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They dodge age to net a goal

Senior football players let the passion for the game take over at the South Zone Masters Invitation Football Tournament

PHOTO: T. SINGARAVELU

STILL GOING STRONG Veteran footballers enjoying the game.

All it takes is a ball and a field to make these men go wild. Though they are no longer young, in their hearts they are still the boys they used to be, who enjoyed the game of football. Recently, the Indira Gandhi stadium, Pondicherry was the venue of the South Zone Masters Invitation Football tournament, in which 12 veteran football teams from Bangalore, Ooty, Chennai, Dindigul, Neyveli and Pondicherry participated All the players were above 40, most of them above 50, but they were full of energy and enthusiasm.

Two players scored hat tricks — Jayakumar from the Neyveli team, who scored in the first match, and Nathaniel Christie of Pondicherry A team, who scored four goals.

Sagayanathan, secretary, Nilgiris District Football Club, a team that comprises mostly of Hindustan Photo Films employees, said, "Though we are past our youth, we are boys on the ground. Football is not an easy game and we need to be fit. I have been playing the game for the past 35 years and if I don't play even for a day, my calf muscles start aching."

His team was formed three months ago. "I had gone for an Asian Football Confederation course and there I met older footballers. They had a veterans' team. Though we were all a bit rusty, our love for the game brought us together. We played the quarter finals against Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bangalore, under flood lights and we thoroughly enjoyed the game."

The Neyveli Town Club team, which won the trophy beating Pondicherry A team had Raveendran, Krishnamurthy, Paramaguru, Rajasekar and Stephan,all State players. The score in the finals was 1-0. The winning goal was scored in the 28th minute.

"The Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) team was formed in 1985 and the veterans' team, three years ago. We practise every evening and during weekends. Our club has 21 members. To keep their interest in the game alive, more such tournaments must be conducted," said Gnanaprakasam, manager Neyveli Town Club team. "The NLC supports us by providing us with the balls and the ground. We even get first preference for practice sessions," he added.

The Bangalore Veterans Football Club, which is attached to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, said they lost due to bad luck. "The Ooty team was much younger but it was a refreshing experience," said Rammohan, their manager. The team has national and international players, including Premkumar, Thamilselvam, Joseph and Arumainayagam. "We are concentrating on providing free coaching to students. Many good players give up the game because of financial constraints. Not many clubs can give stipends," he lamented.

The Pondicherry team, which organised the tournament and lost in the finals has been participating in other matches also. "Our team won the Tamil Nadu Football Association Shield (TFA) shield in 1973. But now the younger generation does not show the interest we did,"saidJohnkumar, one of the players who has taken up the initiative to conduct veterans' matches.

"Last year, we conducted a match for seniors in Pondicherry in connection with the 50th year of Pondicherry's Independence. We wanted to organise matches for other clubs too and the two-day event is the outcome of that," said M. A. Fathima Raj, vice-chairman, Pondicherry Masters Football Club.

Baby Taxi, a driving force

Did you know that the `Baby Taxi' was here during the Veterans' Trophy matches? Those who venerate the game will know that Arumainayagam, the Indian team's fast left-winger in the 1960s was known by this nickname. He came here as the HAL team's coach and though they lost the game his team enjoyed the match.

Those days, baby taxis used to weave their way through the traffic and speed away. The taxis were small and so is Arumainayagam, who played football at the national and international level from 1961 to 1968. He was in the team, which won the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, where the Indian team lost to South Korea 3-1 in the preliminary rounds, but fought back brilliantly in the final against the same opponents and won 2-1 to grab the gold. "I have played in a lot of official test matches for the country and also served as the captain of Mohan Bagan and then joined Southern Railway. In those years, Pondicherry was our favourite place because we used to win a lot of matches here," he recalled.

When asked what could be done to revive interest in the game, Arumainayagam said, "The standard of the game and players, also, has gone down because we don't have tournaments. The All India Football Federation is trying to improve the situation but we lack funds."

DEEPA H RAMAKRISHNAN

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