Beyond The Goal

It seems just like other day. The summer of 1981. More than now, football was then the passion that ruled Kolkata's senses. And I wasn't immune to its charms. My father has always been an avid football fan. Neither the scorching heat nor driving rain could stop him from watching football matches at the Maidan. So it wasn't surprising that as a 10-year-old, I was hooked to football. I could count on my fingertips the names of the players who represented Mohammedan Sporting, Mohun Bagan or East Bengal during those years. It was my dream to watch a match at the Mohun Bagan ground. And it came true in 1981. We drove down from our home at Narkeldanga in North Calcutta to the Mohun Bagan ground. That was the first time I had set foot on the historic ground to witness a match between Mohammedan Sporting and Aryans. Mohammedan Sporting won a thrilling match by a solitary goal scored by Kartick Seth. But I was captivated by the capacity crowds on wooden stands rooting for Sporting. ...

For nine months of the year, August to May, they spend Saturday evenings watching Premiership matches on television. They've looked on enviously as the players there -- Beckham, Bergkamp, Zola, Gascoigne -- have become household names in India, while they remain virtual unknowns. It must hurt, more so when they see how even average cricketers are treated here. So the Indian football team has a chance to redress that imbalance when it sets off over the weekend on its first-ever tour of the UK. The last time an Indian football team went to the UK was in 1948, when Dr Taliremen Ao led the newly independent country's first-ever Olympic campaign in London. They aren't under any illusions about the tour's status there -- they'll be playing two second-grade sides and the Bangladesh national team -- but just going to the game's spiritual home means a lot to them. There's been a noticeable buzz at the pre-tour camp here that's just wound up. The camp itself was d...

In the late 1970s and early 80s, this man was the most sought after striker in Indian football. Now, after his playing days are over, Iranian-born Jamshed Nassiri lives another life as a football coach in Kolkata. Nasirri speaks Hindi and Bengali like any Calcuttan. The City of Joy is now his home. On any given day, Nassiri could be spotted at the Calcutta Football Club where he imparts knowledge of football to his wards. After his stint with Mohammedan Sporting early last year, Nassiri left for Duliajan in Assam where he coached Oil India Limited. But he couldn't stay there for long. He missed Calcutta dearly. Soon he came back to his 'home'. "I like India. I found the culture and tradition common to Iran. It was a great experience playing in front of such a massive crowd. That's the reason I preferred to stay back here." 1979. I was barely 8-year-old then. It was not the age of Harry Potter. But of course, Tintin, Phantom and Lothar and Mandrake were there. ...

Even though India and China have almost similar footballing history and geography the development of the game in two nations is contrasting JUST drifting towards the east from the heart of Kolkata and one can discover a China. Located at Topsia near the Eastern Bypass, the place has an exotic name too - China Town. It’s a home away from home for hundreds of Chinese families whose ancestors docked their ships at Kidderpore a century ago. Though their DNA print might show the Calcutta Chromosome but umbilical chord still goes across the border. And so last week when the Chinese dragon spread its tentacles to embrace soccer’s promised land — the 2002 World Cup — it was quite understandable that China Town broke into delirious joy. Excitement was palpable in the air and, the celebration didn’t lack the vigour of those which were witnessed on the Shenyang streets or at the Tianmen Square moment after China’s historic win over Oman. The only noticeable difference was the sad footnote at the ...

Bosnia, after breaking away from Yugoslavia following the 1992 war, was slowly limping back to normalcy. But even before the newly-born nation could piece itself together, it was haunted by the most sadistic violence ever to visit the Europe since the Nazi campaigns: Ethnic cleansing. On top of documented cases of systematic torture and murder in Bosnia, came the charges of a new Serb entity: mass rape. The rough estimates put the number between 30,000 to 50,000. Gang rapes of young girls in front of mothers, fathers, siblings and children, became the order of the day. In fact, rapes became an integral part of the ethnic cleansing and were committed explicitly to impregnate Muslim women and hold them captive until they gave birth to unwanted Serbian babies. The leading citizens of Brcko, Bjeljina, Kljuc, Sanski Most, Prijedor, Kotor Varos, Zvornik, who owned a business, participated in the party of Democratic Action or held a University degree, were hunted down and liquidated. Naturall...

