Punjab-based football club Minerva Academy’s stellar display at the prestigious Mediterranean International Cup (MIC) in Spain, where they beat Liverpool 6-0 in the last 16 before losing 1-2 to Spain’s UE Figueres, has made European scouts sit up and take note.
“Talent scouts from top division clubs in Spain and England have contacted us, asking for the CVs of our players along with additional video clips,” Minerva Academy’s founder-cum-coach Ranjit Bajaj told mid-day over the phone from Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Ranjit Bajaj
News about Indian football seldom makes for positive reading, but not this time. Thanks to Minerva Academy’s stellar display in the Mediterranean International Cup (MIC) in Spain, where their U-15 side did not just progress out of their group, but also thrashed Liverpool U-15 6-0 in the Round-of-16.
Pertinently, Minerva Academy’s impressive run to the quarter-finals of this prestigious competition, where they ultimately succumbed to Spain’s UE Figueres 1-2, has made European scouts sit up and take note. “We have got a lot of interest from foreign scouts and that’s amazing. Top division clubs in Spain and England have contacted us, and they’ve asked us for the CVs of our players along with additional video clips,” Minerva Academy’s founder-cum-coach Ranjit Bajaj told mid-day over the phone from Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Captains of Liverpool U-15 (left) and Minerva Academy before their Mediterranean Int’l Cup tie in Spain recently
“The scouts are looking at five of our players, in particular. The clubs have said that if they perform at this level in next year’s MIC too, they’ll hand them a pre-contract, because 16 is the minimum age when players can get a deal,” added Bajaj, 47.
Reflecting on the tournament, Bajaj said his aim was to demonstrate that Indian players can go head-to-head with the Europeans and come out on top. “We had one simple goal: To show that Indians belong at this level. As long as we get the right training and nutrition from an early age, we can not just compete with the Europeans, but also dominate them. Also, in every game, our opponents were about six-foot tall, whereas we had no boy taller than five-foot-eight inches. Yet, we physically dominated Liverpool,” said Bajaj, whose Minerva Academy boys also won the Gothia Cup (Sweden), Dana Cup (Denmark), and Norway Cup last year.
Bajaj’s ultimate aim is to provide Team India top-notch players, who can help the country qualify for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. “These U-15 boys along with their juniors are preparing for the 2034 World Cup and the 2036 Olympics. If we can become a top eight team in Asia, we can qualify for these two tournaments. We’ve been getting results in international events for a few years. This [MIC] was no flash in the pan. This means our processes are right,” concluded Bajaj.
