At the start of the decade, Jay Gupta was an unknown name in Indian football. Leaving his country at the age of 15 after playing his youth football in Pune City, Jay spent the early part of the decade plying his trade in the lower divisions of Portugal and Spain, featuring for clubs like G.D. Estoril Praia B and Ebre Escola Esportiva.
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A hopeful return to his country backfired after a potential deal with Odisha FC fell through due to technical reasons. Finally, in 2023, FC Goa handed a lifeline to the 22-year-old, and since then, there has been no looking back. After a stellar 2023-24 Indian Super League (ISL) season with the Gaurs, Jay has established himself as a crucial presence in the backline of his club and country.
“Honestly, it’s been a journey which can be summarised with the phrase there’s light at the end of the tunnel because for me, when I left at 15 from India, I had a lot of setbacks, and I kept pushing every single year in Portugal and then in Spain and finally got my breakthrough back in my homeland,” Jay told Sportstar in an exclusive interview ahead of India’s Intercontinental Cup decider against Syria.
His national debut came on an eventful date in Indian football history, when he took the field in another qualifier against Kuwait on June 6. It was Sunil Chhetri’s last match in national colours as India played out a goalless draw at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
The Manolo Marquez factor
Jay could not help India reach the third round of qualifiers and got injured in the final qualifier against Qatar. But the defender finds little point in harping on the past.
“It’s lucky for me to have Manolo (Marquez, who is also his coach at FC Goa), my domestic coach, to come to the national team as well, and I feel it helps me adapt a lot faster, but as I said, I had to adapt to the last coach [Igor Stimac] as well.
“In my second camp, I had an idea of what he needed from me. So this time around as well, the whole point is that everybody in the team is really happy. Marquez is here because he has a proven track record. And I’m especially happy because he is the coach that I’ve worked under all my professional career,” said Jay.
It was a frustrating day at the office for India as it played out a goalless draw against Mauritius in their Intercontinental Cup opener.
Jay, who is usually a livewire down the left, contributing equally in attack and defence, failed to combine with Liston Colaco, thus rendering India’s left flank almost useless.
“I was just adapting to the circumstances. I think in the first half, as I spoke to the coach, he felt I needed to attack more, which is what he demands from me always, and I tried doing that in the second half.
“Just feel that as the games and the training sessions go by, the pre-season legs will wear out, and as the season starts, I’ll be more ready to go up forward and make those runs,” Jay said.
A long road ahead
At 22, Jay felt he has just started learning to perform at the top level and believed his physique complements his aim of becoming a mainstay in the Indian defence.
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He shone as FC Goa’s left-back last season in the ISL. So, it came as a surprise when Marquez, after India’s match against Mauritius, said the youngster is primarily a centre-back, and that is where he will play in the Gaurs backline this season.
Jay said his footsteps into football began as a centre-back, and the fact that he shone on the left side for Goa last season gave him confidence to hone his skills as a left-sided defender.
“I’m a player who wants to understand what the team wants. I try to play collectively for the unit. At this point, every single time I have a game, I analyse and go back to what I can correct, and I think I believe in having very positive connections with the coach as to him telling me and criticising me as much as he needs for me to understand what I need to do better,” said the India defender.
Apart from his coach, Jay considers himself lucky to share the dressing room with his more experienced seniors, who he says have played a major part in helping him make a seamless transition to the national team – “Us youngsters cannot grow unless we understand how the matured ones have been doing it for a long time. So looking at Rahul [Bheke] bhai, at how Anwar [Ali] keeps his cool and getting to know all about how I can excel in the left back position from Subhashish [Bose] - I need all the help to be in this for the long run.”
Chance for first silverware
Jay has the chance to win his first silverware with India but needs to overcome the challenging obstacle of beating an in-form Syria, which needs just a draw to clinch the trophy. With fewer training sessions and inferior match-fitness levels, Jay knows that the balance tips heavily on Syria’s side.
The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted rain in Hyderabad on Monday, which might give India an added advantage considering the team’s ability to adapt to wet conditions. However, Jay wants to negate external factors and knows the only thing he and his teammates can do is focus on their performance.
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“I think that our boys are well used to the conditions, especially because we’ve been training here for the past few days. But many players in the Syrian team are playing in Europe and South America, where they face similar conditions. So they have the know-how or experience of playing in such conditions as well. We just want to have a game where we can come out on top.”
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