The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ebin Rose — Titanium's brightest jewel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 09, 2005

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Ebin Rose — Titanium's brightest jewel

M.R. Praveen Chandran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With long strides, he prowls around the penalty box. The movements may be ponderous, and defenders can be fooled by his affable façade that belies the fire within. But Ebin is deceptively quick and he has this rare ability to give his marker the slip and be at the right spot at the right time to score goals. Over the years, the rival goalkeepers and defenders have had a harrowing time in keeping this silent assassin under check. He is a goal-scoring machine par excellence. Travancore Titanium may not be the all-conquering side it was a few years ago, but Ebin Rose is its brightest jewel.

Ebin made his debut for Titanium with a hat-trick against Acme, Trikkarippur (Kasargod) in the State Club championship at Edavanna in 1999 and since then he has not looked back. He was the top-scorer in the ONGC all-India invitation tournament in Surat in 2002. And twice he was the top-scorer in the State league.

At the recently concluded N.I. David Memorial State club championship in Thrissur, the mercurial striker once again emerged as the top-scorer. Playing with an injured right ankle, Ebin netted 11 goals out of the 14 his team scored in the tournament. In the notoriously inconsistent team, Ebin Rose was easily the most consistent player in the tournament.

Career graph

But becoming a prolific striker was not something which Ebin bargained for when he started playing serious soccer after joining the Government Arts College in 1997. His career picked up when he joined SN College, Chempazanthy for his degree course in 1998. That year he represented Kerala University, which finished as the runner-up in the All-India inter-University championship and won the South Zone inter-University title. Ebin was one of the few players who impressed during the University competitions, which prompted State Bank of Travancore's coach Najeeb to sign Ebin as a guest player. Ebin stayed with SBT for nine months and often came on as a substitute. But he grabbed his chances and left a lasting impression on the Titanium think tank who were scouting for fresh players. Ebin joined Titanium in 1999 and since then has been an integral part of the team. But the soft-spoken footballer has not got the recognition he deserved.

Dreams

Ebin should have played more matches for Kerala in the Santosh Trophy than the one appearance he made as a substitute in the final against Punjab in Delhi early this year. Though he has booted in bucketful of goals for his side, he nurtures a burning desire to score a goal for Kerala in the premier championship.

Ebin also dreams of playing in the National Football League. Ebin nearly realised that dream a few years back when FC Kochin approached Titanium to release him on loan. But the Titanium management did not respond favourably to the FC Kochin's request and Ebin missed out. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for Titanium to figure in the NFL with every passing year. We lack consistency. But it is not beyond our ability. Hopefully we will qualify next year,'' he says.

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