A late match-winner from Shankar Sampangiraj has established the teenager as a key member of the Bengaluru FC (BFC) squad. The injury-time header gave BFC a 2-1 victory over the Maldives side, Maziya Sports & Recreational Club in the club’s opening AFC Cup group match here recently.
BFC, the heavy favourites, had struggled to convert chances nearly throughout the match, until Sampangiraj rose well above the defence to head home. That the goal came only seconds before the final whistle added to the drama. “The fans at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium went crazy. Everyone - my teammates, the coach and the crowd – was thrilled. It gave me goose bumps,” Sampangiraj recalls.
This moment of success did not come easy. Still only 19, Sampangiraj has had to battle a serious knee injury, as well as a few phases without a club contract. Sampangiraj’s journey started in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), where he was born and raised. Football in KGF, he says, is a seasonal sport. “When the cricket World Cup was on, we played cricket. During the football World Cup, it was time for football. We played sport to pass our time,” he says. His uncle Sundar Rajan, a former Mahindra United and East Bengal goalkeeper, encouraged him to pursue football as a career. “Watching him in action motivated me. I wanted to become a professional footballer.”
He enrolled in the KGF Academy, and then decided to move to Bengaluru after completing high school. Call-ups to the Karnataka under-16 and India under-19 camps followed, before Sampangiraj joined HAL, one of the state’s most-successful teams. “In an I-League (national league for Indian clubs) match against Pune FC, I suffered an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury to my knee. I thought my playing days were finished.” As a junior India international at the time, Sampangiraj was part of the AIFF Elite Academy in Goa. He was especially fortunate to train under Colm Toal, then the AIFF Chief Coach of Youth Development. It was Toal who convinced Sampangiraj to undergo the surgery required to set him right. The Englishman also assured him that all medical expenses would be borne by the academy. “Toal told me to choose any hospital in India. I chose HOSMAT in Bengaluru, as my parents would be around to take care of me.”
The surgery went off well, but Sampangiraj hit a roadblock. The recovery process was painful, and he considered giving up the sport. “However, after a few months of rehab, I regained my confidence.” The midfielder went on join Pailan Arrows, an I-League club which consisted of India’s best junior footballers. This was followed by a loan stint at DSK Shivajians FC, a move initiated by Pradyum Reddy, the side’s coach at the time. At the end of that season, Sampangiraj was dealt a blow. Pailan Arrows was disbanded, after their chief sponsor pulled out due to financial constraints. “I was back in Bangalore, without a team.” He did not have to wait for long, as a familiar acquaintance came calling. Pradyum, his DSK Shivajians coach, was now the assistant coach at BFC. “Pradyum asked me to join BFC last year - the club’s debut season. But since my knee still bothered me, I couldn't play much.”
BFC went on to win the I-League, but Sampangiraj did the hard yards away from the field of play. His troublesome knee required a strenuous rehabilitation routine. “Ashley Westwood (BFC coach) told me that if I wanted to make the final squad, I would have to work hard and get fit. I did everything he asked of me. I worked on my fitness for the entire season. The team would practice football, but I was either at the gym or running a few rounds around the stadium.”
Sampangiraj mentions that he did not quite find the rationale behind the taxing regimen, at least at first. “Westwood and Pradyum – these guys are crazy when it comes to fitness. I used to wonder why they made us run so much. I was pushed to the limit. I felt that I might die on the field.”
The versatile midfielder, who is at times used as a right-back, explains that the hard work paid off. “I realised that all the running and physical training was for my own good. Things fell into place, and the best reward came at the start of season when Westwood told me that I had found a place in the starting XI.”
India’s top club is beginning to reap rewards of its own, as Sampangiraj is determined to repay the faith shown in him.
