ISL 2016: Neither poverty nor insurgency has been able to stop Milan Singh's ascent to the top

For those that have been watching the 2016 edition of the Indian Super League, there haven’t been a lot of Indian talents who have flourished this season.

Although there have been a lot of home-grown defenders to play for their franchises, Indian midfielders and attackers have been a rare species. Three of those to make their mark play for Delhi Dynamos and coach Gianluca Zambrotta must be given due credit for polishing these gems.

While defender Shouvik Chakraborty is the only player, outfielder or otherwise to play all minutes for his ISL franchise this season, attacker Kean Lewis is an exciting prospect, and has scored four goals and contributed two assists to the Lions’ cause.

The lion in the midfield though who’s played all but one match for the Dynamos is 24-year old Milan Singh from Manipur. Speaking to Scroll.in, Milan had a freewheeling chat about his life growing up as a footballer in the NorthEast and his struggles to get to this stage of his career.

Struggle with insurgency and instability

Even though Milan is very candid and forthcoming about his experiences, there’s no mistaking the steely determination in his voice. That steel was most evident when Delhi were trailing Atletico de Kolkata by a goal but Milan conjured a wonder strike to net his first ISL goal and rescue a point for his team.

The midfielder, whose dream is to play for the national team, has come of age this season, and is an improved player from the first season of the ISL where he made just five appearances for NorthEast United.

“Delhi Dynamos has been quite a good experience for me as well. There is a huge difference between the first and third editions. This season feels totally different as people are more involved and more young Indian players are coming through. There has been a noticeable improvement in quality of the pitches,” says Milan.

Life wasn’t always easy for the Manipuri lad though. Born in the village of Keidi, the eldest of five sons born to a farmer, Milan says that he faced ‘a lot of problems as a youngster’ playing the game. His father, according to Milan, also loved football a lot.

Born in an environment where he recalls ‘everyone being very passionate about the game’, Milan started making his mark at Under-11 and U-12 matches for Tao FC but had to travel to Imphal to play, 25 kms away from his village. To top it all off, this journey would be made barefoot, for Milan did not have the money to buy footwear.

In a region where insurgents and the military often clash with each other, the city would often be under lockdown and sometimes he wouldn’t be able to get home.

“The place where I train is very far from my home and sometimes I didn’t have enough time to go back. Even when I was there (at training), I was always thinking about the safety of my family,” says Milan reminiscing about his childhood playing days.

For his brothers, all of whom play the game, Milan has the same vision as himself that they play in the ISL someday. The youngest, who he says is very young, hopes to get into a top football academy.

He has high hopes for Manipuri football, “In the last five years, they (Manipuri players) have done a lot of hard work. Now they have two to three national players from the state and club football continues to improve there.”

Good friends, foreigners and coaches

For Milan, his good friends in the Delhi squad are midfielder Alwyn George and keeper Soram Poirei, who helped the midfielder stay over at his place whenever Milan was stranded after practice. In a stroke of fate for both childhood friends, they were re-united at Delhi Dynamos.

Milan would soon break into the national U-16 team, a feat which Milan would repeat by making six appearances for the national U-23 squad. He would soon be picked up by Pailan Arrows in 2010, then known as AIFF XI, a developmental side for the India U-19 and U-23 players.

Although the Arrows would be disbanded after three years, Milan would thrive in his three-year stint there, scoring seven goals. He would later join Shillong Lajong, where he would stay for another two years.

This season, Zambrotta has helped shape how Milan goes about his game, with the midfielder stating that the Italian’s team-talks before the match have been intuitive and have helped him understand the opponent’s strategy. “His mentality is different and he has taught me how to turn defence into attack in an instant,” says the midfielder.

He also reserves high praise for Florent Malouda. “Before coming to Delhi, Malouda is the only player I’ve seen playing on TV, playing for Chelsea. There are some foreign players who shout a lot at the Indian players,” describing the Frenchman as an ‘angel’ with a lot of skills.

Malouda, he says, has not only helped and encouraged him but has also helped teammate Lewis understand the game a lot better back in the dressing room. But it wasn’t easy for Milan as he says that language barriers initially prevented effective communication with the likes of Malouda, Marcos Tebar and Marcelinho, the last of whom he describes as being very good on the ball; the Brazilian being the highest scorer of the ISL with nine goals.

Playing at the frequency of the ISL hasn’t burnt him out, says Milan. “For some foreign players, they need a rest and a break before matches, sometimes upto a week. But we (Indian players) can play continuous matches and I feel very fit,” says the midfielder who likes to read Hindi and English newspapers in his free time. Repairing electronic goods, like radios, was a childhood hobby of Milan’s.

Heading into the second leg of their semifinal against the Blasters at home, Delhi, the top scorers of the ISL are a goal down. Milan makes no excuses as he readies himself for the match, “It was always going to be a difficult away match to play, with such a crowd. But we want to keep the momentum in our hand. We will give it everything to reach the final.”

‘Giving everything’, it seems has always been Milan Singh’s way of life.