Taking the long and winding road from a cricket-mad country some 30 hours by car or train south of Delhi is neither a well-trodden nor the quickest route to soccer stardom.
But meeting former Brazil star Zico early on the journey has proved a boon to budding Indian hope Romeo Fernandes.
Not for him the sound of leather on willow. Instead, the joy of a ball rippling the back of the net — and now the satisfaction of becoming the first Indian to play in the top flight in Brazil.
“It was a great opportunity that Zico gave me to come to Atletico Paranaense and to learn more,” said Fernandes, whose loan with the Curitiba-based outfit the former Brazil star helped to organize.
“He selected me in India for Goa, he had faith to put me in the squad. I played quite well and so I had the chance to impress him.
“He told Atletico and then I got an opportunity to come over here,” the 22-year-old from Assolna in Goa state told AFP Tuesday during a break from training.
“It was a great moment to come on for my first appearance and wonderful to hear some fans chant my name,” he said of a second-half cameo in a 5-0 thrashing of Nacional in the Parana state league.
Although he did not make the field for a weekend national league opener, which saw Atletico hammer Internacional 3-0, Fernandes says he intends to make the most of his South American sojourn.
Atletico took a gamble on Fernandes after he impressed last season during a loan spell from Indian parent club Dempo Sports Club at FC Goa, where Zico is coach.
“Now I must raise my sights — I really want to get action with the India squad in World Cup qualifiers. I was just on the fringes when I was called over to Brazil,” said the under 23 international winger.
As well as benefiting from Zico’s recommendation, Fernandes joined Atletico after the Brazilians inked a training partnership accord with the All India Football Federation last year.
Asked if he ever had dreamed of picking up a bat instead of kicking a ball, Fernandes coyly admitted he had not.
“I’ve always been for football from when I was very small,” said Fernandes, who hesitated a moment before venturing “Rahul Dravid” when asked to name his favourite cricketer.
Fernandes says he cannot put his finger on why precious few footballers from the Asian sub-continent have made the grade to date.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, formerly of East Bengal, earlier this season appeared for Norwegian side Stabaek, the first Indian since independence from Britain to feature for a top tier European side.
Sandhu last week tweeted congratulations to Fernandes, saying “hopefully it’s just the beginning of something new.”
But their rise to prominence is exceptional, with footballers from the region conspicuous by their general absence from the game’s highest echelons.
“I really can’t put my finger on it — but of course cricket is the big draw for the youngsters,” Fernandes said.
“Some players like myself are coming through — maybe there will be a few more in a year or two. Goa is an area where interest in football is strong.
“I know I always kept an eye on the English Premier League, watching matches of Chelsea, Manchester — and also Barcelona in Spain. It’s nice to see how the best teams play.”
Fernandes stressed that, Zico aside, many who work the game’s grassroots circuit in India have helped his development.
“Of course there was Zico but also Arthur Papas,” the former Australian Under17 assistant whom the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recruited three years ago as an experienced developer of young talent.
Papas resigned from Dempo in March but not before he had helped nurture a quarter of the Indian senior squad, including Fernandes.
“I played for Papas for two years and he was very good to me. We were also together with the under-23 squad.”
“Now I have to keep improving,” concluded Fernandes, who said he dreamed of ultimately starring for India’s Blue Tigers, ranked a lowly 147 in the FIFA standings, as they pursue their arduous World Cup qualifying program.