4 Foreign MB players who are National heroes.
Indian football was introduced to the world of foreign players properly from the late 80s. While the first foreign player to officially play for an Indian football club remains the Anglo-Burmese forward, Fred Pugsley who escaped Burma and sought asylum in India during World War II, official records indicate the first foreign players for the Republic of India were Pakistani duo of Masood Fakhri and Moosa in the 50s who played for East Bengal and Mohammedan SC respectively.
Fast forward twenty years, Mohammedan SC got their hands on two brilliant Iranian students from Aligarh Muslim University, Ahmed Sanjari (who played in Iran’s world cup squad) and Md. Khabaji. Seeing the immense talent pool, East Bengal officials, without any delay brought two more Iranians to Kolkata, Majid Biskhar (another Iranian world cup player) and Jamshid Nassiri. The Iranians were true stalwarts in every sense.
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Jamshid Nassiri (left) & Majid Bishkar (right). Picture courtesy :- Anandabazar |
Kolkata maidan, till then had not seen players of their calibre. The crown jewel, Majid became a huge fan favourite. Such was his elegance that even now he is considered a yardstick for the quality of foreigners and new foreign recruits when put into comparison. Mesmerising performances for East Bengal and Mohammedan have made Majid immortal in the hearts of Indian Football fans.
Kolkata Maidan's love story with Africa started in the 1980s. Yesteryear legends like Subhas Bhowmick, Surajit Sengupta hung up their boots and there was a lack of enthusiasm. Football's popularity in the Mecca of Indian football was starting to dwindle a bit. Maidan needed a sensation, a crowd puller. Enter Chima Okorie, an architecture student in Visakhapatnam University. Mohammedan roped him up and Chima quickly became one of the most popular players. He was instrumental in opening the floodgates for Africans to ply their trade in Kolkata teams.
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Jose Ramirez Barretto. Picture Courtesy - The Telegraph |
Since the beginning of the National League, numerous foreign players started to play for various clubs in India. Although questions can be raised on the quality of the majority of them, still Indian football fans were gifted with the skill and craftsmanship of Jose Barreto, Igor Shkyrvin and Dusit Chalmersan to name a few. In this two-fold article, the author puts an honest effort in penning down a few Legends of Mohun Bagan who have been national heroes or have a cult following in their respective National Teams back in their home land.
1.Armando Sadiku (Albania) :-
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Picture Courtesy - ISL & MBSG Media |
Eastern Europe in the 1990s was a tumultuous place. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Union, the region ravaged into several wars, the most notable being Yugoslav wars. As the series of conflicts escalated and nations started getting independence, Albania, a new nation found its existence out of the clutches of war. It was here in the city of Elbasan in Cerrik that the rebel, Armando Sadiku; A name that would be forever synonymous with Albanian football was born.
Sadiku’s youth started in 1998 with Fushe Mbreti. He spent a decade before signing his first professional contract with hometown team Turbina which contested in the second division, Kategoria e Pare. He played 40 games in his debut season scoring 10 goals. In 2009, Sadiku was transferred to Gramoz of Ereska which was debuting for the first time in the Albanian Super League.
Banking on his raw talent, Sadiku netted 8 times in 28 matches and caught the eye of other teams. A successful breakthrough season enabled him a move to top flight side Elbasani. What started as a bright season for his parent club ended on an abrupt end midway through the season. Sadiku was banned from the Albanian Super league due to non sporting behavior.
Sadiku was dismissed after he scored a goal against Laci which was disallowed by the linesman. Enraged that the winner was cancelled, Sadiku ran towards him pushing him by the throat, also spitting him in the process. The unsportsmanlike gesture was not seen in a good note by the league's disciplinary committee, expelling him for the rest of the season and imposing a financial fine on him.
