18-year-old Indian footballer to play for Spanish La Liga Club Deportivo Leganes
After playing with Spanish second division club UD Almeria for eight months, Bangalore lad Ishan Pandita has signed a one-year contract with the La Liga club Deportivo Leganes. The 18-year old Ishan has become the first Indian to sign a professional contract with a Spanish top division side.
Ishan Pandita, who has been earlier playing for Spanish second division club UD Almeria, will feature for the Under-19 side of the Spanish La Liga club Deportivo Leganes, who are currently 11th in the league table. He was given the No. 50 blue-and-white striped home jersey by the club vice-president and owner Felipe Moreno, at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque stadium in Leganes on Monday evening.
After signing the contract, an elated Ishan told TOI, "It's been a tough, hard three years here in Spain but at the end, it was all worth it. It feels great to be the first Indian to go down this path. Right from the moment, I decided to take a break from studies till now, I never gave up on my dream."
Ishan has studied at International School Bangalore, where he became the school football team's captain. He has played in the A and C divisions of Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA), before catching the attention of Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna at the famous Gothia Cup, who invited him for trials.
Eventually, Ishan made his way to the Intersoccer Madrid football academy in Spain, which gave him the opportunity to join Alcobendas CF, who are the feeder club of Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Now, after spending eight months at UD Almeria, Ishan could soon feature in one of the biggest leagues in the world!
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