From Chennai’s mini Brazil, a young footballer’s big dream

What does a day in the life of a 13-year-old who dreams of representing India in football look like? For S Hariharan, it means waking up at 4am, and juggling school with two training sessions. All this six days a week.

The long days can be demanding, but this football player casually calls it a small sacrifice to achieve a bigger dream.

“I started playing football at the age of 10 and never turned back. I saw my dad playing and wanted to try it. He was my first coach,” says Hariharan. 

Although it initially started as a fun game, Hariharan was intrigued by the benefits and opportunities that sports brought to an individual. “There are many Government employees living near my home who got jobs through the sports quota playing football. This made me want to play the sport seriously,” he says.

Thus, his journey began at the Netaji Football Club in Vyasarpadi in North Chennai. Known as a mini-Brazil, there is no dearth of football players in the locality. “Everyone in my neighbourhood likes football. You will find a football player in every family here,” says Hariharan.

Hariharan was able to kickstart his journey through Chennai Kaalpandu League(CKL) season 4, a platform for children from Government schools who cannot afford and lack access to structured sports coaching. 

“Leagues like CKL give us free jerseys, boots, and practice sessions. That’s what motivated me to participate in CKL initially,” he says.

Hariharan was able to kickstart his journey through Chennai Kaalpandu League(CKL) season 4, a platform for children from Government schools who cannot afford and lack access to structured sports coaching.
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CKL became instrumental in his selection for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) boarding training programme at Don Bosco Matriculation School, Perambur. His performance in CKL also landed him a place in the Chennaiyin FC. 

For Hariharan, each of these opportunities became a stage to improve his skills and physical fitness. “Children from my locality come up to me and say they want to play football after looking at me,” he says, adding that his sister, Hasini Shree also plays in the CKL .

For all the bigger fields he has played in, his most cherished memory remains the local tournament in Vyasarpadi where his team fought back from a draw and eventually won in a tie-breaker, as his parents, teachers and friends cheered him on. 

“Whenever I have a tournament, my parents, neighbours, and friends come to cheer. Although I feel very nervous to play while they watch the match from the gallery, once the match is over, I am simply happy that they came to cheer me up,” he adds.

As a fan of Argentine footballer Emiliano Martínez, Hariharan says he admires the goalkeeper’s techniques. He also spends time watching UEFA Champions League videos on YouTube, picking up new techniques and trying them out on the field. He says learning on his own has helped him improve his game.

While success brings him happiness, Hariharan says he has also learnt to look at failure as an opportunity to do better in the next match. “My coach, Illavarasan, and Jaya Singh help me cope with failure. They ask me to look forward and win the next game. That motivates me,” he says.

Although he calls football his life, he also dreams of becoming an IAS officer. Through this dream, he hopes to bring about a lot of change in Vyasarpadi. “I hope to provide free football classes for children in Vyasarpadi, and also provide them with sports equipments, jerseys, and nutrition.”