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 Paul training with India in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Subrata Paul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-12-24)24 December 1986 (age 39) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sodepur,West Bengal,India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Tata Football Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Mohun Bagan | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | East Bengal | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Pune | 40 | (1[2]) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Prayag United | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | →Rangdajied United (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | →Vestsjælland (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Mumbai City | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | →Salgaocar (loan) | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | NorthEast United | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | →DSK Shivajians (loan) | 24 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Jamshedpur | 43 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Hyderabad | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | →East Bengal (loan) | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | →Mohun Bagan (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 222 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | India U23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2017 | India | 67 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subrata Paul (Bengali:সুব্রত পাল; born 24 December 1986) is an Indian former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper. Considered one of India's best goalkeepers, he was awarded theArjuna Award by thegovernment of India in 2016.[3][4]
A graduate of theTata Football Academy, Paul started his senior career withMohun Bagan in 2004. During the 2004Federation Cup final againstDempo on 5 December 2004,Dempo forwardCristiano Júnior lost his life after he and Paul collided. Following the incident, lack of facilities and medical professionals during the game was highlighted, leading to significant changes in theI-League.[5]
Subrata was signed by local rivalsEast Bengal in 2007. He was an important figure for his team during the time he spend for the Kolkata-based club and was adjudged theI-League's best goalkeeper in 2007 for his outstanding shot-stopping abilities, an example of which was inEast Bengal'sFederation Cup winning campaign of 2007, resulting in his team qualifying for theAFC Cup 2008. Subrata appeared 31 times in the league for East Bengal and was the first choice 'keeper for the Kolkata-based team.[6]
On 2 June 2009, Subrata joinedPune FC.[7] In the middle of theI-League 2009-10 season, Subrata had a trial stint with Canadian sideVancouver Whitecaps in the summer of 2010. Subrata expressed his desire to play abroad in the professional leagues of North America, Europe and Asia. He later said that "There was no offer coming from any club agent of any country during the Asian Cup. But I am looking for any offer to play abroad. Europe is the best place to play. But I am game to go to countries like South Korea, Japan, Australia and even the West Asian countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia."[8][citation needed]
Paul signed forPrayag United of theI-League on 9 May 2012.[9] He made his debut for the club on 7 October 2012 againstAir India at theSalt Lake Stadium inKolkata, a match Prayag won 5–1.[10]
Paul started off well in the2011-12 I-League, impressing the new coach, however his form would soon wear thin. On 29 December 2012, Prayag United lost to I-League strugglesSporting Goa. The next seven matches from the aforementioned defeat, his team lost 5 and drew once and this was enough for his coach to replace Subrata withSangram Mukherjee in the remaining league matches of the season.
Subrata signed a contract withIndian Super League to play in the new league which was to start in 2014.[11] However, due to signing-up for the ISL, theI-League clubs refused to sign Subrata as they were all opposed to the Indian Super League,[11] but, on 20 November 2013, despite rejecting ISL signed players earlier,Rangdajied United of theI-League agreed to sign Paul along with fellow ISL contracted playersGouramangi Singh,Sandesh Jhingan,Manandeep Singh, andTomba Singh.[12][13] He made his debut in theI-League on 22 November 2013 againstShillong Lajong at theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong in which he played the whole match as Rangdajied drew 1–1.[14]
On 9 January 2014, it was confirmed that Paul had signed forFC Vestsjælland of theDanish Superliga,[15][16] thus becoming the fourth Indian footballer to play professionally abroad, the second to join a top-tier European side, and the first Indian goalkeeper to play abroad.[17] Despite signing on as member of the squad, he did not make any appearance for the first team and only appeared with the reserve squad.[18]
Subrata was drafted in byISL clubMumbai City FC during the 2014 edition of the league and was the first choice 'keeper for his team until 2015, appearing 26 times in the league format. Subrata's performance was notable but not enough to help his team into the semi-finals.[1]
Subrata joinedSalgaocar of theI-League on loan fromMumbai City FC for the season as fellow Indian internationalKaranjit Singh, the regular 'keeper of Salgaocar would miss most of the2014-15 I-League season due to injury.[19]
After spending the2016 ISL season withNorthEast United, Paul was loaned toI-League sideDSK Shivajians on 15 December 2016.[20]
On 23 July 2017, Pal was selected in the second round of the2017–18 ISL Players Draft byJamshedpur for the2017–18 Indian Super League.[21] He made his debut for the club in their first ever match on 18 November 2017 against Paul's former club,NorthEast United. Pal started the match and kept the clean sheet as Jamshedpur drew the match 0–0.[22]
After the season concluded, Pal was awarded theIndian Super League Golden Glove Award.[23] A month later it was announced that Pal had been retained by the club for the 2018–19 season.[24]
After leaving Jamshedpur in 2019, Paul joinedHyderabad FC in 2020. He played six matches for Hyderabad with two clean sheets before being loaned out toEast Bengal.[25] He was then signed by Mohun Bagan in January 2022 on a loan deal for the remainder of their season.[26] After not playing for more than a year, Pal announced retirement from professional football on 8 December 2023 at the age of 36.[27]
Subrata has played for India at all age groups. He rose to prominence with the Under-23 team in the Pre-Olympic qualifiers where he pulled off 3 saves in a crucial penalty shootout against Myanmar hence enabling India to qualify for the Group stage. In the group stages his goalkeeping abilities helped India pull off an unexpected draw at home against the formidable Iraq.