Away from the pressure of local media and fans, Sadiku scored a staggering 19 goals in 39 appearances becoming the league's highest scorer. A season and half in the Swiss Challenge League attracted the attention of another Swiss side, FC Lugano who signed him on a three year contract. Despite becoming the top scorer for his team with 20 goals, Lugano finished 7th in the league failing to clinch a spot for the Swiss Super League next season. It was clear that the Swiss second division was a cakewalk for him and at this time came his career’s biggest offer both domestically and internationally.
At the start of 2012-13 season, FC Zurich came calling and Sadiku packed his bags for the Swiss first division. Fresh from his international debut a few months back, The Albanian made a vibrant start to his Swiss first division career. He scored his first goal against Thun in a 3-1 win before converting a penalty against the same opponent a few days later to progress into the finals of Swiss Cup.
Against heavyweights FC Basel in the final, Sadiku played his heart out in the final thirty minutes of extra time enabling Zurich to win the eighth cup in their history. It was the Albanian’s first major trophy in his career.
As soon as an opportunity presented itself, Sadiku was the first one to utilise it. Forming a strike partnership with Hamid Salihi, Sadiku scored his first international goal against Cyprus when he opened the scoring in Albania’s 3-1 win in the WCQ. It was the first of few goals that Sadiku scored for the national team, but the special one was yet to arrive.
EURO 2016 was on the horizon and Sadiku had to show game time in order to get a national team call-up. A switch to bottom table side Vaduz was finalised in the early days of the January transfer window. Zurich was hugely criticised by the local press which dubbed the loan an "own goal". Sadiku made his debut with two blazing assists against his former side FC Lugano before salvaging a point from Grasshopper Club Zurich where he opened his books.
Goals kept coming as the Albanian improved his form every matchday. He scored a brace in the 2015–16 Liechtenstein Cup semi-final match against Eschen/Mauren, helping the team to win the 2–1 and progress to the final where Vaduz won a staggering 11-0! Vaduz eventually finished 8th which was enough to avoid relegation. With his club commitments done, Sadiku set his eyes on the biggest European stage, The EURO Cup.
Due to his on and off domestic form, Sadiku was not called regularly during the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. He was the third choice striker by manager De Biasi, behind Cikalleshi and Balaj. Sadiku had to wait for his opportunity and it arrived at the right time. In the final matchday against Armenia, Sadiku came on at 59th minute and scored 17 minutes later to make it 3–0. The goal sealed his place in the Albanian EURO squad.
Dimitri Payet added a second in the dying minutes. Having lost to Switzerland and France in their opening two games, Albania had nothing to lose against Romania. On a lively night in Lyon, Romania started brightly as Albania found it difficult to build up play in the final third. But that was to change soon.
Warning signs came from Ledian Memushaj and Migjen Basha but the crucial blow would come two mins before half time. Memushaj collected the ball on the right and speared a cross to the far post. The Romanian custodian came out for the ball and Albania’s No. 10 rose to guide a fine header into the net, prompting an outpour of emotion!
No sooner had Armando Sadiku put Albania in front with a smartly steered header, the FC Zurich striker was wheeling away in a state of pure, unbridled joy. He had only one intention, and it was clear no one was going to prevent him from realising it. Charging back down the pitch towards the half-way line, Sadiku waved frantically to one team-mate hopeful of an embrace on the touchline to step aside, with the path being hastily cleared for Albania’s hero to slide to his knees in front of delirious bench, where he was duly mobbed. The full time whistle read: Romania 0 Albania 1!
In January 2017, former Albanian assistant manager, Paolo Tramezzani was appointed as a head coach of FC Lugano and soon after he made Sadiku’s move on loan at Lugano making a return after 3 years. Forming a fierce partnership with Ezgjan Alioski, the duo dubbed as “goal twins” scored 25 goals in between them propelling Lugano from the relegation zone to achieve a third-place league finish and Europa League qualification.
Unbelievably, at the end of last year Lugano was close to relegation. They changed coaches and trusted Tramezzani and now the Italian turned things around to take FC Lugano on the doorsteps of Europa League. A success story led by Tramezzani changed everything for the club and Armando Sadiku was at the centre of it.
