Sahal Abdul Samad

Sahal Abdul Samad (born 1 April 1997), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the Indian national team. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder but can be also deployed as a wide midfielder and winger.

In this Indian name, the name Abdul Samad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sahal.

Sahal Abdul Samad
Sahal in Kerala Blasters training jersey at 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997
Place of birth Al Ain, UAE
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder/Winger
Club information
Current team
 Kerala Blasters
Number 18
Youth career
2012–2016 Al-Ethihad Football Academy
2016–2017 Kerala State Football Team
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Kerala Blasters B 10 (7)
2018– Kerala Blasters 72 (7)
National team‡
2019–2020 India U23 2 (1)
2019– India 14 (1)
Honours
Representing  India
SAFF Championship
Winner 2021 Maldives
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:02, 11 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:18, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Early life and youth career

Sahal was born in Al Ain, UAE, and completed his 14 years of schooling at New Indian Model School in Al Ain.[2][3] He started to play football at the age of eight.[4] In 2010, Sahal joined the Al Ethihad Sports Academy to train in professional football. After completing his studies in UAE, he moved to Payyannur in Kannur, Kerala, India, to complete his degree and to play university football. A few months after starting his degree, he was spotted by a coach of SN College in Kannur, who persuaded him to switch colleges. After good performances at university-level tournaments, he joined the district Under-21 side, and then the Kerala team, to compete in the Santosh Trophy.[5]

2017–2018: Kerala Blasters B and senior team debut

Sahal's performance in the 2017 Santosh Trophy was noted by scouts of Kerala Blasters,[6] who signed him to his first ever professional contract and put him on the reserve side for the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division. In the fourth match against FC Kerala, he was appointed as captain for the rest of the season. He scored seven goals from ten games and became third top-scorer in the league.[7] As the senior team was struggling with points in the 2017-18 Season of ISL, manager René Meulensteen decided to promote some youth players, including Sahal, to the senior team.[8] Due to the team's poor performance, Rene was sacked after the match and David James took over for the rest of season.[9] Sahal was not included in the squad for the next five matches but he was called up to side and remained as an unused substitute in next two matches. Sahal debuted for the senior side as a substitute for the former Manchester United player Dimitar Berbatov in the 80th minute of a match against ATK, which ended in a draw. He was given another chance in the 90th minute of the match against Bengaluru.[10]

2018–2019: Breakthrough season

In the 2018–19 season, Sahal was included in the starting 11 of the season opener against ATK, which Blasters won by 2–0. He played in 18 matches during the season, scored his first goal for the club against Chennaiyin on 15 February 2019. Sahal improved his passing capability and made 688 touches during the season.[11] He was one among the top Indian players with most key passes in the season.[12] Despite club's poor campaign in the 2018–19, Sahal enjoyed his breakthrough season and went on to win ISL Emerging Player of the Season.[13] He was also announced as the "AIFF Emerging Player of the Year".[14] On 11 May 2019, Sahal signed a contract extension with Kerala Blasters, which tied him to the club until 2022.[15]

2019–2021: Increasing importance

Blasters appointed Eelco Schattorie as the manager in the 2019-20 ISL season.[16] As the season progressed, the team's injury problem became so concerning, Sahal was mostly used as a winger and sometimes as a secondary striker. He started most matches at right-side of the midfield and provided two assists during the season.[17]

On 12 August 2020, despite the circulation of rumours about him leaving the club, Sahal committed himself to the Blasters, signing a contract until 2025.[18] On 20 December 2020, Sahal made his comeback from the quads injury, that had sidelined him for a month since his first match on November 20 in the 2020–21 Indian Super League season. He came back as a substitute in the 46th minute and provided an important assist to Jeakson Singh who equalized in a 1–1 draw against East Bengal during the stoppage time.[19] Since that match, Sahal has been deployed as a winger by the new manager for the season Kibu Vicuña.[20][21] On 15 January 2021, Sahal won the Hero of the match award in the match against East Bengal which ended in a 1–1 draw.[22] Sahal was once again awarded with the Hero of the match on 27 January 2021 in a 0–0 draw against Jamshedpur.[23] Sahal created 28 chances in his 14 appearances and was second in the list among the Indian players to create most number of chances during the season.[24]

