Two Mumbai boys to train at Manchester United Soccer Schools

Two Mumbai school boys, Hriday Vaswani and Vignesh Naiker, have been chosen for a week-long training stint at the Manchester United Soccer Schools(MUSS) Global Residential Programme in the UK to be held from July 15 to 20.

14-year-old Hriday and 16-year-old Vignesh are the first two from the country to be picked after a five-month long, three-phase training process held by MUSS at its Mumbai school located inside the Cooperage football ground.

These boys would be part of a bunch of 175 school children from 45 countries across the globe during the programme in Denstone College, Straffordshire, it was announced at a media conference.

"These two boys are the first from India to be selected for the stint in UK. Both lads would have the experience of a lifetime. They will find themselves in a coaching group of players from several different countries. I am sure they will make friends for life," said the chief coach of MUSS (Mumbai) Chris O'Brien.

"This is the first step for these boys to not only develop football but also social skills. When they are back they will have a lot to tell," said O'Brien, adding that Hriday and Vignesh have been picked from among 637 boys enrolled in the Mumbai school of the famous English club.

Diminutive Hriday from Dhirubhai Ambani International School is an attacking midfielder, while Vignesh from Our Lady of Good Counsel is a left winger.

O'Brien, however, said that they may be asked to play in completely different positions during their stint in the UK.

"I enjoy playing as an attacking midfielder," said Hriday, who wished that football becomes as important a game in this country as cricket is.

"My dream is to become a highly recognised footballer and play for the top football clubs in the world," said Vignesh, who had started playing the game at the age of 14 and practices four hours daily.