New kid on the block

It is not often you see a young Maldivian kid with exceptional football talent. It doesn’t happen with every new generation of players. The very first time we had one such an exceptional player was Kuda Moosa in the early 80s, since then we had nobody in the mesmerizing mold for a decade though few players came close knocking the door.

Enter the new millennium and we had one in 2003, an 18-year old certain Dhaganday who announced his arrival on the scene by brilliant individual goals, back to back hat-tricks and a record-breaking 36 goals in a season, a feat no Maldivian player ever came close to achieving.

Now Miraash Imthiyaz, only 13. By the look of things he is a gem of a talent, perhaps better then Dhangaday, to be polished to unleash his immense potential to wider audience. So what better place than a training champ-cum-a trailat powerhouse Barcelona, passing which to nurture still his talent further for a fantastic career!Isn’t that stuff of dream, a dream any Maldivian player wish to have on his CV? And one day to join that lofty position in the pantheon of Dhivehi football greats.

Still a long way to go. But make no mistake of his exceptional talent. He is full of dribbling skills that will bring even Kuda Heena to shame, his precise passing a glimpse of Kuda Moosa in his pomp. He ran the show for Iskander School when they won U-13 age-group championship consecutively for the last two years.

His immense potential and promise exudes of greater thing to come, of a prodigy who can develop into world class with first class training now he is getting at Barcelona. Perhaps it was right for his parents to wonder what next for this boy. The fact that they took upon themselves to find him proper football education even as far as Spain was testament to the belief they had of him. We should salute for his parents for leaving no stones unturned in their pursuit of this golden chance for their kid.

In three weeks’ time his trail in Barcelona will be over but his dreams won’t end there. Suppose he passes the trail then it will open a new window of opportunity to fine-tune the skills at one of the most sought-after academies in the world football and earn a place in one of the Barcelona youth teams.

Dhivehi football needs more Miraahs and parents like his who doesn’t force-feed their children to choose particular career while his talent lay elsewhere. Over the years we have seen many young kids brimming with talents, who could grow up to be another Oppo or Ali Umar, to disappear from the scene and never to hear from them. If our football authorities in collaboration with parents address this issue it will be a huge shot in the arm of our ailing football.