For Sandesh Jhingan, Croatia challenge could be another well-timed tackle
It's a step up alright. The club he has signed for, HNK Sibenik (pronounced She-benik), are an interesting outfit. They had been under financial duress, before Colombian investors Football Smart International bought it off the city administration. (A piece of trivia for Game of Thrones fans here -- if you've seen Braavos, well, that's Sibenik)
The club were promoted to the first division last season after eight years in the lower leagues, and finished sixth -- a couple of places off European qualification. This is a serious team, with very serious ambition.
For Eduardo Zapata, the club's CEO, the move to get Jhingan made all kinds of sense. They had put out a requirement for a particular kind of centre-back, and his was one of the names that popped up. Their analytics department had pored over game footage, analysed his performances, and studied his development. They had got glowing recommendations from everyone they spoke to -- especially Stimac, the national team coach. "First of all, he's a good player - I don't care whether he's from India or Argentina, what's important is that he's good," says Zapata. "We saw his quality and then we saw a nice opportunity. We all agreed [on his quality], and at the end the decision was made by the coach who is the one who has to work with him."
Their coach, Mario Rosas, is one of the assembly-line of coaches that have come out of Barcelona's famed 'La Masia' (Rosas played over a hundred games for Barca and he too had spoken with his connections in Indian football before signing off on the deal.
It's not just the footballing side Zapata saw, though. He recognised in Jhingan a rare quality -- leadership. "I am a person who likes the development of young players. Before Sibenik, I was with America de Cali and one of our great achievements was to be champions with five U-21 players in the starting XI," he says. "Now, something key for the formation and development of young players is to have good leaders inside and outside the pitch. For me, Sandesh, and two-three players we already have in the squad, can bring us this... [he is] a good role model, he's a disciplined guy, he's [a family man], he's centred, focused and this is the kind of person we want to have inside the club." Jhingan saw this side of the club immediately. He was at the Stadion Subicevac where he saw his new team dismantle Hrvatski Dragovoljac 6-2 this weekend, but what impressed him most was what he saw around the pitch. The infrastructure, the academy, the commitment to youth (there are several youth teams at several age groups starting at U-7).
HNK Sibenik are in a spell of bother at the moment -- Sunday's win was their first in five games -- but Jhingan has never been one to run away from a fight. He's chosen to not see out his lucrative contract with ATK Mohun Bagan (a five year deal that made him, reportedly, the highest paid Indian in the ISL) because he simply couldn't miss out on the challenge that playing in a European first division would offer him. It didn't matter that the wages may be lower, because "I have always chosen glory over gold".
He's not concerned that he may not make the starting XI right away, either. "If I can put in the work, if I can stay disciplined then I can see myself getting into the starting XI. If I don't get in, then I just need to put in more effort. It's always about how I am trying to get better -- it's going to be challenging, but I trust my work ethic and my [footballing skill]. I always believe it's on me, whether I play or not."
And so as the Indian men's national team gathers in Kolkata for Stimac's latest camp, one man will be out in little Sibenik (population 40,000) crashing into Croatian and Colombian and Argentine ankles on one of their club's three training grounds, embarking on the latest chapter of what has already been a pretty fun career.
In GRR Martin's fantastic world, Braavos had a 'Titan' -- a giant with fire in his eyes who would wade into the sea and smash enemies. Now, Sibenik have got one of their own.
Do anybody know about his current status? It seems initial assessment said he could train after a week. But even after a month, no news of him back to train.
Comments
For Sandesh Jhingan, Croatia challenge could be another well-timed tackle
It's a step up alright. The club he has signed for, HNK Sibenik (pronounced She-benik), are an interesting outfit. They had been under financial duress, before Colombian investors Football Smart International bought it off the city administration. (A piece of trivia for Game of Thrones fans here -- if you've seen Braavos, well, that's Sibenik)
The club were promoted to the first division last season after eight years in the lower leagues, and finished sixth -- a couple of places off European qualification. This is a serious team, with very serious ambition.
For Eduardo Zapata, the club's CEO, the move to get Jhingan made all kinds of sense. They had put out a requirement for a particular kind of centre-back, and his was one of the names that popped up. Their analytics department had pored over game footage, analysed his performances, and studied his development. They had got glowing recommendations from everyone they spoke to -- especially Stimac, the national team coach. "First of all, he's a good player - I don't care whether he's from India or Argentina, what's important is that he's good," says Zapata. "We saw his quality and then we saw a nice opportunity. We all agreed [on his quality], and at the end the decision was made by the coach who is the one who has to work with him."
Their coach, Mario Rosas, is one of the assembly-line of coaches that have come out of Barcelona's famed 'La Masia' (Rosas played over a hundred games for Barca
and he too had spoken with his connections in Indian football before signing off on the deal.
It's not just the footballing side Zapata saw, though. He recognised in Jhingan a rare quality -- leadership. "I am a person who likes the development of young players. Before Sibenik, I was with America de Cali and one of our great achievements was to be champions with five U-21 players in the starting XI," he says. "Now, something key for the formation and development of young players is to have good leaders inside and outside the pitch. For me, Sandesh, and two-three players we already have in the squad, can bring us this... [he is] a good role model, he's a disciplined guy, he's [a family man], he's centred, focused and this is the kind of person we want to have inside the club." Jhingan saw this side of the club immediately. He was at the Stadion Subicevac where he saw his new team dismantle Hrvatski Dragovoljac 6-2 this weekend, but what impressed him most was what he saw around the pitch. The infrastructure, the academy, the commitment to youth (there are several youth teams at several age groups starting at U-7).
He's not concerned that he may not make the starting XI right away, either. "If I can put in the work, if I can stay disciplined then I can see myself getting into the starting XI. If I don't get in, then I just need to put in more effort. It's always about how I am trying to get better -- it's going to be challenging, but I trust my work ethic and my [footballing skill]. I always believe it's on me, whether I play or not."
And so as the Indian men's national team gathers in Kolkata for Stimac's latest camp, one man will be out in little Sibenik (population 40,000) crashing into Croatian and Colombian and Argentine ankles on one of their club's three training grounds, embarking on the latest chapter of what has already been a pretty fun career.
In GRR Martin's fantastic world, Braavos had a 'Titan' -- a giant with fire in his eyes who would wade into the sea and smash enemies. Now, Sibenik have got one of their own.
https://www.espn.in/football/atk-mohun-bagan/story/4457376/sandesh-jhingan-hnk-sibenik-croatia-challenge-another-well-timed-tackle
Sandesh Jhingan | Official reveal | HNK Sibenik | Croatia
Sandesh Jhingan diagnosed with injury soon after joining HNK Sibenik
https://thebridge.in/football/sandesh-jhingan-hnk-sibenik-injury-24550?utm_campaign=thebridgeindiansports&utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=socialSo is he rushing back to India to join the circus league and sign a multi-million agreement with ISL clubs!?