By Monojit Mandal
SHILLONG: There is a famous line by former Manchester United manager, Alex Alex Ferguson, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.“Rakesh Pradhan has been the epitome of the said line.
The Assam-born right-back plays a vital role securing the defence of NorthEast United FC aka The Highlanders in Indian Super League (ISL).
“With rock-solid in defence, Pradhan is also exceptionally efficient in passing the ball and making overlapping runs aiding the mid-field and the attack on many occasions.
His playing style is quite alike the Brazilian great Dani Alves with unique and creative manner of playing as a right-back.
“The 22-year-old and immensely skilled defender is a product of Shillong Lajong youth academy and had debuted for the club in 2013-14 I-League season. He then went on to make 31 appearances for the club in I-League. “In an exclusive interview with The Shillong Times, Rakesh Pradhan opened up about how life and football have been effected by COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. “Pradhan said that life has been different now because of the pandemic and it is a big loss to the sport as well as individual player.
“It has been a loss to everyone be it an individual player or the sporting fraternity. But, it is something which is beyond our control and hence despite not being able to be directly engaged with the sport I try to look at the bright side as I am getting more time to spend with my family which we sportspersons don’t usually get much,” said Pradhan.
“However, it is also somewhat frustrating to remain this far from the sport I love,” He added. “When asked, how is he managing his workouts, Pradhan said, he is mainly focussing on yoga at the time being as access to the gym and open field workout has been restricted. “I have started doing yoga with the help of a very well-known Yogi Anu Subba from Gujarat to keep myself fit and ready for the season ahead.””Due to the lockdown and the restrictions, I haven’t been able to do anything outdoors or hit the gym and hence I have opted for yoga to keep myself fit.”
“However, Pradhan also said that not being able to hit the gym or getting proper training drill in the open is quite hard for the footballers.
“As a footballer, we live and breathe on the ground and now when we have to do remain inside it’s hard for us. Those long jogs around the ground or the training drills along with the long strolls with the ball at my feet are something I miss the most.”He also said that with staying in shape and being in a good mind frame can help the players back in the groove in no time.
Rakesh Pradhan, however, feels playing in empty stadium without fans is very disheartening for the players as well as the game of football.
“It is something very disheartening to hear as a player because when you’re set feet on the ground and there are hundreds of fans cheering for you or your team it brings out the extra effort from a player. It will be very hard for us players but at the same time I think everyone’s safety should be the priority.”
He believes the presence of fans in the stadium and the environment they create has direct upshot on the players and adds positivity to an individual player.
“You realize it (the psychological impact) the most when the game is not going in your team’s favour. In such moments when the fans get behind your back, somehow, you get the energy to put that extra energy even if it’s in the 90th minute of a tiring game,” explained Pradhan.