JEDDAH, 13 May 2008 — Mohammed Habib is the name that conjures up the golden period of Indian football in the good old days. Habib, who was a name to reckon with among the country’s forwards, played for the top three clubs in West Bengal — East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting in Kolkata and stood out among the country’s best at a time when donning the Indian colors was a matter of pride and playing soccer a path to fame and success.
Habib recollects the heyday when players played for honor and pride. “It is ironic when there was no money we had number of talented players and just when there is money being pumped into the game, talent and good players are few and far between.”
He blames the lack of competition, or the total eradication of it in the Indian circuit, to this present lamentable state. With the other sports, especially cricket, getting the bigger share of the money pie the country’s footballers were left holding with nothing on their plate. The players were considered to be of little or no importance in the eyes of those who mattered — the sponsors.
But now things are gradually changing for the better, according to Habib, who says that the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) is pumping in money to draw in good players. He adds that the international body, FIFA, too is providing a good amount to the AIFF to develop and promote the game at every level. “Things definitely are looking up for the game now,” Habib said.
“Ours was the time when there was no money, no sponsor and yet the game flourished due to intense competition and some major tournaments. Today, there is lot of money in the game but new talents are hard to find,” he laments.
It is a sorry spectacle to see some major tournaments disappearing from the Indian football scene, including the Rovers Cup in Mumbai, Nagjee in Kerala and the DCM tournament in New Delhi. Kolkata and Kerala, which were the main hubs of football those days, are no longer the scenes of intense competition. Football fans these days show no interest in matches, whether East Bengal or Mohan Bagan play. “The main reason is tournaments are fewer, competition is less and standards are falling,” said Habib who is currently here to perform Umrah.
For the last three years, Habib is on the technical committee of AIFF. For the past six months, he functions as an observer under the aegis of the ministry of sports. His main task is to oversee and report on the training programs of footballers.
“I see some bright prospects,” he says. “Bobby Houghton is the official coach for the last one year. The coach’s role is 70 percent in grooming the players. There could thus be a turning point for Indian football.”
However, he says, what India should do is to take a leaf from some of the countries known best for the game. Brazil has a planned approach toward football with finding talent and grooming them in different age groups and turning them into professionals, he says.There should be a sustained program of training for 14-16 year hopefuls in the game. “It should be a full-fledged four-year program comprising all aspects including classroom studies and physio, as well as training and play.
This is exactly what he did for 14 years when he was the coach at the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur. “The four years we get with the boys, who are generally in the 12-14 years bracket, is a good grounding for them. They study at the local schools and train at the academy. We provide them an all-round development. Today 16 of the boys from TFA are on the national squad,” Habib said, adding that the establishment of other academies, in Chandigarh, Haldia and other places is a welcome move.
“It is this age group we need to concentrate on in order to develop and nurture talent. And it is from this group we will find our future footballers that can make India a strong footballing nation. Look at Saudi Arabia, every boy is out there with a football and ready to play on muddy tracks. It is on these grounds your agility and ability are honed. And when these boys step on to the grass field, they find their feet with ease.
Habib hoped that the federation would find sponsors for various football tournaments and restart them in order to boost the game. Zee TV is the sponsor of the national league, and they can provide the exposure that the sponsors seek. “We need more sponsors and more tournaments,” he said and bemoaned the lack of support to the game, adding a similar trend in some of the Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar is the cause of the decline of these one-time footballing powerhouses.
Like the Twenty-20 league matches have generated tremendous interest in cricket in India, seven-a-side games in football should be encouraged and increasingly played, he says, adding that FIFA are considering some novel formats to keep the world’s interest in the game. Habib’s popularity in Bengal could be gauged by the rivalry the teams had for his services. In the seventies when Habib sought to shift to Mohun Bagan from East Bengal, he was whisked away from the signing ceremony by East Bengal supporters and kept incommunicado for a week in Kerala till he agreed to stay with East Bengal. Habib, an Arjuna Award winner — which is given to outstanding sportsmen — and a former Olympian, recounted this episode with relish, while adding this just goes to prove my point. In those days fans and footballers strove for the clubs, state or country’s honor. “Today it is all about money. Wherever there is money, the player will go there,” Habib said, adding, “I cannot blame them in this world today.”
When asked what was his best footballing moment, Habib said: “Cosmos, of course.” It was in 1977 when the New York Cosmos, the North American Soccer League Club, visited India for an exhibition match against Mohun Bagan. Footballing giants like Pele, Alberto and Chinaglia of Peru played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In a keenly contested match that ended in an unbelievable 2-2 draw Habib had a memorable experience. He scored against the Cosmos Club, as did Shyam Thapa with the Kolkata side leading 2-1 for the majority of the match.
It is that same drive he exudes still when he talks about Indian football optimistically. Whether his optimism translates into ground reality only time will tell.