He also scored in his Polish Cup debut but things were not clicking as he wanted. Leading a globetrotter’s life, he soon had to find a new home. After Albania, Switzerland and Poland; Spain came calling. Levante signed Sadiku having high hopes as Sadiku became the second-ever Albanian to play in La Liga.
What seemed as an upward curve in his career pulled his trajectory lower. An injury rigged season where two major injuries limited his playing time, Sadiku’s spanish stint was far from being called successful. To make matters worse his second injury kept him out for the entire first half of the next season.
Three days later, Sadiku was handed a start against Andorra where he created history. Benefiting from the wrong clearance of opposition goalkeeper Josep Gómes, Sadiku opened the scoring of a 3-0 win scoring his 12th international goal, this overtaking Hamdi Salihi to become Albania's fourth all-time top scorer.
He netted thrice for Lugano in half a season before scoring sixteen times for Malaga in the Segunda Division. A rather odd move to Erzurumspor, Turkey plummeted his form as Sadiku found it hard to adjust to the unusual playing style of Turkish league, rarely gaining playing time. After having an unsuccessful season in Turkey, Sadiku decided to venture to a new continent, South America to continue his footballing journey.
He was notched up for Bolivian giants, Club Bolivar where he became the first player to play in the prestigious Copa Libertadores where Bolivar thumped Montevideo Wanderers 5-1! He returned to Spain in the Segunda Division playing 2 more years. It was at this time in Spain that Armando Sadiku was enlightened with the glory and glamour of the Indian Super League.
The first one to present with a lucrative offer was Karolis Skinkys and Kerala Blasters. An enthralling project supported by a vibrant fan culture amidst Gods own country did intimidate Sadiku but then came Mohun Bagan. A century old club with a rich legacy dating back to pre independence days, the offer was too hard for him to ignore.
Within a span of 5-6 days, Sadiku made a u-turn from Kerala Blasters to Mohun Bagan. Tallying over 400 club appearances in a career spanning over 15 years, Armando Sadiku donned the Green and Maroon to pair up with new Aussie signing, Jason Cummings.
As the new season dawned upon, The Mariners started building expectations on how the new strike partnership would fare. The duo made their coveted debut in the Durand Cup group stage 1-3 derby loss to arch-rivals East Bengal. Although Sadiku and Cummings were both criticised for missing chances, questions arose in the coaching team’s thought process of playing a youth squad in the starting matches before suddenly switching to the senior team in a ‘boro match’.
Forgetting the group stage, Bagan went into the knockout stages conquering one opponent after another. A mixture of sr. and jr. Players eliminated Mumbai before Sadiku and Cummings each scored in the 2-1 semi final win against Goa. He came off in the final for Dimitri Petratos who scored the winning goal.
The victory signalled two birds in one shot; overtaking East Bengal’s count of Durand trophies and avenging the group stage defeat! It was the third knockout cup that Sadiku won in his career, the other two being the Swiss Cup and Lichtenstein Cup.
While Sadiku and Cummings switched positions between Center forward and attacking medio/second striker with Petratos as the link-up guy, the variety of Indian options in midfield and wing complimented the quality of the foreigners thus enhancing the gameplay of the team.
A game later, Odisha travelled to Kolkata and to everybody's shock took a 2-0 lead at HT against an unbeaten home team. Back against the home crowd and without their new signings, Thapa and Sahal; Mohun Bagan had an uphill task in the second half. The Mariners answered the challenge through one man; Armando Sadiku.
As soon as Jahouh was subbed off, Bagan got the upper hand in the midfield battle. A minute later, Yuste clipped the ball to Kiyan, who timed his run to perfection for a first-time low cross to the centre of the box. The address written pass was for none other than the omnipresent Sadiku who made no mistake to poke the ball inside the net! Bagan were back in the game.
The search for an equalising goal went for the remaining second half until it was achieved late in stoppage time. Yuste flicked on to Sadiku, who kept himself onside. As the custodian, Amrinder rushed out to narrow the angle; the Albanian stabbed the ball between the Odisha keeper’s leg and the open net. 2-2! Mohun Bagan had stolen a point right at the end. The unbeaten streak continued.