Surrounded by crumbling walls and three surviving gates, the still vibrant old Delhi, built during Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's reign, is very much a city within a city. A labyrinth of serpentine lanes crowded with rickshaws, it is lined with 17th-century havelis whose once ornate facades are now defaced with rusted signs and sprouting satellite dishes. This decay symbolises the dwindling fortune of football in the Walled City, a sad state of affairs since it once used to dominate Capital's soccer scene. In the halcyon days, driven by passion for the game, old Delhi traders and businessmen did not mind diverting their business profits into football, helping the emergence of well-known clubs like City Club, Shastri FC, Youngmen, Mughals, and Indian Nationals. While the clubs flourished, the game attracted the middle-class. Such was the clubs' appeal that even common folks came forward with contributions as clubs like Indian Nationals or City Club became a part of their lives....

" Dada sorry for not being able to return your call the other day," Renedy (Singh) seemed apologetic. But he was quick to add, "How would you rate my performance against Mohun Bagan?". For the record, Rahim Nabi scored one of his two goals from his freekick in East Bengal's memorable 3-0 win over Bagan in a crucial I-League match in Kolkata. Whether its his vicious free-kicks or scorching runs down the left, the Manipuri medio hasn't lost that element of touch even after completing a decade in football. A regular for the Indian team since his senior debut in 1996, Rennedy appears the most settled player after Baichung Bhutia in an Indian side that has witnessed constant change in the last couple of years. But for him the last two years (2005, 2006) had been pretty difficult. He was out of the national squad for a year-and-a-half followed by a niggling knee injury which forced him to leave the glam world of Calcutta football, and later found himself out of fa...

Manoel M Flores Junior (Brazil), Gonzalo Bossart (Chile), Pedro Rodrigues (Portugal) and Taufique Ahmed (a former AIFF official) are all in their early thirties. They have different backgrounds. But all four are linked to football. Currently they are working on a project that dwells on Indian football at the FIFA International Master in Zurich. The combo of ideas emanating from a Brazilian, Chilean and a Portuguese and guided by an Indian, if assembled together and endorsed by FIFA later could well become a guideline to resuscicate Indian football by forming a successful and independent league in the line of EPL (England) or La Liga (Spain). "In India there is only one sport to compete with. While football in America has to compete with four major sports, in India the scenario in different," Junior said. "If you compare Indian football with Brazil, Chile and Portugal with their own established leagues, the attempt to create a successful league is seen by some people almo...

One may have heard abour hockey being played in tribal areas of Orissa. But the state's non-descript river-locked villages of Kendrapara district has witnessed a silent soccer revolution has been taking place. These handful of villages have been throwing up women footballers of class regularly over the last four years, five of whom have already donned the India colours in international tournaments. In fact, the Aul-Rajkanika belt is now being considered as the nursery of women football in Orissa from where talents are being picked for training in state-run sports hostels. Sixteen-year-old Sushmita Mallick recently accompanied three other young girls of the area to Kuala Lumpur to represent the country in an age-group tournament, virtually pushing aside the prevalent caste and gender bias. Sushmita, along with Sangita Patra, Suprava Samal, Bijoylaxmi Sahu and Alochana Senapati have broken new grounds, said Debendra Sharma, president of the Kendrapara district committee, who is consi...

A boy stitching a football -- an universal emblem of aspiration. This vibrant pose in the slums of Brazil was immediately captured by Riyas Komu, an accomplished Mumbai-based painter and a photographer. Even after establishing himself as a renowned painter, this Kerala-born artist hasn't forget his first love: football. He wants to live with the game along with art. But Why he has chosen Indian footballers as his subject. "Indian football has brought in some fame through their modest effort but we don't have time to attend them. The players are not to be blamed for it. They actually struggle with their lives than the game." Riyas grew up playing football and lived with it till the age of 21 in Kerala. And then he moved to Mumbai to pursue art. His work refers to the paradoxes of the urban situation where there is glamour and abject poverty. He is compassionate yet it is laced with cynism. "I realised the players' issues from an artist's point of view. My ...

I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying -- Michael Jordan The rickety wooden stands at Mohammedan Sporting ground in Kolkata hits you on the face. It tells you a tale of a series of failures the century-old club has been battling with. After the club logged themselves out of the XIth National Football League, Sporting fans are now reeling under a certain kind of fear psychosis. Sporting's story isn't an isolated case. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan's pdestrian show in recent years have re-established the hard-core truth about Kolkata's gradual decline as a powerhouse. There were early warnings. But then the Kolkata clubs overlooked the imminent danger as they wore arrogance on their sleeves. Because in Kolkata, officials always beleive that 'tradition and history' would sail them through. But then the combo effect of 'history and tradition' has been proved redundant in their bid to resurrect an image lost long back. Sample this. The last tim...

