Hayden Jose is still in ecstasy, hardly able to believe that he has indeed landed the job, which till a couple of weeks ago appeared too far-fetched that he didn’t even dare to dream of it.

As fate would have it, the 23-year-old B.Tech. graduate from Mukkattukara in Thrissur is now the head coach of the football giant FC Barcelona’s youth academy in Bengaluru. The papers from Barcelona confirming his one-year contract with the academy landed in his inbox late on Monday night, which he saw only when he woke up the next morning.

Things had moved too fast for Hayden, holder of D License, the license required for professional football coaching. For, the job with the marquee brand in the world of football had come calling way too early in his fledgling grass roots level coaching career.

Call from Barca

He was just three months old in his first assignment as coach at the Bengaluru-based Gameday Academy, which is being run in association with the Scotland football club Rangers FC, when a couple of weeks ago he received a call that probably changed his life for ever.

“It was from Jordi Escobar, the technical director of Barca Academy in Bengaluru. My jaw dropped the moment he said Barca,” recollects Hayden, who, however, is a hardcore fan of the English giant Manchester United.

Mr. Escobar happened to see a session led by Hayden at Gameday Academy and was impressed with what he saw.

He secured Hayden’s number from a friend and the call was followed by a hour-long meeting.

The next thing he knew he was at a trials for the job with seven others. He bagged it, and on Monday he was at the academy drilling young under-16 talents.

It was a day spent with young talents during a stint playing with Ethihad Santos, a super division side playing in Ernakualm Football League, that Hayden realised his true calling.

“I helped a kid and he was all smiles. That is when I decided this is what I have to do, bring smile to the face of countless youngsters,” recollected Hayden who was still an engineering student at that time.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Parveen / Kochi – November 15th, 2018