A free kick from Vettucaud that landed in Delhi

Thiruvananthapuram: Some birds are not meant to be caged, believes

Joby Justin

. The 25 year old from Vettucaud here is set to spread his wings as he is set to join the national

football

camp to be held in New Delhi from Tuesday. It is from this camp that the final national squad will be selected

“It is a dream come true,” said a jubilant Joby. He began playing football with friends at a young age at Vettucaud ground. “There were senior players like Ignatious, Jose and Thomas Sebastian who I used to play with. I was in the school football team and later selected to SBI’s junior team while pursuing higher secondary studies. When in college, I was a wing back for Kerala University and we finished runners-up during the All India University Championship,” Joby recalled in between his morning practice session on the beach ground on Saturday.

He went on to play for Titanium as guest player. Soon, he got a job in KSEB and became part of its team as a midfielder. Joby has been representing Kerala in Santhosh Trophy since 2017. KSEB team was part of the inaugural season of Kerala Premier League held in 2017. I-League favourites East Bengal FC (EBFC) representatives noticed Joby’s potential and offered a contract with the club for 2017-18. After consulting with his mentor, iconic national player I M Vijayan, he decided to accept the offer leaving behind his job as a sports assistant at Vydhyuthi Bhavanam, Pattom.

“Vijayan chettan is one of my most favourite players and a very close friend,” he said. But it was not a smooth sail as leaving the job for football was not something his family wanted. “From my parents’ perspective, they wanted me to have a safe job. Even though they are not fully supportive of me venturing into football, they understand my dreams,” Joby said.

Joby, who spent two years in Kolkata said the love and support shown by EBFC fans was something he would cherish forever. “Football has a special place in Kolkata where you are either a fan of East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. Derby between the two clubs is so intense that emotions of fans and players skyrocket. It’s an all-out battle with winner receiving bragging rights. I was able to score and assist in the two derby matches I played and that remains as my most memorable moment on field,” he said.

Joby ended the 2018-19 campaign of I-league as the leading Indian goal scorer with 9 goals in 17 appearances. Moving to Indian Super League (ISL) team ATK for 2019-20 irked EBFC fans. “They are very passionate about football and I understand their feelings. The choice I made was to explore new challenges in my professional career. While I have not received any offers from Kerala Blasters till date, I hope that someday I can play in my home ground for KBFC,” he said.

For young football aspirants of the city, Joby suggests to explore all opportunities. “Sevens is the favoured format compared to elevens here and I know many good players who play match after match for daily wages. This restricts them from exploring the larger football world out there. I suggest our players to go out and take chances rather than focussing on local tournaments,” he said.