Ripe in form, Juan Ferrando played both Cummings and Sadiku upfront against North-East Utd and Bagan were back to winning ways! Sadiku placed a sublime header for Mr. fox in the box, Jason Cummings whose right footed shot from close range made it 2-1! Seven matches unbeaten, The Mariners had nightmares in the last week of 2023 where they played thrice in the league.
Disaster written all over it. A violent clash away at Mumbai saw The Mariners bow down to a 1-2 loss in a fixture that saw 7 red cards! The impact was severe. A shattered dressing room bundled up to a 1-4 loss against FC Goa at home. The final nail in the coffin was pushed by Kerala Blasters when they inflicted a third loss in a row. Suddenly, Mohun Bagan, who were between the top two positions in the league, plummeted to fifth position.
Juan Ferrando stepped down and The old guard, Antonio Lopez Habbas was restored as the head coach of the club. Taking charge of his old club, Habbas first assignment was the coveted derby. East Bengal arrived rejuvenated as Super Cup champions and Mohun Bagan were the obvious underdogs.
Sadiku made it 1-1 in the 17th minute, turning Hamill’s cross into the goal and setting the tone for his team. And just when it looked like another bragging rights for Cuadrat’s team, Petratos came calling and ran away with the equalising goal and a point for Mohun Bagan! With the result Habbas record of never losing a derby remained intact. The draw snapped Mohun Bagan out of a three match losing streak.
East Bengal came next and Bagan defeated them 3-1 in the season’s fifth derby. After the derby win, every match was virtually a knockout. The Mariners had to keep an unbeaten record to clinch the title. To test their patience, Kerala Blasters invited them to their fortress, JLN Kochi. A vibrant yellow wall chanting Yennum Yellow throughout the stadium was silenced as early as the 4th minute by our Albanian hero.
Sadiku snapped between defenders from either side of Pritam Kotal and Mikos Drinic before hitting a composed drive into the left bottom corner of Karanjit Singh's goal. 1-0! At three minutes and 36 seconds, this was the fastest goal that the Mariners have ever scored against Kerala Blasters FC, and it was their fifth-quickest overall in the competition’s history.
Vibin Mohanan set up the standards before Diamantakos doubled the lead. Impressively, both teams had their talismanic forwards elevating their game. The Mariners regained their lead courtesy of Sadiku in the 60th minute. Dimi Petratos launched in a powerful free-kick directed to Manvir Singh inside a crowded box.
Manvir showed good alertness to make a headed pass to Sadiku, who slotted the ball into the back of the net to bag his brace! 2-2. The game was ultimately sealed by Cummings’ extra time clash as Mohun Bagan fought tooth and nail to clinch three points from Kochi. The title race was heating up.
Fears of a near slip was brushed away as soon as Hector Yuste hammered home a rebound in the 17th minute. Chettri missed a penalty and The Mariners sealed the game in the opening 15 minutes of the second half through Manvir Singh. Thapa tripled the lead and it was game set for Mohun Bagan. Manvir continued teasing the Bengaluru FC defense racing down the left flank with sheer pace before laying up a straight forward assist that Sadiku tapped in an open net! 4-0.
The stage was set for an epic league finale against leaders Mumbai City FC. Sadiku played relentlessly on the final matchday, tormenting Mumbai defenders left and right. Mehtab was out marking Sadiku when Liston took advantage of the space and scored a beauty to open the scoring. Sadiku came off for Jason Cummings after an hour who scored the winning goal to seal The Mariners sixth league title!
A season that started shaky, lost its momentum in the middle, and finally ended in success. Mohun Bagan certainly took the tough way to bring home the trophy. In defence of the title, Bagan started forming a different style of team under a new manager. Aussie bigman, Jamie Maclaren signed for The Mariners which meant either of the two strikers, Jason or Armando had to leave. Cummings survived due to the league winning goal but Sadiku set sail for new adventures.