Tinkitam won't sound like some place on Mars if for those who keep track of Indian football. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Kanchenjanga, it is a place almost ethereal in beauty. But getting there is almost as difficult as solving some cryptic clues. With the early morning cold wind often numbing your senses and the rocky path sometimes making your knees wobble, you might throw in the towel. But then the challenge is worth taking only because of Baichung Bhutia. Forget about Tinkitam's latitude and longitude, locating it on the atlas would definitely require a magnifying glass. The place is virtually cut off from the satellite world. Telephones, cable networks or even the cacophony of vehicles are yet to make any inroad in this sleepy hamlet firmly placed at the foothills of Kanchenjunga. Silence spreads like a contagion as you weave past the lush green cardamom plantations on either side of the two kilometre stretch which leads to the Indian captain's village. Ye...

On an insipid Saturday morning in the Capital, Jamshed Nasiri's tiring eyes (he is on a whirlwind tour of the country) lit up after watching young footballers from Capital's renowned schools turn up in expensive jerseys and kits. But Nasiri isn't so surprised. After all, most of these participating teams are from Capital's renowned private schools. "Watch this boy," he points to a Air Force School player. "Watch his ball control. He is a very skillful player who made it to the Arsenal last year," he added. A trip to Arsenal is a dream which every young footballer will look forward to. And Nasiri was here to spot talents (only 3-4 players per city) find a place in the final 30 which will be pruned to 16 before making it to Arsenal to represent India. This former East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting star talks about developing a football culture in India. He doesn't even mind working with youngsters. "I can tell you there are good talent in the...

Just adjacent to the school campus, CRPF jawans keep a vigil from their hideouts but Hina and her friends are hardly bothered by their presence. Instead, these Kashmiri girls are enjoying themselves to the hilt, by playing the world's most popular sport -- football. Interestingly, there is no fatwa against Hina, Ruksana, Nazia... who are dreaming to become footballers and, who practise in a school ground in Srinagar's posh Rajbagh area which is near the Bakshi Stadium which recently hosted the National Football Championship. Gun-toting securitymen notwithstanding, presently, one does come fact-to-face with the fact that the Valley is moving forward on many counts, as evidenced by the regular participation of girls in football. At the Rajbagh Girls' Secondary School, around 45 girls from different schools turned up almost everyday for the local selection trials. After the trials, the team will travel to Leh next month for the U-19 state championship. "They are highly ex...

A drive to the Bishan Stadium -- home to Home United Football Club -- shows just how much Singaporeans care about sports. A spotless entrance and a row of small, sparkling cafeterias in front of the stadium add to your belief that when it comes to the maintenance of soccer stadiums, Singapore can match the best in the world. Saturday being a weekend, routine football practice games are off the schedule. Yet, some amateur players are busy sharpening their skills. One can feel the vibrant football culture here. But a conversation with PN Sivaji, head coach of Home United, leaves you wondering. The level of football in Singapore is the same as in India. But Indian football is better placed. Interestingly, Singapore is ranked 128 against India's 153 in the FIFA list. "The main problem here is that football is not vibrant here. There are no icons like Baichung Bhutia. Talks are on to sign up foreign players but we are still waiting. Besides, we have to train and play on the same pi...

It was in the year 1982 that Indian football woke up to stark reality. With the World Cup semifinals and final beamed live from Spain for the first time ever, aficionados with open-mouthed wonder realised how obsolete Indian football had become. For them, the opportunity to watch world class action on TV was just like taking a break from their mundane daily routine to venture into the cool climes of a hill station. But much before the World Cup telecast happened and EPL had made inroads into Indian drawing rooms, the inaugural Nehru Cup in 1982 at Kolkata had already 'exposed' the standard of Indian football. The event, meanwhile, was so popular that across Kolkata (then Calcutta), the Nehru Cup became the subject of all conversation. But it was not surprising then. The Kolkata league and other domestic events were becoming too tacky to follow, and the Nehru Cup was a refreshing offering. Without doubt, witnessing the Nehru Cup became much more exciting than watching home...