As Atletico de Kolkata won the first edition of the Indian Super League with a last-gasp goal in Mumbai on Saturday evening, the 17-year-old sat transfixed in front of the television, grateful to be playing football at a time when the game has finally gone international in India.
The Class XII student at Frank Anthony Public School, who captains his team and wears the No. 10 jersey, writes for Metro what the ISL and Atletico de Kolkata’s victory meant to him.
The nail-biting football that had the nation hooked for 90-odd minutes on Saturday night was not only a fitting finale to the first edition of the ISL but also a big triumph for Calcutta, which is the place to be for any sports fan like me.
Atletico de Kolkata’s victory completed a rare double for the city – 2014 IPL and ISL champions – while our home-grown forward Mohammed Rafique’s winning goal made me believe that perseverance and dedication matter the most in the quest for glory.
ATK’s never-say-die attitude in the final was inspiring too. I have won and lost many finals and I know how mentally draining it can be. But the ATK players were calm. Your instincts and talent matter but your mindset can make or break you. Big matches are nerve-wracking and brutal to lose.
Super-sub Rafique’s 95th-minute header reminded me of two occasions where I have been in a similar position. During my training at Club Atletico Boca Juniors, I had come on as a substitute in a friendly and scored a late goal that gave my side a 1-0 win. In the quarter-finals of the Keventer Cup 2014, my school team was awarded a last-minute penalty, which I calmly converted.
On the flip side, I have been in the boots of Kerala’s Michael Chopra, who thought he had scored the winner, only to discover that his shot had been saved by the brilliant Edel Bete.
Like Michael, my heartbreak moment had come in the dying moments of a final of the inter-Frank Anthony schools’ tournament, which cost us the match. That’s the harsh reality of sport.
Saturday’s final taught me how a strategy like keeping a defender at the first post (which Kerala goalkeeper David James should have done) or a brilliant save (like Edel’s) can be the fine line between triumph and misery.
Without Luis Garcia in the starting XI and Fikru out of the match, ATK had their backs to the wall from the beginning. They initially lacked creativity in the midfield and Kerala looked a much better team. But Kerala failed to convert chances and I was amazed how Arnab Mondal and Josemi, the defensive stalwarts, and goalkeeper Edel kept ATK alive in the game.
With missed chances at both ends, each side was almost resigned to 30 minutes of extra time until, astonishingly, ATK found a way out of it!
In the end, I think, India was the real winner of the ISL, opening up so many avenues for the growth of football in the country.
The ISL also gave young footballers like me the much-needed push to dream of making it big. It gave me new heroes like Sandesh Jhingan, who makes match-winning tackles; Elano Blumer, whose free kicks I would like to emulate; Luis Garcia, whose skills and leadership qualities I have tried to embrace; and Iain Hume and Steven Pearson, whose stamina and perseverance inspire me.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / Monday – December 22nd, 2014