Instagram
New Delhi: Four and half-year-old Aaron Raphael from Bengaluru became the first winner of the Toni Kroos Academy challenge, midfielder of Real Madrid football team midfielder Toni Kroos informed. This was after the little boy performed a football shot and uploaded footage of the same in Instagram, The Indian Express reported.
Aron shot a ball between a rolling tyre, and then it became the best trick shot of Kroos' challenge. Kroos' invited Aaron for a private training session in Madrid while the boy's father confirmed that Kroos academy had been reached out to them through Instagram. The shot was rated by Paris Saint Germain's super player Neymar Jr.
Aron's father, Raphael Thomas, said that he was a district-level football player as well as his father. Aaron started kicking a football as soon as he started walking, Raphael said. He had documented Aaron's performances and uploaded them on Instagram, which caught widespread attention. Aaron's Insta handle has 15,000 followers, while his trick shot has received 40 lakh views.
Meanwhile, the India Super League team, Bengaluru FC, had inducted Aaron into their training programme free of charge. Usually, the programme admits children aged 5.5 and above, but Aaron was given consideration for his talent, the team said.
Bengaluru FC technical director Suhel Nair said that their academy caters to 6 to 12 years aged and has teams for U8, U10 and U-12. Best talents in these categories were sent to the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Bellary, where the academy has a residential facility for 13s, 16s and 18s.
Aaron, on winning the Toni Kroos training session, Nair said that this might not mark the boy's career as a professional player, but it is essential in boosting him to keep with the game and learn.