Whether it was their insistence on playing barefoot, or was ‘insufficient time for practice and disagreements over team selection’ the actual reason for India’s withdrawal from the 1950 Football World Cup Football is not clearly known. India had managed to qualify for the Cup because of multiple withdrawals. Over the years, I have listened to many disparaging remarks mocking the ‘football prowess’ of our country, but under that mockery lies buried a glorious era that deserves to be rescued from dustbin of history. Lives and exploits of some of protagonists of that era deserve to celebrated- Rahim, Sailen Manna, P.K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Peter Thangraj, Jarnail Singh, Tulsiram Balram, Sheoo Mewalal and some others.

Indians did take the field barefoot at London Olympics 1948, where they performed decently against France before eventually going down by 2-1. At Helsinki Olympics in 1952, we again played with bare feet, although FIFA has made boots mandatory after 1948. By this time our weaknesses had become too glaring, as was made clear during a 10-1 drubbing by Yugoslavia (thank God for that 89^th minute solitary goal). Even in 1956, Indians had flirted with the idea of taking the field with bare feet against Australia, but were eventually persuaded to wear boots.

Many in the Federation had wanted Coach Syed Abdul Rahim’s scalp after the debacle of Helsinki, but he, in turn, asked for quality studs, and extension of domestic play-time from 70 minutes to 90. With his wishes granted, Rahim set about building a team the core of which delivered some stupendous results over the next decade. Besides Maidaan, directed admirably by Amit Sharma, Novi Kapadia’s book titled Barefoot to Boots also tells this story with quite some panache.

While scouting for talent, Rahim Saheb found Tulsiram Balaram dribbing on the streets of Secunderabad, Peter Thangraj, the tall inspirational goalie in Hyderabad, Neville D’Souza in Goa, and Pradeep Kumar Banerjee and Chuni Goswami playing in clubs of Calcutta. At Melbourne 1956, India stunned hosts Australia by 4-2 to enter semi-finals. After being racially abused and disrespected, D’Souza hammered three goals to secure an Indian victory. They lost to Yugoslavia in the semis, and then to Bulgaria in the medal play-off to finish an incredible fourth. This remains our best showing at the Olympic Games. The Indian side was further bolstered by the arrival of Centre-back Jarnail Singh in the inter-Olympics years.  

At Rome Olympics 1960, India competed well against the powerful Hungarian side before going down by 2-1. They led against France by a goal till the dying moments but had to settle for a hard-fought draw after an own goal levelled the score. These performances drew widespread praise for the Indian side, but their further passage in the tournament was ruled out. They lost to Peru in their last match, and finished last in the group. Knives were out for Rahim, and he was predictably made redundant between the next two years. This was a dark phase for Indian football during which we lost many matches. Syed Abdul Rahim was detected of lung cancer during this period, but he craved for one last hurrah before the final goodbye.

Rahim had coached the Indian side to a Gold medal finish at the inaugural Asian Games in 1951. He looked to perform the encore at Jakarta Asian Games in 1962. India lost their opening match to a very spirited South Korea in the absence of Peter Thangraj, their first choice goal-keeper, but thereafter defeated Thailand, Japan, South Vietnam and then South Korea in the final to win the tournament. Maidaan captures well the football-action throughout as well as the zeitgeist of the Jakarta Asiad. South Korea had emerged as a strong side over the years that specialised in long passes, Thailand used to play rough, whereas Japan played football with quite some pace. Rahim’s boys overcame all odds and emerged victorious. Jarnail Singh had lain low after becoming injured during the league match against Thailand, but Rahim sprang a surprise upon the Koreans in the final by playing him as a Centre-forward instead of his usual Centre-back position. Peter Thangraj also returned for the final, and made many memorable saves. During the tournament, an Indian diplomat made some stray comment upon Indonesia’s refusal to issue visas to Taiwan and Israel, resulting in their withdrawal from the Games. This comment enraged the hosts, and as a result, the football side was greeted with a lot of booing, hooting and black flags wherever they went. The situation became quite riotous, with banners of ‘Get Out, India’ welcoming the players. The whole stadium roundly cheered for the mighty Koreans in the final. Against these odds, India took early lead after P.K. Banerjee and Jarnail Singh struck in quick succession. South Korea managed to net one in the dying moments of the match, but Indians held onto their nerves for a glorious finish. Syed Abdul Rahim’s swansong turned out to have a golden halo.

Ajay Devgn has chain-smoked his way to one of the finest roles of his career. He holds back during Federation meetings, maintains decorum at home, presents himself as a picture of calmness before the team and bears the burden of his cross by himself. When he is required to lobby with the Finance Minister, Morarji Desai, to not hold back the team because of forex-related constraints, he pleads like a father would do for his children. During his tiffs with Gajraj Rao, who plays a big shot sports-journalist-cum-power-broker, Devgn is at his meanest best. The journalist carries a beef with Rahim because he thinks that the coach, being a Hyderabadi, is out to weaken Bengal’s hold over Indian football.  Gajraj Rao has managed to play a thoroughly despicable figure and therein lies his triumph. The ever reliable Priyamani has done her bit as the wife of an absentee husband who could hardly find any time for domestic affairs. Finally, Maidaan works because it remains true to the story of the Golden Era of Indian Football (1951-62), and does not try to overdramatize events. Ajay Devgn’s performance is a fine tribute to the great Syed Abdul Rahim for whom it is said that he took the greatness of Indian football with him to his grave.

PS- Rahim Saheb did not sport a moustache, but Devgn does. I don’t see why he should not have shaved it off.

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