Panaji: They call him Jay ‘Rocket’ Gupta, not surprising for someone who has scored two astonishing long-rangers, both against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL).
His terrific late strike against Odisha at home won FC Goa all points against Sergio Lobera’s side, and last week, he did it again, as another of his long ranger helped fetch the equaliser in Bhubaneswar.
The two goals have created quite a buzz. Is it time for coach Igor Stimac to summon the left-back for national duty or does Jay need to do more on his debut season in Indian football?
“The biggest dream for me would be to play for my country,” Jay told TOI during the pre-match media interaction on Tuesday. “If that time comes, I will take it with both hands. Till then, I’ll keep working hard. One of the reasons I came back to India from Europe is because I wanted to contribute something to my nation.”
It has been quite a turnaround for the 22-year-old who, until the start of this season, was turning out for an amateur club in the sixth tier of Spanish football. Born in Pune, Jay was with the youth sides of the now defunct FC Pune City and spent five years in Portugal with the junior teams.
He joined Goa on a two-year deal at Goa, and for someone who is essentially a centre-back, has flourished as a left-back under coach Manolo Marquez.
“From the beginning itself, I came in as a centre back for Manolo. As per the players that are already here, coach Manolo asked me if I would be open to the left back position and I said I would want to discover that. Till now, I think everything is going well,” said Jay.
The left-back has started all 12 games in this season’s ISL, and besides the two stunning goals and two assists, has played a part in Goa’s record seven clean sheets.
“I am still learning, still have a lot of things to learn,” said Jay. “These (goal-scoring) moments come as gifts to you. Honestly from all the hard work that happens on the training pitch, these are moments you can cherish. I would always be thinking about the team goal, Mission ISL.”
Manolo is aware of the national team talk surrounding Jay. It isn’t new for him. During his three years at Hyderabad FC, several youngsters were picked for national duty.
“Jay has lot of good qualities, but I think he can still improve in some areas,” said Manolo. “He will be a very good player, I am certain. He will play for the national team but there’s still time. It’s his first season and it’s not easy in the ISL. Even very good (foreign) players who came here have not played to their best level. Jay has a good attitude. He is always focused, always wants to improve.”
His terrific late strike against Odisha at home won FC Goa all points against Sergio Lobera’s side, and last week, he did it again, as another of his long ranger helped fetch the equaliser in Bhubaneswar.
The two goals have created quite a buzz. Is it time for coach Igor Stimac to summon the left-back for national duty or does Jay need to do more on his debut season in Indian football?
“The biggest dream for me would be to play for my country,” Jay told TOI during the pre-match media interaction on Tuesday. “If that time comes, I will take it with both hands. Till then, I’ll keep working hard. One of the reasons I came back to India from Europe is because I wanted to contribute something to my nation.”
It has been quite a turnaround for the 22-year-old who, until the start of this season, was turning out for an amateur club in the sixth tier of Spanish football. Born in Pune, Jay was with the youth sides of the now defunct FC Pune City and spent five years in Portugal with the junior teams.
He joined Goa on a two-year deal at Goa, and for someone who is essentially a centre-back, has flourished as a left-back under coach Manolo Marquez.
“From the beginning itself, I came in as a centre back for Manolo. As per the players that are already here, coach Manolo asked me if I would be open to the left back position and I said I would want to discover that. Till now, I think everything is going well,” said Jay.
The left-back has started all 12 games in this season’s ISL, and besides the two stunning goals and two assists, has played a part in Goa’s record seven clean sheets.
“I am still learning, still have a lot of things to learn,” said Jay. “These (goal-scoring) moments come as gifts to you. Honestly from all the hard work that happens on the training pitch, these are moments you can cherish. I would always be thinking about the team goal, Mission ISL.”
Manolo is aware of the national team talk surrounding Jay. It isn’t new for him. During his three years at Hyderabad FC, several youngsters were picked for national duty.
“Jay has lot of good qualities, but I think he can still improve in some areas,” said Manolo. “He will be a very good player, I am certain. He will play for the national team but there’s still time. It’s his first season and it’s not easy in the ISL. Even very good (foreign) players who came here have not played to their best level. Jay has a good attitude. He is always focused, always wants to improve.”