Want to continue till youngsters push me out of the scene, asserts Subrata Paul
Subrata Paul started his career with Mohun Bagan back in 2004
|Veteran footballer Subrata Paul stated that he will carry on playing until the younger players come up and push him out of the scene. The custodian has come a long way since making his senior debut for Mohun Bagan in 2004, having also played 67 matches for the national side till now.
Subrata Paul has been a stalwart between the sticks for the Indian football team during his prime, having put up a spirited display in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. In 2014, he became the first Indian goalkeeper to play abroad when he signed for the Danish side FC Vestsjaellend. At the age of 33, Subrata is still going strong and is hoping to continue to play at the highest level until the youngsters come up and push him out of the scene. And, on top of that, he believes that there’s still time before he hangs up his boots.
“I intend to carry on until the youngsters come up and push me out. However, there will be a day when my body and mind will tell me that sleep is perhaps more comfortable than going to either the gym, pool, or the ground. That day I will get the call from inside that maybe I need to move away. But knowing myself, that day is far away,” said Subrata Paul, as reported by Goal.com.
Subrata Paul recently signed for Hyderabad FC on a two-year deal, a deal that will see him at the club till the end of the 2021-22 ISL. Even at this age, his passion for the game has not taken a dip; he believes that footballers overcome age by making sacrifices at various levels.
“My passion has no end. Come and practice with me and I will practice with you like I used to do as a 16-year-old. Of course for that, I need to spend extra hours looking at my body, because however hard you may try, we are not getting younger. But you can overcome age making sacrifices at various levels,” added the footballer.
