Som Kumar

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Som Kumar
Indian goalkeeper Som Kumar with the U19 team of Slovenian club NK Olimpija Ljubljana, photographed on October 13, 2023.jpg
Kumar with Olimpija Ljubljana U19 in 2023
Personal information
Full name Som Kumar
Date of birth (2005-02-27) 27 February 2005 (age 19) [1]
Place of birth Bangalore, India
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) [2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper [3]
Team information
Current team
Kerala Blasters
Number 31
Youth career
2018 Bengaluru
2018–2019 Boca Juniors Academy
2019–2020 BYFL Academy
2020–2021 NK Bravo
2021–2022 NK Krka
2022 NK Bravo
2022–2023 NK Krka
2023–2024 Olimpija Ljubljana
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2024– Kerala Blasters 3 (0)
International career
2020–2022 India U17 11 (0)
2023– India U20 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:30 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Som Kumar (born 27 February 2005) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. [4]

Contents

Club career

Early and youth career

Som began his playing career in hometown Bangalore, at the age of 13. [5] In 2018, he appeared with U13 side of Bengaluru. [5] He then played for Boca Juniors U-13, and BYFL Academy team. [5] Kumar's competitive club career began in 2020, when he travelled to Slovenia. [6] At first, he signed with U17 team of NK Bravo. [7] With Bravo, he took part in an U15 summer tournament in Italy. [7] In that competition, he became prominent in a match against Bologna U17 in their 1–1 draw, in which he saved multiple penalties. [8] [7] He was then loaned out to another NextGen Liga club NK Krka, signing with their U17 team. [7] He helped the team achieving third place in the league. [9] He later appeared with U19 teams of both NK Bravo and NK Krka until moving to Olimpija Ljubljana. [7] [10]

In February 2023, Som signed a contract with U19 side of NK Olimpija Ljubljana. [11] [12] He joined the team as their third-choice goalkeeper in mid-season transfer. [7] After training with an Indian club, he joined Olimpija Ljubljana denying a move to the Indian Super League, stating "That was a good experience for me; it helped me understand how an ISL team works, and they offered me a contract. It's nothing that I have against the club or the ISL, but at the moment, I think my focus is to stay in Europe and train in Europe." [13] He made his official league debut on 28 July, against NK Aluminij. [2] He soon became regular starter for the club after showcasing his goalkeeping abilities in 2022–23 NextGen Liga. [7] He also made it to the team's UEFA European Under-19 Championship squad, alongside friendly tour to Austria in June. [14] In July, Som was called up to the senior squad, but remained uncapped in Slovenian PrvaLiga. [15]

Kerala Blasters

In June 2024, Som was signed by the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters on a four-year deal, till 2028. [16] [17] He was the first Blasters' signing under new coach Mikael Stahre. [18] Som made his senior debut on 1 August with Kerala Blasters in the 2024 Durand Cup match against Mumbai City FC, where he kept a clean-sheet as the Blasters won the match with a record-breaking score of 8–0. [19] He then kept two more consecutive clean sheets against Punjab and CISF Protectors. On August 23, in the Durand Cup quarter finals against Bengaluru, Som collided with Bengaluru striker Jorge Pereyra Díaz within eight seconds into the game, resulting in a head injury and was stretchered off after sustaining a severe cut. [20] Som made his Indian Super League debut on 20 October in a 2–1 win against Mohammedan SC.

International career

Som is a former member of both Indian national under-16 and under-17 teams. [21] [22] He was part of India under-16 team's tour to the United Arab Emirates, in which he appeared in their 4–2 win against Sharjah U18 on 36 January 2021, coming as a substitute for Lionel Daryl Rymmei on 62nd minute. [23] He later earned call-up to the Shanmugam Venkatesh managed India under-20 team to participate at the 2022 SAFF U-20 Championship in Odisha. [24] [25] [26] He made crucial saves in their semi-final win against the Maldives. [27] At the final on 5 August, they clinched title defeating Bangladesh 5–2. [28] [29] [30] He won best goalkeeper award in that edition. [26]

Som was also included in India's 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification squad. [31] They travelled to Kuwait in October, faced Australia, Iraq and Kuwait, winning a single match, against hosts. [32] [33] A year later, he was again included into the team by head coach Shuvendu Panda for their 2023 SAFF U-19 Championship campaign in Kathmandu, Nepal. [34] [35] [36] They clinched their second consecutive title on 30 September, beating Pakistan 3–0. [37]

Personal life

Som was born and grew up in Bangalore. [15] His parents Vivek Kumar and Shama Kittur, both are former national-level badminton players. [15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 August 2024 [38]
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [lower-alpha 1] ContinentalOther [lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kerala Blasters 2024–25 Indian Super League 00002020
Kerala Blasters total00002020
Career total00002020
  1. Includes Super Cup
  2. Includes Durand Cup

Honours

NK Krka U-17

India U-20

Individual

See also

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References

Cited sources

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Further reading