If you haven't already heard of him, you'd better remember his name. For you're going to read about and see a lot of Nirajan Malla in the future.

Touted as the brightest Nepali football talent to have emerged in years, he has already caught the attention of the bigwigs of Asian football.Asian Football Confederation President Mohammad Bin Hammam, who was in Nepal in May this year, was impressed by the skills of this 14-year-old forward in the demonstration games and reportedly talked about arranging for his stint in the youth academy of Bundesliga Champion Bayern Munich in Germany.

While his trip to Germany is still to materialize, he has already had a three-week stint in the academy of J-League champions Urawa Reds Diamond in Saitama, Japan, from July 17. Born in Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nirajan later shifted to Mahendranagar and was selected by ANFA from Kanchanpur district two years back. He came into prominence by single-handedly carrying Friends' Club to the final of the ANFA Mayos Junior Football League with his singularly sterling performance.

Though his team lost to Manang Marsyangdi Club in the final, his contributions didn't go unnoticed as he was adjudged the player of the tournament and later named the captain of the Nepali team for the AFC U-13 Festival of Football held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from April 1-7, 2005.

He mesmerized the opponents with his dazzling display and scored as many as nine goals during the event. He was the undisputed star of the tournament and developed a huge following, especially among the young girls studying at the Bangladesh Krira Shikha Protisthan (BKSP) thronging to watch him in action.

The soft-spoken lad shies away when he's reminded of his good looks. But give him a ball, and he sheds away his bashfulness and turns into an aggressive poacher, bustling forward with a sudden burst of speed.

He has all the attributes of a perfect striker. Comfortable with the ball, strong in the air, and with the ability to shoot with both legs - left being the favored one - he can make majestic turns and can even provide that killer pass to his strike partner.

More importantly, he scores in physical front - the bane of Nepali footballers - and can grow into a really powerful international forward.

Prem Dhakal (Source: KOL.com)
SoccerAgeNepal