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| Indian Football Legends | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Neville de Souza: Neville`s football career began with Goan Sports Clubbefore he joined Tata`s. His first taste of international recognition was at the Asian quadrangular at Rangoon in 1954. A year later he led the Maharashtra State team in the Santos Trophy. The Caltex side of the 50s was one of the star attractions in domestic football, and in his very first year in 1958, he helped them to become the first civilian side from Bombay to win the Rovers Cup when they beat Sporting in the final. Neville De Souza`s magic brought India to the pinnacle of glory and had taken India to the very doorstep of an Olympic medal. Some of the teams withdrew from the Olympics at Melbourne in 1956, due to the prevailing political condition and thus India were given a direct entry into the quarterfinal, which the Indian players grabbed it with both their hands.  On December 1, 1956, they sprang a surprise by beating the hosts Australia by 4-2. India took the lead after 9 minutes through Neville`s opportunistic header, but Australia`s Morrow neutralized the lead within 8 minutes. Neville was once again at his opportunistic best in the 33rd minute, when goalkeeper Lord failed to collect cleanly from PK Banerjee. The resultant fumble was slammed in by Neville to give India the lead again. However, Morrow made it 2-2 when he beat the Indian goalkeeper SS Narayan. India dominated the second half and D`Souza quickly scored his hattrick while Kittu completed the scoring in the 80th minute. The Aussies who were beaten by the Indians called it a "fluke" and demanded a rematch, which India won, with Neville scoring twice.
According to SS Narayan, an ex-Olympian, "Neville`s control was so good that once the ball was in his possession, he was the absolute master. When on the move, his ability to dribble, feint, and his versatility were a delight to watch. He did not use power to score goals, rather his weapon was guile, placing the ball in such a way that goalkeepers had not a chance." His brother Dereyk de Souza, a former India and Mahindra coach, says Neville also excelled in hockey and could have become a double international. "But football was his first love, and this is why he chose to concentrate on it". Neville`s earlier years were dominated by his hockey exploits - first for St. Xavier`s High School, then St. Xavier`s College and then for Tata`s for whom he brought the prestigious Beighton Cup from Calcutta in his very first year. He also toured East Africa in 1952 with Tata`s, and scored 34 goals in 17 matches, and represented Bombay in the National hockey from 1953 to 1955. After retiring in 1963 he took to coaching and was on the selection panel of the All India Football Federation. However, this Indian hat-trick hero of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics died of a heart attack in 1980. 2. Baichung Bhutia: The most famous of Indian footballers, Baichung Bhutia can  be considered the face of Indian Football. Born on December 15, 1976 in Tinkitam, Sikkim, Baichung came into the national scene through a classy performance in the 1992 Subroto Cup school tournament. In 1993, at the age of sixteen, he joined the Calcutta city giants East Bengal Club. In 1995, Baichung moved to JCT Mills, Phagwara and helped the team win the National Football League where he emerged as the leading goal-scorer. In the same year Baichung made his international debut in the Nehru Cup.
 3. I M Vijayan: I M Vijayan was born on April 25, 1969, in Thrissur, Kerala. He was one of the most versatile strikers of Indian football. From selling bottles soda in the streets of Thrissur, to become a renowned name in Indian football, its hard work personified as I M Vijayan. Making his national debut for the Kerala Police in the 1987 Quilon Nationals, the 17-year-old Vijayan made an immediate impact despite his scrawny built and rugged looks. After persisting with the Police for four years, Vijayan left Kerala seeking greener pastures in Kolkata Club football. He went on to spend some fruitful years with city giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Vijayan made his international debut in 1989 and spearheaded the Indian attack in various tournaments starting with the Nehru Cup, pre-Olympics, pre-World Cup, SAAF Cup and SAF Games. He partnered with the mercurial Baichung Bhutia upfront to form one of the most lethal Indian forward lines. Vijayan was the first footballer from Kerala to win the Arjuna Award and was adjudged the `Best footballer of the year` in 1993, 97 and 99. In the 1999 SAF Games, Vijayan earned the unique distinction of scoring the fastest ever-international goal when he found the net just after 12 seconds against Bhutan. The last match, before his retirement, he signed off in style in the 2003 Afro-Asian games where he emerged the top scorer with four goals. 4. Peter Thangaraj: Peter was born in 1936, in Andhra Pradesh. Peter Thangaraj  is one of the best goalkeepers India has ever produced. Although Thangaraj started his career as centre forward for Madras Regimental Centre, he found his calling in goalkeeping and went on to excel both at the domestic and international level. Along with the likes of Chuni Goswami and PK Banerjee, Thangaraj was one of the mainstays of the Indian team that performed well at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. When India clinched the gold at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, Thangaraj was reassuring as the Indian custodian.