An instinctive striker who has always known to fight his way up to take what is rightfully his, Armando Sadiku has rarely had luck on his side. Wearing a lion’s heart on sleeves, Sadiku has never given up any challenge he has been thrown into.
From Swiss second division to South America to ISL, he has adapted like a chameleon and conquered horizons. At FC Goa, under national team coach, Manolo Marquez Sadiku hasn't stopped scoring. He has netted in every match up till now, pre-season, Bandodkar Trophy and ISL. Averaging more than a goal per game, he has his sights firm on the golden boot. Armando Sadiku: A knight lost in time.
2.Igor Shkvyrin (Russia) :-
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Igor Shkvyrin |
Uzbek striker, Igor Shkvyrin graced Indian football at the twilight of his career. But he remains a unique player in his class. While those who have watched him play might remember him as "one of the best that ever played", rivals and critics also respect him as the "streets won't forget" kind of player.
Before delving into Igor's rise, Let's take a look at "Club 200 of Berador Abduraimov".
The young lanky forward became a nightmare for teams above their weight as he scored 13 goals in his first three years. Three more years at lower division clubs honed his ability as a technical forward, while he also made a UEFA Cup appearance for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in 1989. Seeing his progress, Pakhtakor decided to re-sign him and it is here the uncanny yet charming bonding of Igor Shkyvrin and Pakhtakor Tashkent starts.
Although his goals/game ratio dropped to 0.5 in the newly formed Premier Liga, Shkyvrin led his team to a last 16 finish at The Soviet Cup where they would go down 3-2 to Russian giants CSKA Moscow after holding them to a gritty 1-1 draw at home. At the end of the season, new adventures awaited Igor Shkyvrin as the Uzbek marksman flew to Israel.
An important player in that Thai team was a certain Dusit Chalermsan. Igor's relation with Dusit wouldn't end in that an evenly contested match between the Uzbeks and the Thais where Igor scored the winner in a 4-5 dogfight win. Bagging 12 pts out of 12, Uzbekistan were comfortably sitting on top of the table. The quarter final called for a similar yet unknown rival. However, the newly formed Turkmenistan were no match as The Turanians were up 3-0 within half hour with marksman Igor scoring twice.
South Korea in the semi final was a litmus test and it took perseverance to break the Koreans. The Gold medal match will be remembered for Igor finding the back of the net within a minute and half of kick-off. The lanky forward barely gave the Chinese defense time to settle before it was 1-0! There was no coming back from there. Whenever the Chinese scored, The Uzbeks outscored them. With 8 goals in 7 matches, Igor Shkyvrin was adjudged the best player and top scorer of the Asian games edition. He was also awarded the Uzbek footballer of the year 1994.
It was difficult to keep his name under the rugs as Uzbekistan faced India at the 1998 Asian Games. Igor's mercurial performance made India suffer as they succumbed to a 0-2 defeat but the news of an experienced talismanic central Asian forward reached the Calcutta Maidan. Ahead of the 1999 season, Mohun Bagan were desperate for a foreign striker. Their main man Chima Okorie was suspended for two years on charges of assaulting a referee.
While Barreto scored and assisted in his debut against Dempo, Igor scored to keep The Red Machines at 1-1. Salgaocar too would've been a draw if not for Barreto's volley in the dying minutes. Igor continued scoring against Tollygunge Agragmi and ITI before his strike partner returned from suspension to score a brace against Salgaocar. Slowly yet steadily the duo was taking Mohun Bagan to their desired dream.
Ahead of the new season, the management desperately wanted to keep Igor Shkyvrin but the Uzbek returned to his long lost love, Pakhtakor for a fourth time.
For a relatively lesser known team in India and at the very fag end of his career, Igor outwitted his previous season, scoring 12 goals single handedly giving Churchill a 3rd position finish. That was the greatness of Igor Shkyvrin. He retired a season later after playing his farewell season for his beloved club, Pakhtakor Tashkent.
