Sabeeth CS
Age: 20
Position : Striker
Team: Viva Kerala
Native: Ooty
When Viva Kerala clinched the I-League berth last season all hailed their Nigerian striker Badmus Baba Thunde for the team’s success but there was an 18 year old boy who scored three times in the campaign and also setup goals for the Nigerian and he was the unsung hero of the team and he is Sabeeth Chirachal Sathyan, better known as Sabeeth CS – the latest entrant to the new generation of Indian strikers.
Born at the ‘Queen of Hill Stations’, Ooty the boy got more involved in the game at the age of 13. “While studying in 8th standard at Government Secondary School, Ooty I got more interest into the game and my father (C. Sathyan) was motivation for me”. Sabeeth’s father C. Sathyan played for Tamil Nadu Police for more than 20 years and was a regular for Wayanad district football team. “My father never made it into the national team and he was very much happy when I was selected into the Indian Under-19 team”. The striker was selected into the national Under-19 team after an impressive performance for the state of Tamil Nadu in the National U19 Championships. It was in the AFC Under-19 Championship Sabeeth made his first appearance for Team India and he did score in the second game against Pakistan though India failed to qualify for the final round.
The 20 year old started his club career with Nilgiri Police at the age of 17 and then moved to State Bank of India, Chennai and in the Tamil Nadu State Club Championships he scored six goals and helped his team reach the finals. ”It was a big tournament for me as I was able to score goals and that attracted interested from many clubs”. Though he had better offers from Mumbai’s ONGC, Mumbai FC, etc he finally gave his signature to Viva Kerala in the 2008/09 season.
“I had great offers from many clubs but playing for a club from my state was always a different feeling”. An injury sustained in the Kerala State Club Championship left him out of the first round of second division matches in Cochin but his come back in the final round in Gurgaon helped the club from “God’s own Country” to secure a place in the 3rd edition of the I-League.
Sabeeth dreams to play one day in the English Premier League and his aim is to play for the Indian Senior team in the coming years. The Mallu boy has got that technical brilliance and is more of a team player rather than a show stopper. His assist column will be more than his own goal tally as he is more of a provider rather than a goal scorer. The I-League will be decisive for the youngster as if he can put more balls into the net there is no reason why he won’t catch the eye of national coach Bob Houghton.
Courtesy: IndianFootball.com
