NEWS
Pronay Halder is a technically sound defensive midfielder who is known for his strategic awareness. There was never a time when Pronay wanted to play anything but football. Perhaps this is why he enjoys playing the most when his fans are around. He is a fighter on the field in a true sense. The hard-tackling and omnipresent central midfielder, Pronay, always play a stellar role.
One of the soundest technical footballers of his generation, Pronay Halder has overcome many hurdles and has braved odds to become one of the prime members of the Indian football team.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Pronay Halder |
| Age | 26 years |
| Sport Category | Football (defensive midfielder) |
| Date of Birth | February 25, 1993 |
| Hometown | Barrackpore, West Bengal |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in |
| Teams Played for | Tata Football Academy, Pallan Arrows, Dempo, Goa, Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City, ATK, Indian National Team |
Pronay was born on February 25, 1993, in Barrackpore, a city in West Bengal. His father, Prabhat Halder, has coached a Calcutta Football League (CFL) team while just like Pronay, his younger brother Prayashu also have played for Mohun Bagan. Prabhat, who was the coach of the Police AC team before retiring from service, is known in the football circuit as a man with great values.
The young Pronay was introduced to football at a very early age and had started attending the Mangal Pandey football camp near his house before turning five.
Defensively robust, strategically aware, demolisher – these words suit well to describe Pronay Halder, the product of the Tata Football Academy (TFA). The 26-year-old Barrackpore-born midfielder’s career seemed to be progressing smoothly after he became a graduate of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Elite Academy Class of 2011.
However, injuries had other plans what seemed to be a promising career after fruitful stints with Pailan Arrows and Dempo.
After spending almost the entirety of the 2014-15 I-League season out due on to an injury, Halder bounced back FC Goa and soon, he was being handed his India Senior Football team jersey by then-coach Stephen Constantine in a friendly against Nepal.
Halder signed for Mumbai City FC for 2016 ISL season. The then Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes described Pronay Halder as being ‘physically strong, a good passer and technically gifted’. Halder’s ability to attack and defend from midfield has seen him compared to Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho who currently plays for English club Manchester City.
In 2017, he was picked by FC Goa in ISL draft. For ISL’s fourth season, ATK signed Halder on a two-year deal. With 48 tackles, 21 interceptions and 16 clearances in ISL-4 (2018-2019), he has been the mainstay in ATK’s midfield.
| Club | Season | League | Federation Cup | Durand Cup/Super Cup | AFC | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Palian Arrows | 2011-12 | I-League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | I-League | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | |
| Palian Arrows total | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| Dempo | 2013-14 | I-League | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | I-League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Dempo total | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Mohun Bagan | 2015-16 | I-League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | I-League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Mohun Bagan total | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | Indian Super League | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Mumbai City | 2016 | Indian Super League | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Goa | 2017-18 | Indian Super League | 13 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| ATK | 2018-19 | Indian Super League | 16 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Career total | 90 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 119 | 1 |
Pronay got his maiden call to don the blue jersey on August 31, 2015, against Nepal in an international friendly. He became the 496th player to get an Indian shirt. Talking about his only sole goal, it came against Chinese Taipei in Intercontinental Cup in Mumbai when he fired the ball from the long range.
Pronay led the Indian side in AFC Asian Cup in January this year, which India lost the match and was out of the tournament.
| Year | Appearance | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 |
Talking about future of football to Hindustan Times he once quoted, “We need to create more facilities for people at the grassroots level,” he says. “In Spain and Qatar, there’s great support for children who want to play football. The age of six or seven is the right age to build good skills in a player.”
“With the I-League, some teams had facilities while others did not. After the ISL, all clubs have better facilities and Indian football has improved. Now we go abroad for exposure. I got a chance to play with Lúcio in the Brazil World Cup. I asked him what our team can do to improve and he shared some valuable insights,” Pronay quoted while talking to Hindustan Times.
As per the reports, the market of value of Indian midfielder is Rs one crore. He was signed by Mohun Bagan for a lofty amount of Rs 1.15 crore in 2016. In 2018, Pronay Halder penned a contract in ISL with ATK with agreed fees for Rs 65 lakh.
Pronay’s is one of those countless Indian footballers who has come up from middle-class backgrounds and still comes across as a soft-spoken man. While his rough tackling at instances and never-say-die attitude on the turf have earned him appreciations, on the other side, his disciplinary record has been a cause of concern with the player picking up unnecessary booking very frequently.
Recent Post
