Move over IPL and ISL, the football MADCUP U-16 and St Xavier's Collegiate School (SXCS) are here!
When the whistle blows in the Spanish capital on Friday, a team of teenagers from Kolkata will not just be chasing a football. They will be chasing their dreams. And history.
On June 20, St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata, will take on European heavyweights Club Atletico de Madrid. SXCS’s participation marks the first time an Indian youth team has qualified for the prestigious MADCUP in Spain. The boys from St. Xavier’s, who flew out from Kolkata alongside three teachers on June 18, will be competing in the under-16 category of the tournament’s fifth edition.
SXCS principal, Rev Fr Roshan Tirkey, SJ, was thrilled with the team’s progress: “This is a huge achievement for us, to get to write history on a global platform. We have instilled a sense of ‘we can’ into our students, to ensure that they can go up against the best young players in the world.” Hours before kick-off, spirits in the Xaverian dressing room were at an all-time high. “We have seen Atletico play and know a lot about them… but they know nothing about us. We’re actually thrilled to be the underdogs,” grinned Farino Torcato, SXCS’s house coordinator for students from Class VI to XII.
My Kolkata caught up with the Xaverian camp before they left to play their own version of tiki-taka in Spain.
‘We expected maybe 30 students to turn up… more than 600 were waiting’
For a bunch of youngsters from Kolkata to play at the Metropolitano Stadium, the ground that has hosted the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappe, is a proud moment for St. Xavier’s, West Bengal, and India. “Madrid is the epicentre of football, and even getting to touch the grass at the Metropolitano (which hosted the UEFA Champions League final in 2019) is a privilege,” said St. Xavier’s goalkeeper Nirvaan Mukherjee.
The journey to MADness started in January. Torcato was chatting with a former student from the 2008 batch, Bijit Sarkar, who works as a sports consultant in Madrid. “He said that it would be great to see St. Xavier’s compete in MADCUP this year. That sparked an idea, and things somehow fell in place,” he recounted.
Soon, the school put out a call for trials. “We expected maybe 30 students to turn up. But on the day of the trials, when we entered Xavier’s Hall, more than 600 were waiting!” remembered the games teacher and football coach, Romario Angelo Topno. After an extensive screening process, 20 boys were selected.
The Xaverians have their work cut out, with their group comprising formidable units like Bax Football Selection, C.D. Villanueva de La Canada and So Caillolais. “Seeing our students standing shoulder to shoulder with players from great clubs on an international platform is a huge inspiration. It’s a testament to the values of hard work at St. Xavier’s,” said Fr Narendra Singh, SJ, vice principal, SXCS.
Shouldering a nation’s dreams
SXCS players have spent the better part of the past three months eating, sleeping and breathing football
With the best international youth teams competing in the tournament, SXCS knew that they had to put their fittest foot forward. “All of March was spent building stamina and strength. The players would come and ask me, ‘Why are we practising football without footballs?’” chuckled Topno.
Ryan Cranenburgh, who plays right-back, sees this tournament as a personal milestone. “I’m a huge Real Madrid supporter, and going to Madrid is my dream. To play against Atletico will hopefully be my shot at retribution,” grinned the Ronaldo fan.
Loren Lepcha, who hopes to dictate the game from midfield like his hero, Mohun Bagan’s Sahal Abdul Samad, felt, “It’s all God's plan, and we’re excited to uphold the responsibility of our city, state and country.”
(L-R) SXCS football coach Romario Angelo Topno; principal Rev Fr Roshan Tirkey, SJ; vice principal Fr Narendra Singh, SJ; and house coordinator Farino Torcato
Fravash Jeejeebhoy, the youngest on the team, said that the mindset was “positive” as they “don’t look at the past, but at the future”.
“Everyone else has a lot to lose, but we have a lot to win,” said Rishaan Sethia, the team’s other goalkeeper. Defender Baidurya Deep Ghosh was keen to pay homage to Swami Vivekananda’s bridge between sport and spirituality. “The entire school has shown faith in us, which motivates us to practise harder.”
Win, lose or draw in Madrid, these boys from Kolkata sure have kicked off something special.