This 11-year-old football prodigy from an Odisha slum is going to train at Bayern Munich Academy

In what is a plot straight out of a movie, an 11-year-old football prodigy living in an Odisha slum has defied all odds to be selected to train at the Bayern Munich Academy in Germany for two months.

Chandan Nayak, who lives in the Sabar Sahi slum in Bhubaneshwar is one of the lucky ones to be selected for an all-expense-paid junior football camp to Munich.

On hearing the news, an ecstatic Chandan who is a self-confessed Lionel Messi fan said that he wished to become a player for the Indian team one day and thanked his coach for the support.

Talking to ANI, his coach Jayadev Mahapatra shed light towards the plight of Chandan’s underprivileged family.

"His family is a broken one. His father had deserted him at a very young age. His mother works as a servant at various places and is able to manage the family. She has sacrificed a lot to ensure that her children are brought up in a proper way. Chandan coming from a poor family stands as a sign of bravery because against all odds, he has proved his talent," said Jayadev.

According to him, Chandan was spotted when he was very young due to his talent and has been training with him for the last four years- with the past year consisting of some rigorous training akin to the ones seen in international clubs.

That’s not all. At 11 years old, Chandan is also the youngest player to be selected for the academy.

“The selection criteria says that the age should be between 14 to 16 and being an 11-year-old kid he was not allowed but we asked them to give him a chance, he surprised everyone,” stated Jayadev.

One can only hope that the sky is the limit for this young genius.

Image credit: ANI