Dheeraj Singh’s performances have caught the attention of everyone in the country. The goalkeeper has made a string of saves in the two games of the Under-17 World Cup.
Luis Norton de Matos explained the reason as to why his performance has improved by leaps and bounds. “In our Mexico trip, we played Mexico, Chile and Colombia. It’s good to play competitions and sometimes when you lose, you do learn important lessons. We conceded nine goals of which seven were from set-pieces.
“It was very important to have a top goalkeeper coach. I brought a top goalkeeper coach for the last month of preparation,” he mentioned.
Norton had requested the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring Paulo Grilo on board. The goalkeeper coach was earlier coaching with the Philadelphia Union in the Major League Soccer (MLS). He had also worked with Orlando City’s ‘B’ team in the past.
“His work has been incredible. The work he achieved with the three goalkeepers has been exceptional. To control the space of the ball and to be honest, this is not my area of expertise. Today nutrition, recovery, the mental aspect, prevention of injury and more, every area is different and we need professionals for this.
“We are lucky to have Paulo. He is a fantastic goalkeeper coach. Of course, the quality of the player is also important but the position-specific training has helped."