Sarpreet Singh: Playing for Bayern Munich was an extremely proud moment

The young midfielder also spoke about his decision to go on loan to 1. FC Nürnberg in the 2020-21 season.

Sarpreet Singh, the Indian-origin New Zealand international is known to the Indian football fans because of his one-off affair against the Blue Tigers in the 2018 Intercontinental Cup. Ever since then the youngster has made a name for himself, his impressive performances attracted the attention of a lot of top clubs but Bayern Munich won the race to sign the 21-yar-old.

Speaking about his reaction when he came to know that Bayern Munich wanted to sign him, Sarpreet Singh said," I was very surprised. It was a surreal experience for me. I had a good U20 World Cup and was on holiday with my friends in Australia. My agent called me and said that Bayern are interested and I did not believe him at first. I was extremely happy and from that moment onwards, I made sure that I was focused."

"It was an extremely proud moment for my family. Like I said any kid grown would dream of playing with the best players in the world and to be able to do that was truly amazing. Now I have had a taste of it, how it feels to be there but I have a long way to go to play there consistently. At first, it was was a dream come true but now I have realized that it is possible and it is possible for anyone. You just have to put your mind to it," Sarpreet Singh explained in a video interview with a panel of Indian journalists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iB3PNWf1cI

Sarpreet Singh featured for both the first and second-team of Bayern during the 2019-20 season. However, in search of more game-time, the former Wellington Phoenix man was sent out on loan to 2.Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Nürnberg. Speaking about the intention of the loan stint and his own expectations, the youngster explained, “At Bayern, I was looked after very well. (But) I think it was important for me to get game time at a very high level. It was important not just to go anywhere but to a club that wants to play football the way I like.”

“The second division is a very competitive league; anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It’s very physical and very intense. It’s important for us to do that as well but I think we have the quality to try and play football and we have a lot of good players," he quipped when asked about the major difference between the two divisions in Germany.

Sarpreet Singh performed well for Bayern Munich II and broke into the first team, making his debut for the Bavarians in Bundesliga. However, the games were very few and far in between and considering his situation, Bayern allowed him to leave on loan to Nürnberg to continue his development.

“Bayern won everything last season, so everyone in the squad is arguably up there with the best in the world individually, and collectively they are (the best). For me, it was a great experience in my first year to learn from the best players,” he quipped.

"It was important for me to take the next step. It’s nice being there amongst all the players but if you’re going to get limited game time, it’s not something you want to do. The coaches and everyone agreed that this was the right next step for me,” the 21-year old attacking midfielder added.

“It was important that I don’t just go anywhere and that I remain under Bayern’s watch; you know, it’s literally one hour’s drive from here. So whenever they want to see me or talk to me, they can. I came here to play and be the best player that I can possibly be and improve areas of my game so that I can go back to Bayern being a better player. So that’s my task.”

Sarpreet Singh comes from a Punjabi family and speaking of his experience with the New Zealand team when he played against India in the 2018 Intercontinental Cup was a moment that he will savour." The game against India was truly something amazing and something I will hold onto forever. I love the fans, they are so crazy and they support the game with a huge amount of passion."

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"Indian fans, in general, are special people, especially when you watch cricket as well they support their team with everything they have. When we played against India it was the same. You could feel the atmosphere inside the stadium. I was blessed to play in a game like that," Sarpreet Singh concluded.

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