KOCHI: When a footballing legend like Lothar Matthäus likes a video of your goal, you know you've produced something special.
A video featuring a group of kids from the GLP School, Poolappadam in Malappuram, carrying out an out-of-the-box free-kick routine during a football game, has gone viral on social media and was liked by some famous football personalities.
World Cup winner Matthäus, Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri and Colombian women's team player Melissa Ortiz were among those who liked and commented on the video.
In the video, three boys sell the goalkeeper a dummy before a fourth kid scoops the ball over the wall and into the goal.
The routine of two players crossing over the ball before a third kicker taking the shot is a familiar routine in football these days.
In this case, two boys make decoys runs from the right and left. Interestingly, a third one then runs in through the middle and takes a swing, without touching the ball, catching the goalkeeper and the defensive wall by surprise.
Finally, a fourth player loops the ball high over the wall and into the goal.
The video was even shared by 433, which is a popular football handle on social media, and it has had over 2.8 million views.
Fourth standard students Pratyush, Lukman, Aslah and Adil were the boys who created the goal.
"In their school, they don't have a full-time physical education teacher. Only if there are 500 students do they appoint a full-time teacher. This is the problem with schools in this region. I go there on a temporary basis for two days a week.
"Since I shared the video, the world got to see the talent of these boys. Otherwise, no one would have known about them. Imagine if they had a full-time PT teacher, they would get a lot more attention and support. There is a lot of talent in this region. They just don't get the necessary support to come up. The floods had affected this region very badly last year. For these kids, football offers a lot of hope," said the GLP School physical trainer Sreeju A Chozhi.
The video was first uploaded by Sreeju on January 17.