Football fever has gripped the city. College canteens are now hot addas for discussing game strategies. Friends sleepover to watch videos of football matches. The stadium, college corridors, gullis, pavement and terraces have become football grounds.
Practice at Puliakulam
On a Sunday morning, Puliakulam comes alive with the excited shouts of youngsters, belonging to the Puliakulam Football Club (PFC). Here, football is a religion. The theru for the church festival and a flex of Messi sit side by side. Neymar and Ronaldinho are household names. Ask a little girl who her favourite player is and she grins, “Messi!” Eight-year-old Sanjay and his friends have gathered in front of St. Antony’ Church to play a tournament. “Football is my life,” says Sanjay. “We make it a point to play every day. Homework or no homework.”
Every FIFA tournament is a festival for the residents. At the church ground, the semi-finals and finals are played out on a big screen. The residents invite chief guests to inaugurate the games and ask bands to perform. TV serials are neglected for the time being as women turn out in big numbers to root for their Brazilian and Argentinian heroes.
The ground has witnessed many matches in the past 30 to 40 years says Britto, who plays in the senior football team. “Every year, during Pongal, we hold a three-day tournament where college clubs play with us. Football is in our blood. We have been seeing our fathers and grand-fathers play the game.”
But, the boys of Kavundampalayam Youth Football Club (KYFC) tell a different story. It was endless football video games that got them hooked. “That’s how we learnt the rules and techniques of the game,” says Tejas, the captain. Finally, they decided to set up a football club. “All of us lived in one colony and used to play in the neighbourhood. We were in our tenth standard, when we set up the team. ” Now, many of them are college students and professionals and they also coach a junior team under them.
They assemble at the Texcity grounds on a hot afternoon for a game of football. The team huddles around their player, Sreejith, popularly known as Free Style. They have requested him to do a popular move. He obliges to their demand and kicks the ball that moves in an arc and falls into the goal post. “Rainbow shot!” his team mates scream. Sreejith calls Ronaldinho the god of freestyle. He says he was fascinated by the Brazilian player when he was just seven-years-old. “I used to watch the FIFA world cup ad videos featuring him. The best thing about him is he pulls off the feat so effortlessly, with a smile on his face,” he says.
‘Do you know how to trick your opponent?” asks Sreejith. “You move your leg in such a way that the opponent feels you are going to take the ball in a particular direction. But, actually you push the ball through his legs. It is the biggest humiliation for a player. It is called a nutmeg. And, Ronaldinho is a master of this move.”
More grounds
While the passion for the game continues unabated, there are not enough grounds to practise in, says Santhosh, the manager of the team. “VOC stadium is always occupied by senior players. There are some excellent grounds in the colleges, but again they are open only to their students.” According to Sabarish, who works with a sports academy in the city that aims to popularise football in schools: “The football association must go to each and every school and work with the children.”
“There is a fillip in the interest for football,” says Saravanan, one of the senior players in the city. He along with four other coaches runs Eddy’s Academy of Football that has been conducting summer camps for young players. “We are trying to urge the children to come to the grounds not just during vacation, but throughout the year,” says Edward, who has played for the Loyola College, Chennai and SAI (Sports Authority of India).
Every year, the number of participants for the camps increases, he says. “There is definitely a boom in football in the city. But, parents need to encourage their children more. They are worried that if they spend too much time on the game, their studies will be affected.”
Sun, rain and soccer
I leave Saravanan and Edward guiding kids on football moves at the VOC grounds. “Nalla balance pannuda,” calls out Saravanan to a boy, who is trying to balance a muddy ball on his head. Suddenly there is thunder and lightening and it starts to pour. While I run for cover, the coaches and students continue unaffected. “Rain or no rain, game has to continue,” smiles Saravanan. “That is football. The techniques change according to the environment and turf. We want our boys to play in both sun and rain.”
