The 20 year-old PanushanthKulenthiran, an emerging talent from our very own country, can be found playingat theStadioOlimpico, the home venue of the 9-time Copa Italia winners, A.S. Roma.
Panushanth who was born in July 1990, in Jaffna, is a professional football player who plays the position of striker and also sometimes the position of an attacking midfielder.
He started his football career as a teenage player in the youth team set up for the Italian club, Palermo, where he went on to play for two whole years. Then by 2008, he was bought on-loan by the LegaPro SecondaDivisione club(the4th highest league in Italy) , U.S. ViboneseCalcio.
During the 2008/2009 season, Kulenthiran made 22appearances for Vibonese, with a whole of 917 minutes of playtime, including onedouble-yellow card sending off.
Then after his return to Palermo, he was bought by the Swiss Super League club –AC Bellinzona, in the summer of 2009.By the 1st of February, 2010, the Lankan forward was signed on loan for the famous Italian club, A.S. Roma. Here, he will train and play alongside football veterans and big names such as Borriello, Pizarro, De Rossi and the five-time Italian footballer of the year winner, Francesco Totti.
Kulenthiran has also played 13 times for the Sri Lankan National football team.
It’s talented players like this that brings inspiration to the much-needed youngsters in the football community in Sri Lanka, giving them the hope, that one day, making it big in the footballing world is not entirely impossible for them, despite coming from as tiny an island as Sri Lanka. Thereby, if they are given the opportunity, the right exposure and direction by the Sri Lankan system, we are yet to see more ‘Kulenthirans’ making it big in foreign leaguesall around the world, in the future.
He started his football career as a teenage player in the youth team set up for the Italian club, Palermo, where he went on to play for two whole years. Then by 2008, he was bought on-loan by the LegaPro SecondaDivisione club(the4th highest league in Italy) , U.S. ViboneseCalcio.
During the 2008/2009 season, Kulenthiran made 22appearances for Vibonese, with a whole of 917 minutes of playtime, including onedouble-yellow card sending off.
Then after his return to Palermo, he was bought by the Swiss Super League club –AC Bellinzona, in the summer of 2009.By the 1st of February, 2010, the Lankan forward was signed on loan for the famous Italian club, A.S. Roma. Here, he will train and play alongside football veterans and big names such as Borriello, Pizarro, De Rossi and the five-time Italian footballer of the year winner, Francesco Totti.
Kulenthiran has also played 13 times for the Sri Lankan National football team.
It’s talented players like this that brings inspiration to the much-needed youngsters in the football community in Sri Lanka, giving them the hope, that one day, making it big in the footballing world is not entirely impossible for them, despite coming from as tiny an island as Sri Lanka. Thereby, if they are given the opportunity, the right exposure and direction by the Sri Lankan system, we are yet to see more ‘Kulenthirans’ making it big in foreign leaguesall around the world, in the future.
