Bayern Munich’s Sarpreet Singh on learning from Robert Lewandowski and breaking barriers in Germany’s Bundesliga
- The 21-year-old, who joins Nurnberg on loan this season, made landmark debut for German giants Bayern last year
- The former A-League star compares football in Asia-Pacific and Europe, underlining ‘definite’ potential for more moves
Brazilian maestro Phillipe Coutinho shuffled off the pitch after scoring a hat-trick against Werder Bremen last December. The Bayern Munich number 10 – on loan from Barcelona – was making way for substitute and senior team debutant Sarpreet Singh, who would become the first footballer of Indian descent to play in the German top flight.
New Zealand-born forward Singh, also the first Kiwi to play in the Bundesliga since Wynton Rufer in 1997, conceded there were a couple of jitters as he took to the left flank – but these were soon put to rest by teammate Robert Lewandowski.
“I felt pretty comfortable – a few nerves – but it was simple as Lewandowski talked to me in the warm-up. He was like ‘I’ll come play on your side at the start just to help you get into the game’,” the 21-year-old Singh told The Post via a video call days before joining Nurnberg on a year-long loan.
“He was always in the left pocket when I was playing out wide. It was really nice to have someone say that and help you get into the game. When I first got onto the ball, I just tried to work as hard as possible.”
It has been just over a year since Singh officially joined the Bundesliga giants. The former Wellington Phoenix player had been scouted after a strong showing for New Zealand at the 2019 Fifa Under-20s World Cup, immediately linking up with Bayern II – the reserves team competing in Germany’s third division – before being hand-picked by head coach Hans-Dieter Flick to train with the senior squad.