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Dusit Chalermsan |
Dusit Chalermsan started his youth career with Chonburi Physical College in 1983. He made switches through a few places and eventually landed up in the Police United youth team in 1988 before finally gaining a senior squad call the year later. After four seasons at Police Utd, Dusit moved onto the newly formed Tero Sasana (also known as Police Tero FC) in 1993.
Their answer: Two blitzkrieg goals of Chalermsan in the last 10 minutes briefly brought Thailand into the game. But a comeback was not in the cards. Dusit finished the tournament with 3 goals to his name, an impressive feat as a left back which earned him a permanent spot in the Thai national team for years to come. He also featured in the 1994 AFC All star team where he brushed shoulders with Asian greats like Kazuyoshi Miura and Ali Daei.
When Dusit joined Police Tero, they were a newly formed club and placed in Division 3 of football royal cup (Thai League). After his international accolades, Dusit spearheaded BEC Tero's progress to the upper divisions. Back to back promotions enabled the team to play in the first division in 1996.
In International colors, Dusit's duties came handy in the ASEAN championship. Although Thailand clinched the 1996 ASEAN championship, the team performed poorly in the Asian Cup. Faced with tough West Asian countries, Thailand lost all three matches against Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Chalermsan was the only bright point of the tournament scoring one of the 2 goals that Thailand scored in the tournament.
Chalermsan once again came to the rescue when he scored a crucial goal in the away leg against Hong Kong in 1998 world cup qualification. Responsibilities were bestowed upon him at The 1998 Asian Games which was held in Thailand.
Expectations were high for the home team to perform and The War Elephants did punch above their weights. The home team clinched a commanding 5-0 win against Hong Kong before topping the group with a comfortable 2-0 win over Oman. Having duly fulfilled his defensive duties in the first round, Chalermsan showed his offensive prowess in the second round.
He opened the scoring against Kazakhstan before the Kazakhs equalized. A 1-0 win over Lebanon and a 1-2 loss to Qatar meant Thailand were going to the quarter finals. Against South Korea at the Rajamangala Stadium, Chalermsan and co. showed resilience to win the match in extra time after results finished 1-1 in regulation time. Ultimately, the burden of expectations became too much for The Thais as the dream run ended at The semifinals in the hands of Kuwait.
Back in club colours, Dusit played in the Police Tero's 98-99 Asian Club Championship campaign where they demolished Nepal's Three Star Club 6-1 before bowing out to Dalian Wanda. By 1999, Tero were challenging the Thai League and finished narrowly in the third position. Dusit was Thailand's star player.
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Picture Courtesy - GettyImages |
However, his life changing moment would come at the 2000 Iran vs Asia All-Stars Game where Dusit got selected to be a part of the All Stars squad. Although Iran cruised through 5-0 courtesy of talismanic forward Ali Daei's hattrick, Dusit's sturdiness did not go unnoticed.
Indian scouts had already noticed Dusit's performances in the 1998 Asian Games where India along with Thailand also played. Phones started ringing and enquiries came about the versatile side back cum defensive midfielder. Ahead of the 2000-01 season, Dusit Chalermsan was signed by Mohun Bagan as one of Asia's most effective players of the time.
Dusit's best match in Green and Maroon colours came in the New Millennial Derby played on 3rd Jan 2000. Although not being gifted with pace, Dusit outsmarted opposition with overlapping runs. His crosses to young turk Dippendu Biswas posed a great threat. The match remained 0-0 till 75 minutes before Dusit's dummy run enabled James and Stepehen to play a clever 1-2 to which James thwarted a shot past Hemanta Dora. 1-0!
Back to back V.1 league titles in 2003 and 2004 ensured that Dusit was leading the team to consecutive AFC Champions League and ASEAN cup appearances. Under Dusit's leadership, Hong Anh went on a rampage scoring nineteen goals in the 2005 ASEAN Cup group stage! Dusit netted twice contributing the team’s overall haul. A semi final defeat meant that Hong Anh bowed out with a bronze place finish. His contributions towards Vietnam football enabled him a medal from the government. A celebrated hero of the game, Dusit left Vietnam after 2007 playing his farewell season with childhood club, Police United.
