Varin Mehta
rudra
2958 Points
Varin Mehta becomes fourth Indian to join foreign club
Varin Mehta has become the fourth Indian footballer to feature in a foreign league after he officially signed to play for Belgium’s Royal Antwerp FC. Mehta joins the illustrious list of Mohammad Salim (Celtic in 1937), Bhaichung Bhutia (Bury FC 1999-2002) and Sunil Chhetri (Kansas City Wizards 2010-11).
The Mumbai-based lad was on trial with the club, which has been struggling in second division since 2004, for the past one year and his efforts finally bore fruit when he was offered a season-long contract. Varin was obviously delighted with the development. “It would be like a dream come true,” Varin told Mumbai Mirror. “My hard work from past one year has finally paid off.”
He is yet to represent India and until 2009, was part of the Mahindra United U-19 squad and also played in the I-League U-19. But with the United club closing down, he started looking for opportunities outside India.
The Mehta family, who are diamond merchants, used their contacts to get intouch with the club president who offered Varin a trial. However, the 5’8” striker had to slog for a year to earn a contract.
The most important hurdle lay outside Varin’s immediate control. “The club had financial difficulties and hiring a foreign player like me meant that they had to pay a certain some of money (according to their government rules), which was out of their budget. They suggested me if a sponsor can be roped in, hiring me wouldn’t be a problem.” The Mehta family did the rounds of corporate offices before finally managing to get Reliance Industries (RIL) to sponsor.
Some of the lesser hurdles were about battling stereotypes. “Many people would ask me questions like, son, are you an Indian? What are you doing playing football, you should be playing cricket.” said Varin.
Some was about coping with the weather. “From the mid-30’s in Mumbai to -5 degrees in Antwerp, I was determined to face anything that came my way.” And some were about the style of football. “Acclimatizing to the chilly climate to getting use to one-touch football, are some of things that I adapted very quickly. I was glad that I finally proved everyone wrong,” he said.
His troubles were eased by the presence of his mother Gira, who moved to Antwerp along with him. “Getting a visa for her was difficult, so she decided to study her masters and that’s how she is with me. She made lot of sacrifices. We being strict vegetarians, she took care of my food and made sure that I didn’t suffer. I owe a lot to her,” said Varin, who also thanked his coaches Santosh Kashyap and Abid Kenkre.
Having achieved a part of his dream, Varin wants to represent India at the highest level. “I don’t want to play I-League now. My first goal is to cement a place in this team and make my mark in European football. I want to take it step by step and play for better clubs and eventually an EPL club,”Varin said. “I also want to wear national colours; that would be my ultimate achievement.”
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Varin Mehta has become the fourth Indian footballer to feature in a foreign league after he officially signed to play for Belgium’s Royal Antwerp FC. Mehta joins the illustrious list of Mohammad Salim (Celtic in 1937), Bhaichung Bhutia (Bury FC 1999-2002) and Sunil Chhetri (Kansas City Wizards 2010-11).
The Mumbai-based lad was on trial with the club, which has been struggling in second division since 2004, for the past one year and his efforts finally bore fruit when he was offered a season-long contract. Varin was obviously delighted with the development. “It would be like a dream come true,” Varin told Mumbai Mirror. “My hard work from past one year has finally paid off.”
He is yet to represent India and until 2009, was part of the Mahindra United U-19 squad and also played in the I-League U-19. But with the United club closing down, he started looking for opportunities outside India.
The Mehta family, who are diamond merchants, used their contacts to get intouch with the club president who offered Varin a trial. However, the 5’8” striker had to slog for a year to earn a contract.
The most important hurdle lay outside Varin’s immediate control. “The club had financial difficulties and hiring a foreign player like me meant that they had to pay a certain some of money (according to their government rules), which was out of their budget. They suggested me if a sponsor can be roped in, hiring me wouldn’t be a problem.” The Mehta family did the rounds of corporate offices before finally managing to get Reliance Industries (RIL) to sponsor.
Some of the lesser hurdles were about battling stereotypes. “Many people would ask me questions like, son, are you an Indian? What are you doing playing football, you should be playing cricket.” said Varin.
Some was about coping with the weather. “From the mid-30’s in Mumbai to -5 degrees in Antwerp, I was determined to face anything that came my way.” And some were about the style of football. “Acclimatizing to the chilly climate to getting use to one-touch football, are some of things that I adapted very quickly. I was glad that I finally proved everyone wrong,” he said.
His troubles were eased by the presence of his mother Gira, who moved to Antwerp along with him. “Getting a visa for her was difficult, so she decided to study her masters and that’s how she is with me. She made lot of sacrifices. We being strict vegetarians, she took care of my food and made sure that I didn’t suffer. I owe a lot to her,” said Varin, who also thanked his coaches Santosh Kashyap and Abid Kenkre.
Having achieved a part of his dream, Varin wants to represent India at the highest level. “I don’t want to play I-League now. My first goal is to cement a place in this team and make my mark in European football. I want to take it step by step and play for better clubs and eventually an EPL club,”Varin said. “I also want to wear national colours; that would be my ultimate achievement.”
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Video released by RAFC
[flash=640,360]http://www.youtube.com/v/xb-n8TE5nPc?version=3&hl=en_US[/flash]
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