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I, who was standing a few yards away, comfortably eavesdropping, was alerted and pounced on the handsome young man at the next opportune moment with a request to interview him. "Of course, you can meet me before 17th. After that, I will be on tour with our team," he replied. Yes, the man was V P Sathyan, who played for India from 1985 to 1996 covering almost 100 games, including the Seoul Asiad, was the team captain for 10 games and won the Best Footballer Award of India in 1993. Malayalees still remember Sathyan as the captain of the Kerala team which brought back to the state the Santosh Trophy after a gap of almost two decades in 1992. This feat was followed by a controversy: Sathyan, who was in the Kerala Police, yearned for a change because of his "feeling insecure". He got an offer from Mohun Bagan and signed a contract with the team for the next season. "Either because of his personal interest or because of the importance of football in Kerala", the then chief minister K Karunakaran tried to persuade him not to leave Kerala. "Karunakaran sir spent three hours with me in his chamber. But I was helpless. There is a rule in Indian football that if we sign a contract with a team for a season, we should not break it and play for another team. Karunakaran sir told me that he would talk to the then West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu. But I knew Jyoti Basu was also helpless because of the rule. And I left Kerala," says Sathyan. "I didn't want to come back to Kerala Police. Karunakaran sir might have thought that I am a 'nishedi' (disobedient man). He was holding charge of the Home Ministry, too. I didn't want to work under him after 'disobeying' him. So I joined Indian Bank in 1996 when I left Mohun Bagan," says Sathyan, who joined the police department in 1984 and whose father P Gopalan Nair was also in the department. "Yes, Kerala has a better football background. I can never forget the support I got from Kerala and Kerala Police. When I decided to join Indian Bank, I doubted whether I would get any support here. But I got good support from my colleagues and people in Chennai." "Had I remained in Kerala, I would have been an SP or held high positions in the police department. But I don't like the khaki restrictions. I wanted to be free. So I am here in Indian Bank. Moreover, there is no ego problem here. I am happy," he says. The single goal he scored against Mohammaden Sporting the year he joined Indian Bank qualified the team for the National Football League. "I feel that with single goal I repaid my appointment here," says Sathyan. He played in the bank's team for five years. Meanwhile, he got coaching licences from the Asian Football Confederation and the FIFA. Now he is the team's coach. "My experience as a player, extending over two decades, helps me greatly when I coach the youngsters. As I was a player, I know what exercise a player should take, when he will be tired, etc. The courses I attended in the confederation and FIFA helped me learn scientific aspects like football and physiology," Sathyan, who studied in the sports division and whose break in football came when he joined the celebrated Lucky Star Club, Kannur, says. "Our sports technology is not so advanced. For example, the players need full medical support. But we don't have this. We have to make use of all what we have and impart the best coaching to the youngsters," he says. What makes Sathyan, who is married and has a child, different from many other sportspersons is his reluctance to be satisfied with the comfort of official life and his desire to make use of his experience for the young players. Let his stint as coach set new goals for the Indian Bank team and Indian sports. Salil Jose Readers' response/inputs can be e-mailed to salil@chennaionline.com.
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It was a rainy Saturday and tedious waiting for train at St Thomas Mount station. Two Malayalees - a middle-aged man and a tall and handsome man in his 30s - were conversing in Malayalam about their family. After some time, another Malayalee joined them. The middle-aged man introduced the tall man to the newcomer: "Don't you know him? He is former Indian football team captain…"
