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Indian Bank’s strange dilemma

S.R. Suryanarayan

New offers have come in for players from other clubs
It has become like an academy for others to poach on

— FILE Photo

Syed Sabir Pasha.

CHENNAI: What can an institution football team do in the midst of clubs that have the money power to get good foreign talents to produce results? This has been the dilemma of the local giant Indian Bank, once a participant in the premier division, but a regular campaigner in the national second division league for the past four years.

The latest journey was another story of disaster but with a difference. The team crossed the first leg (Kolhapur) but in Guwahati it lost all its matches to finish at the bottom in the six-team final phase of the I-league second division.

But then, reckons Syed Sabir Pasha, a former International and currently the chief coach of the Bank, “we had some good happenings to savour this time. Our initial aim was to cross the first round which we had not been doing for a few years now. We crossed it in Kolhapur,” he said.

“And considering our team was the only one without a foreigner that was some achievement.”

Good news

More than the overall show what was good news for the players (and not for the team) in the aftermath was that “new offers” have started coming in from other clubs.

“The situation now is that nearly 80 per cent of the team members are on the way out and we have to rebuild the side again. We cannot stop the players from going because the offers promised are huge. One player is expected to get Rs 50,000 per month where now his monthly payment from us, thanks to budget limitations, hardly crosses Rs 10,000,” said Pasha.

In a way the Indian Bank team has become like an academy for others to poach on. Entering the Bank team, particularly for players from other parts of the country, has been like a stepping stone for greener pastures Pasha said after seeing some of the ex-Bank players doing well for other clubs.

Brighter side

A national U-19 coach and soon to join the national camp, Pasha however, wished to see the brighter side of the Bank’s latest campaign.

“Finishing in the top six meant, we will automatically be seeded for next season’s I-league second division. Also, there will be invitation to participate in all major tournaments in the country like the Durrand, DCM and the like.

“The fact remains we have been keeping the image of Indian Bank high and that has been our first goal,” he said as he looked ahead to the trials shortly for the “rebuilding process of the team.”

And for those selected this time and who do well there is an incentive of job offer, put in the Bank’s Sports Secretary, Stephen Balasamy. Can this turn the tide?

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