It was on April 30, 1974, the Shabbir Ali-led India and Iran were declared as joint champions in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Youth Championship (under-19) title with Iran in Bangkok, Thailand

By | Published: 12:09 am 9:05 pm

Hyderabad: It is 45 years since India last won any major football tournament. It was on April 30, 1974, the Shabbir Ali-led India and Iran were declared as joint champions in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Youth Championship (under-19) title with Iran in Bangkok, Thailand.

On their return after the historic win, what the Indian team received was a mere leather suitcase even as the Iranian players received a house and car for becoming the joint champions.

Going down the memory lane, the former mercurial striker recollects: “We were received at the Calcutta airport by the then AIFF president M Dutta Ray. We were later on felicitated by Mohun Bagan, who presented each player with a leather suitcase. But what shocked us that in comparison the Iranian players were rewarded with a house and a car.’’

Nevertheless, the 63-year-old Ali said he was fortunate to lead such a talented side against the best teams of Asia in 1974. In fact, India were never able go beyond the league stage but for the first time in 1974, they not only qualified but also emerged as joint winners. “It was one of the memorable tournaments of my career. We had a team that fought against all the odds to emerge joint champions with Iran.’’

The Syed Abdus Salaam and Arun Ghosh coached team had last-minute hurdles as the Sports Ministry did not clear the side for the tournament because of the poor record of the past. “But the All India Football Federation had to convince the Ministry saying that it was one of the best teams that could bring laurels,’’ recollects Ali, who is now the coach of the Telangana State team.

Ali said that despite the last-minute clearance, the team was determined to put up a good show in the tournament. “We won by a solitary goal margin against Laos and Burma (now Myanmar). I scored on both the occasions. We drew 2-2 against Hong Kong and then beat Singapore in the quarterfinals. We improved with each match. We must be grateful for Prashanta who emerged as hero in the tie-breaker win against Singapore,’’ said Ali.

Ali, who had a big fan following in Kolkata in his playing days, said: “The big win came against hosts Thailand where Yakoob and I scored the goals in the 2-1 win. In the final against mighty Iran, I scored a goal in the two-all drawn game even as pundits had predicted an Iranian wash out.’’

Some of the players who were part of that victorious team were: goalkeeper Prashanta Moitra, Amit Dasgupta, Devanand, CC Jacob, Dilip Palit, Devraj, Prasun, Mohammad Yakoob, Latifuddin and Harjinder.

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