So much is going on about World Cup 2010. Boys in and around Kolkata are painting themselves with colors of their favorite teams, crying themsleves hoarse viewing midnight matches. But how can I forget Chuni, Jarnail, Arumoy and Thangaraj of Mohunbagan, Balram and Ram Bahadur of East Bengal and of course, P.K. of Eastern Rail? Those were the golden days of Indian Football. We were not ranked 152 in the world! We were the Asian Games Champion, Merdeka Cup Champions and Olympic qualifiers, invariably. The majority of the Indian football team consisted of players from Kolkata, "Mecca of Indian football".
Unfortunately, the new generation has no idea of this and nor are there any records or footages of these brilliant performances for them to ever know.
Even before this, Neville D'Souza of Bombay was the first Asian to score a hat-trick in Melbourne Olympics. He happened to be one of the few players of the world to have scored against the great Lev Yashin of Russia, arguably the best goalie of all times!
I only hope Baichung, Chhetri and Subrata under Houghton's guidance will start turning the wheel once again.
Unfortunately, the new generation has no idea of this and nor are there any records or footages of these brilliant performances for them to ever know.
Even before this, Neville D'Souza of Bombay was the first Asian to score a hat-trick in Melbourne Olympics. He happened to be one of the few players of the world to have scored against the great Lev Yashin of Russia, arguably the best goalie of all times!
I only hope Baichung, Chhetri and Subrata under Houghton's guidance will start turning the wheel once again.
