Jeakson Singh’s confidence would take you by surprise. At the FIFA Under-17 World Cup draw back in July this year in Mumbai, the midfielder announced, “My ultimate aim is to represent Real Madrid."
One would admire the fact that he didn’t shy away from sharing his dream with the rest of the world, a world of unknowns – people he was meeting for the very first time in his life. On the other hand, you would get the impression that the teenager isn’t able to differentiate between a dream and reality. One must remember that this is a 16-year-old we are talking about.
In Jeakson’s case, you would think that the boy is supremely confident of his abilities and the team management are of the opinion that the midfielder has leadership qualities and always remains grounded.
October 9th will become a national day of sorts for football fans in India as the country scored its first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup. It didn’t matter that the goal was scored in an Under-17 version but the fact that India had made its mark was enough to make the fans go into delirium.
The first thing Jeakson said was that the goal wasn’t life changing, which gives you an insight of how ambitious he is. It also tells you that the player is level headed with feet firmly rooted to the ground.
“I’m very happy, it’s a great feeling. It’s not something life changing though. I spoke to my mother and she’s a bit disappointed that we didn’t get the result. We’re all prepared for what comes next. We won’t let the disappointment get in our way. We will give a tough fight. I saw Udanta (Singh) and Milan (Singh) and I dreamt of playing in the Indian national team. I want to dedicate this goal to my parents. My father can’t talk much after his brain stroke,” said the Minerva FC player.
“The players were all very excited and happy about the goal. It’s sad we conceded soon after though,” he added.
Jeakson was quick to point out the influence Luis Norton de Matos has had on his career and gave him due credit.
“I’ve learnt a lot from Matos especially about playing in the midfield. I won’t commit any mistakes. I also learnt a lot about how to be a better midfielder at Minerva,” he mentioned.
A defensive midfielder or a number six, as he likes to describe himself, Jeakson stated that he has modeled his game on a Barcelona midfielder despite being a Real Madrid fan. Such maturity and composure as a fan is unbecoming of a teenager in today’s world of quivering likes and dislikes.
“Sergio Busquets is my favourite player.”
Just like Busquets, Jeakson is adept at breaking play and his qualities especially come to fore in transition - when the team moves from attack to defence or vice versa.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)