Indian youngster scores on debut for Spanish football club Villareal

Kuruniyan, who is on loan from FC Pune City in the Indian Super League (ISL), was handed his debut yesterday in a friendly between the Villareal C team and CD Roda at the PAMESA Training Ground. The Young Indian player, who has already picked up the nicknamed of 'Kuru', made an instant impact on the match.

It was CD Roda who took the lead early on but Kuru scored the equaliser to make it 1-1. A shot from distance was stopped by the CD Roda goalkeeper, but the Indian was ready for a rebound and brought his team back into the match. Even though he was taken off with 20 minutes to go, the outing will surely hold him in good stead.

The 19-year-old is usually deployed as a wide midfielder, but can also be used as an auxiliary forwardA and play up front. The Kerala-born player has already made quite an impression on the Indian football scene with his performances for the Indian U19 national team in the AFC U19 Championships in Palestine. Kuruniyan has also represented India at the U18 FAM-Frenz Asia Champions Trophy where he scored a brilliant goal that thrust the spotlight on him, and performances like these would ensure it remains there.