He was named the Best Goalkeeper of Asia in 1958 and awarded the Arjuna Award in 1967. Thangaraj twice played for the Asian All-Star team and was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper in 1967. At the domestic circuit, Thangaraj earned accolades playing for Calcutta giants like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. He was part of the Bengal team, which continuously won the Santosh Trophy from 1961 to 1964.  5. Subimal Chuni Goswami: Goswami was born on January 15, 1938, in Kishoregunj, Bengal. During the golden era of Indian football, Chuni Goswami was one of the mainstays of the national team. Goswami started his professional career with the Mohun Bagan Club in 1954. In the 1950s and 60s, India did well in the international stage riding on the skills of Goswami and a host of capable players. The highpoint of Chuni Goswami`s career was the football gold at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. In the final, the Goswami-led team defeated South Korea 2-1, with goals coming from P.K. Banerjee and Jarnail Singh.
Goswami captained the Mohun Bagan team from 1960 to 1964. During his stint, the club did exceedingly well in various national competitions including the prestigious Durand Cup. In honor of his services to the game, Chuni Goswami was bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 1963 and the Padmashri in 1983. 6. Jarnail Singh Dhillon: Jarnail Singh was born on1936 in Panam, Hoshiarpur,  Punjab and he is regarded as one of the most outstanding defenders of India. Like many of his illustrious compatriots, Jarnail played a pivotal role in shaping India`s football fortunes during the golden era of Indian football. His heroics in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games are part of Indian football folklore now. Braving a nasty head-injury that required six stitches, Jarnail, in his new role as a forward, scored crucial goals in the semi-final and final to fetch India its maiden Asiad football gold.
Two years later, when India became the runner-up in the 1964 Asia Cup at Tel Aviv, Jarnail was at his best marshalling the defence with authority and guile. After another commendable show at the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia in the same year, Jarnail took over the reins of the team from Chuni Goswami and continued for more than two seasons with a fair bit of success. At the domestic circuit, Jarnail was associated with the Mohun Bagan Club for 10 glorious years when the green-and-maroon team swept all the major titles at the national level. After quitting from Mohun Bagan in 1969, Jarnail went to play for Punjab and inspired the team to win the first Santosh Trophy in 1970 as a coach-cum-player. 7. P K Banerjee: P K Banerjee was born on October 15, 1936, in Jalpaiguri,  Bengal. He was one of the stalwarts of the formidable Indian football squad that made a name for itself in the international stage. A dashing forward, Banerjee made it a habit of scoring crucial goals for his team. Though Banerjee started his professional career in Jamshedpur, it was in the highly competitive Calcutta league that he excelled representing the Eastern Railways SC. Banerjee was a member of the Indian team that finished fourth in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and had captained the national team at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In Rome, though India failed to move from the group stage, they played inspirational soccer to hold the mighty France 1-1 through a goal from the captain himself.
Banerjee dazzled in the Asian arena as well, representing India in three Asiads from 1958 to 1966. In the 1962 edition, India clinched the gold medal with Banerjee scoring against all the teams except the very first match against South Korea. Post-retirement, Banerjee coached the Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and was associated with the national team for a long time. In 1961, P. K. Banerjee became the first-ever footballer to receive the Arjuna Award. 8. Sailendra Nath Manna: Manna was born on September 1, 1924, in Batra,  Howrah District, Bengal. Sailendra Manna, former India captain and defender par excellence, brought laurels to the nation with his virtuosity on the soccer turf. Manna started his football career with the second division Howrah Union in the Calcutta League. He was a member of the first-ever Indian football team on an overseas tour that took part in the 1948 London Olympics. Despite playing barefoot India lost to France by a narrow margin of 1-2 with Manna missing a crucial penalty.
Post-Olympics, Manna led India to the inaugural Asian Games gold in 1951 when they beat Iran 1-0 in the final. Under Manna`s leadership, India won four successive titles in the South East Asian quadrangular meet (featuring India, Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka) between 1952 and 1955. At the club level, Manna`s name was synonymous with the Mohun Bagan AC. After joining the club in 1942, he remained with the green-and-maroon brigade for the rest of his career. He became captain of the Mohun Bagan team in 1951 and went on to win the Durand Cup five times, including three times consecutively. His team also won the IFA Shield six times, including four times continuously in a row. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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