2021–2022: Goal-scoring season

During the 2021 summer transfer window, ATK Mohun Bagan offered three senior players in exchange for Sahal, but the offer was rejected by Kerala Blasters.[25] He was then included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup,[26] and played his first match in the tournament against Delhi FC on 21 September 2021, which they lost 1–0.[27] Sahal scored his second goal for the club against ATK Mohun Bagan on 19 November in the 2021–22 season opener, which ended in a 4–2 defeat for Kerala Blasters.[28][29] On 19 December, he found the net again in the match against defending champions Mumbai City, which they won 0–3 after Sahal opened the score-sheet in the 27th minute of the game.[30][31] Sahal scored again in the next match against rivals Chennaiyin on 22 December,[32] where he scored the second goal of the game as the Blasters repeated the same feat of the previous matchday by winning the game 0–3 at full-time.[33] He scored his fourth goal of the season, and his third consecutive goal in the match against Jamshedpur on 26 December, which they drew 1–1.[34][35] He thus became the second Indian player after Sunil Chhetri to score in three consecutive Indian Super League matches.[36] After going goalless for an extended period of time, Sahal netted his fifth goal of the season on 2 March 2022 against Mumbai City, where he dribbled past the opponents and opened the score-sheet for the Blasters, as they won 3–1 in a crucial match of the season.[37][38] His goal scoring form continued, as he scored in the first leg of the Blasters' semi-final match against Jamshedpur on 11 March, which they won 0–1 after the only goal scored by Sahal.[39] After the match, Sahal had an hamstring injury, which had him missed out from the Blasters' squad in the second leg of the semi-finals and in the finals against Hyderabad FC.[40] At the end of the season, he became the joint-second highest Indian goalscorer in the league with six goals, sharing the record with Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh, and was the leading Indian goalscorer in the season for Kerala Blasters.[41] He was appreciated by the media and pundits for his performance in the season.[42]

International career

Sahal has been called up for the India U23 football team for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers[43] and made his debut on 11 March 2019 against Qatar U23 in a friendly ahead of the qualifiers.[44]

Sahal was included in the preliminary squad of the senior team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but did not make it into the final squad. In May 2019, he was named in the squad for 2019 King's Cup.[45][46] Sahal made his debut on 5 June 2019 in a 3–1 loss against Curaçao in the 2019 King's Cup.[47][48]

Sahal was named in the 23-men Indian squad for the 2021 SAFF Championship in Maldives.[49][50] He scored his first international goal against Nepal on 16 October 2021 in a 3–0 victory in the final of the tournament after coming as a substitute in the 86th minute.[51][52]

Style of play

Although mainly plays as an attacking midfielder or central midfielder, Sahal is also capable of playing as a wide midfielder or winger due to his high dribbling ability and creativity.[53][54][55] He is dubbed by the fans of the Blasters, as the Indian Ozil due to his creative playing style, similar to the former German international, Mesut Özil.[56][57][58][59] He is regarded as one of the best midfielders in India by many football pundits and fans.[60][61][62][63]

Personal life

Sahal was born on 1 April 1997, in Al Ain, UAE into a Malayali family which originally hails from Kavvayi, Payyanur in Kannur. He attended the New Indian Model School, Al Ain until 2015 and is an alumnus of the school. He pursued bachelor's degree from S. N. College, Kannur.

On 10 June 2020, Sahal signed a deal with German multinational sportwear company, Puma, as its new ambassador.[64]

In June 2020, Sahal auctioned his national team jersey, which he wore during the World Cup qualifiers. He donated the proceeds of the auction to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to help prevention activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.[65]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played till 11 March 2022[66]
Club Season League Super Cup Continental Durand Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Kerala Blasters B 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division10700——107
Kerala Blasters 2017–18 Indian Super League2000——20
2018–19 Indian Super League 17110——181
2019–20 Indian Super League 180———180
2020–21 Indian Super League 140———140
2021–22 Indian Super League 216——10226
Total 72710—1 0747
Career total 821410—1 08414

International
As of match played 16 October 2021[67]
Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
Team Year Competitive Friendly Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
India 2019405090
2021411051
Total8160141

List of international goals scored by Sahal Abdul Samad

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 October 2021National Football Stadium, Malé, Maldives   Nepal3–03–02021 SAFF Championship

Honours

Club

Kerala Blasters FC

National

India

Individual

References
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