HT Kick Off: Mohammed Habib: A tribute

Knowledgeable angle

Former India captain Mohammed Habib, who died aged 74 on August 15, 2023 after a protracted sickness, meant various things to completely different individuals. To his era, “Bade Miya” – the nickname had as a lot to do together with his character because it was as a result of youthful brother Mohammed Akbar was typically a teammate for membership and nation – was the skilled they revered immensely. At a time when gamers sought the safety of a financial institution or a authorities job, he earned solely by way of soccer. Which is why he typically skilled extra and will stretch his profession to almost 20 years in an period when details about restoration, weight loss program, power and endurance coaching was both sparse or non-existent in India.

To these older like former India winger Sukumar Samajpati, he was a left-inside ahead who contributed to East Bengal’s Calcutta league title in 1966, his first yr on the membership. To East Bengal followers, Habib was additionally the participant who, together with Jamshed Nassiri, Majid Bishkar, and Manoranjan Bhattacharjee, helped coach PK Banerjee get a depleted squad to punch above its weight. East Bengal gave Habib the Bharat Gaurav award in 2015.

Captain, chief, legend.(AIFF) To Kalyan Chaubey, he was a “guru” who gave him a profession. Chaubey additionally remembers how he was at all times nattily turned out. “He would shave twice on daily basis,” Chaubey stated after I requested him about his coach at Tata Football Academy (TFA) and Mohun Bagan.

“Defeat was not an choice”

But what stood out for everybody –from East Bengal’s normal secretary Jyotish Guha, who noticed Habib within the 1965 Santosh Trophy, Banerjee, friends and Chaubey –was his angle. Defeat was not an choice for him, Chaubey stated, reminiscing in regards to the man he shared lodgings with in central Kolkata in the beginning of his skilled profession.

“If we misplaced, there can be no meals that evening and he can be shocked if we considered sleeping,” stated Chaubey, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) president.

It was this can-do spirit that revived India within the 1970 Asian Games. Trailing in opposition to hosts Thailand, India have been pathetic, Jaydeep Basu wrote in “Stories From Indian Football.” The chef-de-mission “stormed into the dressing room and referred to as the gamers a bunch of cowards.” Habib, who was not the captain, reacted, rousing his mates. India drew 1-1 and went on a run that noticed them beat South Vietnam 2-0, Habib scoring from 20 yards, and Japan in a bronze medal play-off.

Japan, the 1968 Olympics bronze medallists, had Kunishige Kamamoto however India wouldn’t be bowed. Shifted to centre-back from his ordinary right-back place, Sudhir Karmakar, together with skipper Syed Nayeemuddin, reined within the man who had 75 objectives in 76 internationals and was rated extremely by Pele. Kamamoto died of pneumonia aged 81 on Sunday.

It was with Nayeemuddin and Afzal that Habib joined East Bengal in 1966 from Hyderabad Telephones; Guha being impressed by a 17-year-old by no means shying from a duel with the formidable Jarnail Singh within the Santosh Trophy. Andhra Pradesh received the nationwide championship that yr beating Bengal, fulfilling a dream Syed Rahim couldn’t obtain in his lifetime. The matchwinner? Habib.

In his first season in Kolkata, Habib joined a staff left depleted with Chandreshwar Prasad and Ashim Moulik becoming a member of Mohun Bagan, recalled Samajpati in his autobiography in Bangla, “Khela Shurer Golpokotha”. Habib scored 9 objectives in his first league season, as per Gautam Roy’s espresso desk e-book “East Bengal 100”. He was a gutsy striker whose passing vary and never-say-die angle stood out, Roy has written.

East Bengal’s dramatic comeback in opposition to BSF within the 1974 Durand Cup occurred due to Habib. They trailed BSF led 1-3 earlier than Habib, Surajit Sengupta and Subhas Bhowmick ensured a 4-3 win. In the identical version, Novy Kapadia wrote in “Barefoot to Boots”, Habib flicked up a header, chested the ball after which scored with a left-footer in opposition to Port Authority, Thailand. In the Pesta Sukan event in Singapore three years earlier, India overturned a 0-1 deficit in opposition to Indonesia to win 2-1 each objectives coming from Habib.

Mohammed Habib hugs Jamshed Nassiri at a packed Eden Gardens.(AIFF) Habib performed for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting in a profession that started when Chuni Goswami, Aroon Ghosh and Banerjee have been energetic as gamers. At a time when membership soccer, particularly in Kolkata, bought priority over worldwide matches, he performed solely 35 occasions for India scoring 11 objectives.

Winning with teenagers

After retirement, Habib joined TFA as coach and with precocious children resembling Chaubey, Dipendu Biswas, Renedy Singh, Lolendra Singh, Anit Ghosh and Shankarlal Chakraborty beat high groups in India. East Bengal have been tamed 4-0 in IFA Shield, Mohun Bagan in Durand Cup.

“Habib Sir was greater than a coach, he was our “guru.” He helped inculcate a successful mentality in us and taught us easy methods to take care of ourselves. Yes, there have been gamers who would break curfew and hit the disco close by however most of us adopted his lights-out orders within the flat offered by Mohun Bagan,” stated Chaubey.

As coach on post-match media duties, Habib would begin by evaluating whether or not his staff put up a combat. Lo and behold if he thought that they had not! It is value remembering this when the angle of India gamers has been questioned by the AIFF’s nationwide staff director and former head coach Manolo Marquez.

Play of the week

Play of the week(Prijit Sashidharan)