Shadman Khan: A true trequartista

Shadman Khan: A true trequartista

Rarely does one come across a player, who truly lifts the heart with his breathtaking abilities. Luminaries such as Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona and Pele were all such footballers and in Islamabad, the same can be said for Shadman Khan.

When it comes to judging between a good player and great player, the difference is that the good player will influence proceedings on his own but the great player will urge his team forward and use the entire side to grind out a result.

Mehran FC’s Shadman Khan is such a player. Boasting tactical awareness and unnerving ability on the ball, it is hard to believe that a footballer with his caliber is not plying his trade in Europe.

However reality is cruel and while the 19-year-old has had his share of successes, his potential can only really be tapped if he ever makes it on the big stage.

Khan started out as a novice cricketer but soon found that his career lay in the beautiful game and he hasn’t looked back since.

With his talents, the midfielder was automatic choice for the captaincy at his school, Headstart, and he repaid his selection by guiding the Islamabad outfit to the IFA Schools Championship, often producing master classes along the way.

Shadman didn’t rest on his laurels then and can now also boast of being the skipper of the IFA U-17 team, alongside representing the federation at the U-19 Championships held this year.

On the International front, he has been quite unlucky to say the least. Despite Pakistan’s woeful setup, Khan managed to make the grade at both the U-19 and U-14 level, however his education prevented him from fully establishing himself with the Green Kickers.

Currently studying at the Lahore School of Economics, the player has lamented the game’s condition in the country and claimed that if the system had been better, he would have been afforded more chances.

“There are no proper coaches here and the state of the football pitches is quite unsuitable, as they are usually un-leveled. Officials here don’t understand the importance of diet plans and they don’t provide financial or even moral support to the players,”
he reiterated.

As the situation in Pakistan shows no signs of improving, Shadman for one insists that he will try his luck abroad in countries such as Malaysia and the US, where he claims that there are excellent facilities but no real talent to use them.

“I will give trials outside the country in places like Malaysia and the United States, as they have proper facilities but no quality players to utilize them. But I will always be there for representing Pakistan and I hope I will get my chance,” Khan said.

 Nearly all who have seen Khan play have urged him to make a career in football, such have been his displays. One thing which this writer was keen to observe in the player’s game was the lack of show-boating, usually used by others to scare the opposition.

Shadman Khan has rarely been seen doing excessive dribbling or fancy tricks, instead he likes to keep it simple and employ the tiki-taka brand of football, which makes him one of the few midfield maestros ever to emerge from Pakistan.

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Posted by Shahrukh Sohail on Nov 15 2011. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry