Sahal Abdul Samad

Sahal Abdul Samad (born 1 April 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the Indian national team.[2]

Sahal Abdul Samad
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997
Place of birth Al Ain, UAE[1]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Kerala Blasters FC
Number 18
Youth career
2012–2016 Al-Ethihad Football Academy
2016-2017 Kerala State Football Team
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Kerala Blasters B 10 (7)
2018– Kerala Blasters 37 (1)
National team‡
2019–2020 India U23 2 (0)
2019– India 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2019

Club career

Early Life and Career(2010-17)

Sahal was born in Al Ain, UAE and completed his 14 years of schooling from New Indian Model School in Al Ain.[3][4] He started to play football at the age of 8.[5] In 2010, Sahal joined the Al Ethihad Sports Academy to pursue his dream in professional football. After completing his studies in UAE, he moved to his native place Kannur in Kerala to complete his degree and to focus on university football. A few months after starting his degree, he was spotted by coach Siddique of SN College in Kannur who convinced him to switch colleges. After good performances at University-level tournaments, he soon found a place in the district U-21 side, and then the Kerala team for the Santosh Trophy.[6]

2017-Present(Kerala Blasters)

2017-18:Kerala Blasters Reserves

Sahal's performance during 2017 Santosh Trophy was noted by scouts of Kerala Blasters.[7] He got his first ever professional contract from Blasters as they signed and put him on the reserve side for the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division. In the 4th match against FC Kerala he was appointed as the captain for the rest of the season. He scored 7 goals from 10 games and became 3rd top scorer in the league.[8] As the senior team was struggling with points in the 2017-18 Season of ISL, manager René Meulensteen decided to promote some youth players to the senior side, among them Sahal was promoted.[9] Due to team's poor performance, Rene was sacked after the match and David James took over for the rest of season.[10] Sahal was not included in the squad for the next 5 matches. But he was again called up to side and remained as unused sub in next 2 matches. Finally he debuted for the senior side by coming as a substitute for the Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov in the 80th minute of a match against ATK which ended up in a draw. He was also given one more chance in the 90th minute of the match against Bengaluru FC.[11]

2018-Present

In the 2018–19 season, Sahal was included in the starting 11 of the season opener against ATK in which Blasters won by 3–0. He made a total of 17 appearances from 18 matches during the season. He provided one assist and scored his first goal for the club against Chennaiyin FC on February 15. Sahal improved his passing capability and made 688 touches over the course of the season. He was one among the top Indian players with most no of key passes in the season.[12] But lack of effective strikers affected teams scoring capability. Despite club's poor campaign in the 2018–19, Sahal enjoyed his breakthrough season and went on to win ISL Emerging Player of the Season.[13] He was also announced as the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year.[14] On 11 May 2019, Sahal signed a contract extension with Kerala Blasters which tied him to the club till 2022.[15]

In the 2019-20 ISL season, Blasters appointed Eelco Schattorie as the manager.[16] Under him, Sahal founded it difficult to adapt into new conditions. As the season progressed, the team's injury problem became so concern that Sahal was forced to move from his natural attacking midfielder position into winger position and sometimes he was even used as Secondary striker. He started in most matches as right midfield. Mostly it affected his performance but was able provide 2 assists in the season.[17]

International career

Sahal has been called up for the India U23 football team for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers.[18] Sahal made his debut on 11 March 2019 against Qatar U23 in a friendly ahead of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers.[19]

Sahal was named in the preliminary squad of the senior team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, but didn't make it into the final squad. In May 2019, he was named in the squad for 2019 King's Cup.[20][21] He made his debut on 5 June 2019 in a 3–1 loss against Curaçao in the 2019 King's Cup.[22][23]

Personal Life

On 10 June 2020, Sahal signed a deal with Puma, German multinational sportwear company, as its new ambassador.[24]

In June 2020, Sahal auctioned his national team jersey wore during the World Cup qualifiers. He donated the money received from the auction to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to help the prevention activities for COVID-19 pandemic.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of 28 March 2020[26]
Club Season League Super Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kerala Blasters B 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division10700––107
Kerala Blasters 2017–18 Indian Super League2000––20
2018–19 17110––181
2019–20 18000––180
Kerala Blasters Total 3711000381
Total 4781000488

International
As of match played 14 November 2019[27]
National teamYearAppsGoals
India
 201990
Total90

Honours

Personal
Kerala Blasters FC
Emerging Player Of The Season: 2018-19
AIFF Men's Emerging Footballer Of The Year : 2019

References
  1. Dhar, Pulasta (28 September 2019). "The amazing grace of Sahal". LiveMint. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. "S. SAMAD". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  3. Shetty, Chittu (15 July 2019). "Born in Al Ain, Sahal says 'Moving to India changed my life'". Football Counter. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. Sportstar, Team. "Sahal recalls journey from university football to senior national team". Sportstar. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. "I'm happy at Blasters: Sahal quells rumours of ATK move". OnManorama. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. Sportstar, Team. "Sahal recalls journey from university football to senior national team". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  7. Sportstar, Team. "Sahal recalls journey from university football to senior national team". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. "Kerala Blasters' Sahal Abdul Samad waiting for his big break | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  9. "ISL 2018-19: Top 5 promising youngsters | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. "ISL 2017-18: Kerala Blasters appoint David James as Rene Meulensteen's replacement, claim reports". Firstpost. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  11. "Bengaluru FC vs. Kerala Blasters FC - Football Match Line-Ups - March 1, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  12. Issac, Alby (19 November 2018). "ISL 2018-19: Kerala Blasters' Sahal Samad draws inspiration from 'Ozil of Kerala' tag". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  13. "Sahal Abdul Samad chosen Emerging Player of The Year by AIFF - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  14. "Sahal Abdul Samad chosen Emerging Player of The Year by AIFF - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  15. "Indian Football Transfers: Sahal Abdul Samad signs contract extension with Kerala Blasters till 2022". Sportskeeda. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  16. Sportstar, Team. "Kerala Blasters parts ways with Eelco Schattorie". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  17. "Sahal Abdul Samad Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. Narayan, Aaditya (8 March 2019). "Derrick Pereira names 23-man India U-23 squad for friendly against Qatar - Onus on Chhangte, Sahal, Dheeraj". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  19. "India U-23 go down fighting against Qatar". Khel Now. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  20. "Squad for King's Cup". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  21. "Six newcomers make the cut for Igor Stimac's India squad for King's Cup". Khel Now. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  22. "New look Blue Tigers go down to Curaçao". Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  23. "Just the beginning: Sahal and Co. relive their emotional debut". Indian Super League. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  24. "After Chhetri, Gurpreet, Puma signs Kerala Blasters' star Sahal Abdul Samad as new ambassador". The Bridge. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  25. "Footballer Sahal Abdul Samad auctions his team India jersey to help COVID-19 prevention activities". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  26. "Sahal Samad career". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  27. "Sahal Abdul Samad". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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