The two siblings, who hail from Kolkata, West Bengal and live in Indianapolis in the United States of America, are ecstatic after getting the opportunity.
The two brothers screamed out in unison when asked how excited they were. They were left very happy to have got the opportunity to learn at the academy where (Lionel) Messi once played.
Kuntal Bhattacharya, their father, alsoWe have decided that the whole family will travel to Barcelona. We are super-excited to go to Nou Camp, where Messi plays! I still cannot believe that my two sons will train at La Masia.”
In case you didn’t know…
Barcelona’s La Masia academy is world-renowned for having produced the best talents in world football. They are known for their extensive scouting programmes to recognise talents all over the world. The likes of Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, among others have all graduated from the academy.
The heart of the matter
To hunt down young talents, FCB Escola, the flagship school of Barcelona FC, had opened up several camps all over the United States over the last one month. Almost 5000 youngsters had taken part in the camps.
Among those, about 10% were selected to attend a camp in Barcelona. Ahan and Ayush were among those who were lucky enough to be selected.
Both Ahan and Ayush picked up their first lessons in the sport at Hoosier FC, a professional development football club based in Indiana. Ahan was eight years old when he started training while Ayush started when he was just four.
The youngsters will be taken to Barcelona to attend a 10-day camp in November. There, they will not only receive football training but also lessons about the club’s history about Catalonian traditions and get to see Camp Nou.
What’s next?
According to the report, Kuntal plans to send his two sons to the academy in Arizona after they return from Barcelona so that their football and academics can go side by side.
Author’s take
It is indeed a superb achievement and we, as Indians, can only be proud of it. It is an incredible opportunity for the two brothers as well. Hopefully, they will keep their feet grounded and develop into better footballers and not fade out like so many other prodigies.
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