The FIFA Club World Cup in the United States has witnessed different chapters: a new extensive format, more Asian and European teams hit each other, and an amateur side, Auckland City, Hoorns locked with the elites of club football.
Although the club suffered from New Zealand Bleedbad, a 0-10 loss, the heaviest in the history of the tournament-in the hands of Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich in the opening match, there was a rare silver lining in the wreck.
Nathan Lobo, a 22-year-old full-back, became the first overseas citizen of India (OCI) who played in this club world.
«I know that there are a lot of press and public that we don’t deserve to be here, but we have won our title in Oceania, the equivalent of the European Championship, to go to this tournament. I think we deserve to be here,» Nathan tells Sportstar.
«It is clear that it is disappointing in the way we have lost, but if you take a step back and think of the level with which we compete, this is the top one percent of football players in the world.»
Manage football with studies
Auckland City is a team that is almost completely made of players who have a different job or primary calling than football. The goalkeeper, Conor Tracey, is a warehouse counselor who combined his leaves to play in the club World Cup against his idol, Manuel Neuer.
«We have people like Joe (Joseph) Lee, who works for Samsung in technical support. We also have sellers, brokers and a few students, the younger boys in the team,» Nathan adds.
He is also a student. He graduated last month at Auckland University in Health Sciences, he now wants to do his master.
«I grew up in an Indian family. My parents really wanted me to study. But I am really grateful to not push me to study a ridiculous amount. They wanted me to work out and enjoy,» he says.
Read: Fifa Club World Cup: Bayern Munich Randen Boca Juniors, Progress to Knock -Outs
And he has managed the two virtues well. He has more than 100 performances for Auckland City and wins four Oceania Champions League titles with the side.
Nathan Lobo greets Karim Benzema for a FIFA Club World Cup match in 2023. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
Nathan Lobo greets Karim Benzema for a FIFA Club World Cup match in 2023. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
«Trying to balance football and studies is incredibly difficult, especially with the subjects I have taken. I start early, drive to the train station and live to the city. Most days I am at the university from 8 am to the evening,» Nathan explains.
«And then I am immediately back on the train, go to the car and then start training in the evening. I end my day at around 8.30 am, go home, take a shower, eat the food and do it all the next day again.»
The India Connection
Nathan’s parents come from two separate parts of India. His father, Richard Nathan, comes from Mangalore, while his mother, Anthea, has Goan Heritage.
«My father used to work on the cruise ships, in the hotel industry, and my mother too. They both grew up in Mumbai and decided to move to Australia or New Zealand in 2000 or 2001, and I was born in 2002,» says Nathan.
Although he grew up in New Zealand, the family once visits Mumbai for one or two years.
«The only family I have in Zeeland is my immediate family. So my cousins and grandparents are all in India. We recently went there in December. You miss them and in Indian culture family is really important,» Nathan adds.
Also read: FIFA Club World Cup: Benfica Cruises along Auckland in the weather delayed meeting
And during one of the darkest times of his life, this second house of Nathan, thousands of kilometers away from New -Zeeland, was a beacon of light for him.
«When I was 14, I broke my ankle, and I thought it was the end of the world because it was a week before the national tournaments (in 2016). I was quite destroyed. I finally spent the summer in India,» says Nathan.
«I just remember that I was in a lot of pain because I had an operation and three screws in my (left) ankle. So I had many painkillers. But I could just spend time with my grandparents and get closer to them. Friends and family help you come through times like this.»
Within nine months Nathan recovered and then won the Oceania championship under the 16 with New Zealand. He would represent the U-23 side and help him reach successive Olympic Games.
New Zealand celebrates the winning of the U16 Oceania Championship in 2018. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
New Zealand celebrates the winning of the U16 Oceania Championship in 2018. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
To play or not play for India
Nathan is not the first player with Indian parents who set up through the national team setup of all whites.
SarPreet Singh, a midfielder born from Indian parents, rose due to the age group sides of New Zealand, with U-20 and U-23, before he secured a place in the senior team. Next year he will be the first player of the Indian descent (immediate origin) that plays in the FIFA World Cup.
Overzese citizens of India or players of Indian descent are currently not allowed to play for the country. However, various Asian countries, Thailand, Qatar and Australia, to name just a few, have benefited from having such a rule.
To play for the Tricolor, the passport of their birth country must be given and stay in India for 12 months and then request an Indian passport. But according to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), discussions are underway to make the provisions more flexible for OCIS.
«We communicate with 33 players who fall into the OCI category. Some of them have OCI cards, and some of them are applying. We help them in this process,» said Kalyan Chaubey, the president of the Aiff, in a press conference on 13 June.
Kalyan Chaubey, president of the AIFF, has maintained that conversations are going on to make the provisions more flexible for OCIS. | Photocredit: Biswaranjan Rout/The Hindu
Kalyan Chaubey, president of the AIFF, has maintained that conversations are going on to make the provisions more flexible for OCIS. | Photocredit: Biswaranjan Rout/The Hindu
In contrast to SarPreet, who has already played for the senior team 19 times, Nathan still has the chance to represent India, because he only played at the U-23 level.
According to FIFA, a player can change faithfully to a new country if he has not played at senior level. In this provision, the midfielder of Leicester City Hamza Choudhury saw his faithfulness to Bangladesh, despite playing for England at the U-9 level.
«You can never say. I have an OCI (card), and you can never say what can happen in the future. Currently my focus is on New -Zealand and trying to reach its national team,» says Nathan.
Nathanlobo helped the U23 New Zealand team to be eligible for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
Nathanlobo helped the U23 New Zealand team to be eligible for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024. | Photocredit: Instagram/Lobz45
Regardless of what happens internationally, Nathan lives the moment of his life in the United States. «I don’t think I ever thought I would play Bayern Munich. So it’s a real dream come true,» he says.
«After the game, when you are a little disappointed about the result, but then you think of the little boy you were 17 years ago. I think he would be really proud.»
