Striker turned full-back Shubham Sarangi credits Josep Gombau for his transformation

Odisha FC’s Shubham Sarangi was one of the best young performers last season in the Indian Super League (ISL). The youngster, who had joined Delhi Dynamos in 2017-18, was deployed as a right full-back by former coach Josep Gombau and the player impressed immediately. 

Speaking to the official Instagram page of the ISL, Sarangi spoke about what prompted him to take football as a profession.

“When I got selected for the Indian team for the AFC U-14 qualifiers, I was 12. At Iran, we played four matches and I played in three of them. The feeling was completely different, representing my nation. After coming back from Iran I felt connected with the game. I spoke to my parents and decided to pursue football.”

Sarangi had also enjoyed a short stint at the Aspire Academy Qatar and the youngster said.that spending time in the academy helped him improve. 

“It is one of the biggest football academies in the world. At Aspire they focus on the basics of the game. The culture over there is different and encouraging. They have a great setup there. The coaches were very encouraging. I got all the facilities there. The methodology was completely different. The make sure they push you every single day. Everything there made me a better footballer.”

The Odisha-based footballer was among the probables of the Indian team for the U-17 World Cup in 2017 but had failed to make the cut in Luis Norton De Matos’ final squad.

Anselm Noronha/Goal

Sarangi revealed how he dealt with the rejection from the World Cup squad and how that helped him to become stronger mentally.

“I still remember the day the team was announced. There were 26 players and 21 players were selected and I did not make the cut. I came back to my room, prayed to god and told myself I am going to work hard every single day. I kept pushing myself after that.

“After that, I made sure this thing will not affect me at all. I knew life was not over there and I had to improve. I kept working hard and never looked back. My personality changed. It was a big thing, happening for the first time in India and I missed out on it, I felt bad but I kept it aside and told myself this cannot affect me.”

The versatile youngster started his career as a striker, later moved to the wings in 2018-19 season and then was deployed as a right-back by coach Josep Gombau last season.

Sarangi thanked his former coach for giving him the confidence to play different roles. 

“I started as a striker during youth football days, then I played as a midfielder during the 2018-19 season and now playing as a right-back. I feel at my age if I play in different positions, I gain a lot of qualities from all the experiences. It was our coach (Josep Gombau) who told me after the 2018-19 season that I will do well playing as a full-back.

“The coach told me that in the coming season you will do well as a full-back. Then during the pre-season before the 2019-20 season in Doha, I played in most of the matches and learned new things. Huge thanks to coach Josep Gombau who helped me transform from a midfielder to a full-back.”

Newly appointed Odisha coach Stuart Baxter had suggested that he isn’t a firm believer of making too many changes in a team and Sarangi lauded his new coach’s philosophy.

“When you have a team who have been playing the same way for a long time and when the new coach comes in if the philosophy is similar it is easier for the team to understand the new coach and excel at it.”