In 2007, he replacedSandip Nandy as the Indian Senior Team's number 1 for the Nehru Cup in 2007 where he was adjudged the best goalkeeper in a competitive field which included the likes ofMosab Balhous.
Paul was noted for his sharp goalkeeping as part ofBaichung Bhutia's successfulIndian team of theNehru Cup 2007. His saves were noted in the semi-finals againstKyrgyzstan,[28] which enabled India to reach the finals of this tournament for the first time. In the final, India faced Syria, against whom they had lost an earlier group stage match.[29] In this match, he staved off wave after wave of attack by the Qasioun Eagles.[30] India defeated Syria by a 1–0 margin to win the tournament for the first time. CoachBob Houghton said that "Subrata was splendid in goal",[30] whileThe Hindu wrote:
He was part of the victoriousIndia national football team in theAFC Challenge Cup 2008.His important saves especially in the finals helped India qualify for the2011 AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 24 years.
He was also part of the victoriousIndia national football team in theNehru Cup International Football Tournament 2009He was involved in three spectacular saves, and put the Cup back in India's hands. Due to his keeping, India won the final match 5–3 on penalties. He stopped the deciding shot on goal to help India clinch the Nehru cup.
He was the goalkeeper for the Indian football Team in theAFC Asian Cup 2011. He made more than 35 saves in the whole tournament and has become one of the stars of the team since. After the game against South Korea, he made the headlines by some leading newspapers who were calling him 'Spiderman', 'real MVP (Most Valuable Player)' and with headlines like 'Indian team GK, 16 times super-save! Who is this guy?'.[32] To these references, he humbly said, "I am not a spiderman, just a novice learning my goalkeeping. I am happy that I have made those saves and done something for the team and country."The Times of India said that Pal was the best performer among the Indians in the Asian Cup in Doha where they lost all their group matches. Had it not for Pal's heroics, India would have lost by bigger margins in all the three matches.
He was also the first choice goalkeeper for India in their World Cup Qualifier match againstUAE. Subrata even captained the side in a warm-up practice match for this tie, which India won against Qatar 2–1. He could not repeat his heroics against the UAE side as he was sent off in the first 30 minutes, and India were reduced to 9 men. India lost that game 3–0 as a result of two penalties and ultimately the tie 4–2.
He was named the captain of theIndia national football team by coachStephen Constantine[33] on 11 March 2015. Under his captaincy the team reached the second round after defeatingNepal on aggregate of 2–0 on the first round of qualification.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Prayag United | 2012–13 | I-League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| Rangdajied United (loan) | 2013–14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Vestsjælland (loan) | 2013–14 | Danish Superliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Mumbai City | 2014 | Indian Super League | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Salgaocar (loan) | 2014–15 | I-League | 15 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
| DSK Shivajians (loan) | 2015–16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| NorthEast United | 2016 | Indian Super League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| DSK Shivajians (loan) | 2016–17 | I-League | 10 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Jamshedpur | 2017–18 | Indian Super League | 18 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Hyderabad | 2020–21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| East Bengal (loan) | 2020–21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Mohun Bagan (loan) | 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 155 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 164 | 0 | ||
Statistics accurate as of 16 June 2017[35]
| National team | Year | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| India | 2007 | 7 |
| 2008 | 12 | |
| 2009 | 6 | |
| 2010 | 9 | |
| 2011 | 10 | |
| 2012 | 5 | |
| 2013 | 8 | |
| 2014 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 6 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| Total | 67 | |
India
Individual
Subrata lives with his family in Sodepur (Kolkata). Subrata is married to Debasmita Mukherjee Pal, the daughter of ex-Indian goalkeeper Debashish Mukherjee, since 2012.
In 2016 Subrata got the Arjuna Award, the most prestigious award of Sports in India. In 2015, Subrata Pal was nominated for the Times of India Sports Awards along with the likes ofSunil Chhetri,Syed Rahim Nabi,Bala Devi and more.[40]
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