Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Som Kumar | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 27 February 2005||
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* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2024– | Kerala Blasters | 0 | (0) |
International career | |||
2020–2022 | India U17 | 11 | (0) |
2023– | India U20 | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:00, 12 June 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. He represented the India under-20 national team. [4]
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]
In June 2024, Som was signed by the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters on a four-year deal, till 2028. [16] [17] He became 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]
Som is a former member of both Indian national under-16 and under-17 teams. [20] [21] 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. [22] 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. [23] [24] [25] He made crucial saves in their semi-final win against the Maldives. [26] At the final on 5 August, they clinched title defeating Bangladesh 5–2. [27] [28] [29] He won best goalkeeper award in that edition. [25]
Som was also included in India's 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification squad. [30] They travelled to Kuwait in October, faced Australia, Iraq and Kuwait, winning a single match, against hosts. [31] [32] 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. [33] [34] [35] They clinched their second consecutive title on 30 September, beating Pakistan 3–0. [36]
Som was born and grew up in Bangalore. [15] His parents Vivek Kumar and Shama Kittur, both are former national-level badminton players. [15]
Club | Season | League | Cup [lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other [lower-alpha 2] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Kerala Blasters | 2024–25 | Indian Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Kerala Blasters total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
Career total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
NK Krka U-17
India U-20
Individual
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Cited sources
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Further reading