PANAJI: FC Goa star Glan Martins has revealed that he suffered from intense anger as a child and how football has been his greatest teacher and healer.
The talented India international recently signed a new long-term deal with the Gaurs. Giving an insight into his formative years and his bond with football, the 27-year-old combative midfielder says: “This game has been a sort of blessing for me, I feel. It has helped me become the person I am today. Not the player that you see on the field, but the person that I am within. Even my mother and father are surprised as to how I have turned out to be.”
“I had four siblings growing up. And I was a bit awkward socially. I think I still am, a bit,” revealed Glan from Velsao. “I was very short-tempered. I mean very. I didn’t have quirky retorts to most things and that led to anger building up within me. And I feel I didn’t really know how to get that out.
“I would run away into the fields and stay there for hours. If it got really bad, a fight would ensue within the house. I really can’t recognise that kid.”
In 2010, Glan was selected to play for Sesa Academy’s U-18s. “I think that move changed my life. I started staying away from my family. I started to meet new people. It was a whole new world for me,” said Glan, who is now a Gaur till at least 2024.
“It was an eye-opening experience. All the things that I had taken for granted were taken away. I had to take care of myself.”
“I think I started enjoying my football there. My worries would disappear when I would get on to the pitch with a ball at my feet. I started playing well and got promoted within a year to the main team,” Glan added.
“Football became a true source of happiness for me. The game itself, the people that the game brought into my life brought me peace of mind. I will forever be grateful for that.”
