a sport, you don’t think so much. That’s nice.

It’s definitely fun being a girl and playing football because people’s mindset is that a girl should not play, but that’s slowly changing. Any and everybody can do anything.

Rhea does a Baby Freeze. “It is not something you’d do on the football field,” she chuckles. We love it, Rhea!

Do your neighbourhood boys or your brother (who is four years younger) bully you?

Not really. If my brother bullies me, I bully him back! In a sport, it is like that. Playing with boys helps your game. A lot of girls play football for fun. Most boys play football seriously. So, when you play with them, you tend to play better, you tend to want to play better.

Do you want to play football professionally?

I don’t think there is much scope for that in India. Girls’ soccer is not a sport that people would promote a lot or look forward to. If it was something that I had to do professionally, it would not be here, but out of India. It is a hard decision but it doesn’t mean that I have to give it up.

What do you want for girls’ soccer?

It just needs to be given importance. People’s mindset need to change. It shouldn’t be seen as a boys’ sport. I know of a lot of girls who play. Better facilities are required. Get serious!

You must be busy watching the World Cup?

Yeah! I also watched the 3.30am games. I love Lionel Messi. He is my favourite player. I like how he plays because he is simple. He gets the ball and he’ll either run past you or he’ll cut left or right if he doesn’t pass. His game is predictable, yet nobody can stop him. When he had come to Calcutta, I had gone to see that game. Someday, I would like to play alongside Messi. In fact, I would like to play with the whole Barcelona team. My favourite stadium is Camp Nou. I would love to go to Barcelona. In Barcelona, there is no individual star. There is Neymar, Pedro, Alexis Sanchez, Andres Iniesta… Iniesta is half the reason why everyone scores, he is a playmaker.

I don’t have a favourite team in the World Cup, but I am really excited because I was hoping to see some good football. And that is what we have got so far. I think out of Germany, France and Netherlands, one should win. Netherlands has two excellent players in Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.

Messi is playing pretty well, but the team is not.... If they up their game a little, I think they’ll also be in contention. I really hope that Argentina plays up to the mark.

Messi apart, who are your favourite footballers?

There was a point of time when I liked Mesut Ozil and then Thomas Muller also. When Robin van Persie left Arsenal and joined Manchester United, I didn’t like it too much, but then he started playing very well for Man U. I was very excited when Neymar joined Barcelona. He plays well in a team where he is the striker. In Barcelona, he plays with a bunch of stars. But when he plays for Brazil or used to play for Santos, he used to have the ball all the time. He used to score more goals and shine.

Knowing Rhea

Age: 18

Stays on: AJC Bose Road

Studied at: La Martiniere for Girls

Is studying: Multimedia and animation at St. Xavier’s College

As a footballer: Was school football team captain for five years, from Class VIII to XII

Played for Bengal U-16 and U-19.

Was the Most Valuable Player at Keventer Cup, the inter-school tournament

Follows La Liga, Barclays Premier League and the UEFA Champions League

Wants to play alongside a certain Lionel Messi

Saionee Chakraborty

What is your message for Rhea? Tellt2@abp.in