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Picture Courtesy - GettyImages |
In a country which rarely prefers foreign sidebacks over foreign centre backs and forwards even till the date, Dusit Chalermsan played some sensational football in the two years he spent at Mohun Bagan. As much credit goes to Subrata Bhattacharya for tactically using Dusit, equal credit should be given to the Thai player for adapting his game into the style of Indian football.
4.Roy Krishna (Fiji) :-
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Roy Krishna |
It was in the sugar-milling town of Labasa that Roy Krishna decided to take up football. His choice was more because his diminutive stature did not project a prospecting career in rugby. His talent in football was always evident as he not just guided his school team to a place in a local tournament, he also managed to make the trials for the junior national team.
Their main striker was out injured and Krishna was given a three month contract. Within three months, Krishna lit up the league with his exceptional performance and bagged a two year deal. Pushed from pillar to post on the park in plying his career in Australia, Krishna eventually became hard to ignore not only because of his goal-scoring prowess but also his vision and ability to thread passes.
A region better known for fishermen and tourism, Oceania was never seen as a football hotbed. But Roy Krishna vowed to change the views. Once he excelled in the biggest league in that part of the world, the elite leagues came calling. Renowned Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven and historic English club, Derby County came calling but the moves ultimately did not materialise.
Coming from an island nation, Krishna recently arrived from New Zealand. He barely knew English let alone Dutch. A switch to Europe at that time was a big call for Krishna. Offers also came from MLS team, Colorado Rapids but that was swiftly out under the rug. While many would have knocked off the sod from their boots, got a haircut and put their feelers out for a nine-to-five job. That was not to be for a tenacious Krishna, who kept faith in his instincts. Legendary status is born out of these sort of sacrifices, not selfishness.
When ATK (now dissolved) signed him in 2019, eyebrows were raised on a top player from a league ranked higher than India’s is coming. On his signing day, The Fijian recalled,
“Almost a century and a half back, his ancestors left Kolkata for Fiji in search of better opportunities. Today I come back to start a similar journey in the Indian Super League.”
While there were doubts on Roy Krishna’s ability to recreate his magic in the ISL, where the game is vastly different from A-League, such inhibitions were soon put to rest as Krishna opened his book as early as his second match against Hyderabad. From there on there was no looking back. Goals kept on coming for The Fijian. At the end of the league season, Krishna finished as the joint highest goal scorer with 15 goals along with 6 assists to his name. A clutch goal in the second leg of the semis win against Bengaluru FC followed by an assist against Chennaiyan in the final proved how pivotal Krishna was in ATK's record third title win.
With the new season, a seismic change occurred in ISL when KGSPL (ATK's owner) dissolved their brand and bought 80% shares of Mohun Bagan Pvt Ltd. As a result, Krishna donned the legendary green and maroon jersey which carried an aura of its own. Krishna was no new to playing for a big team but a new type of challenge engulfed the world in 2020. The deadly COVID pandemic restricted sporting activities and ISL was regulated to a central venue, Goa. The season opener was scheduled as the mega clash between The Mariners and Kerala Blasters.
For a man who had to quarantine for about 40 days, cleared around 10 COVID-19 tests and spent over 50 hours in flights to make it to Goa, Roy Krishna was on the fire in the inaugural match. Troubling the Kerala defenders throughout the first half, It hardly came as a surprise when Krishna pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the penalty box before firing in a well-controlled low shot in the second half.
Partnering with David Williams, the Aussie-Fiji duo became a nightmare for the defenders notching up 20 goals in between them. Five of Krishna's strikes came as winners against the likes of Kerala Blasters, Odisha, FC Goa and Jamshedpur. He was phenomenal in both the derby games but Injuries to key players and morale-draining defeats saw Mumbai clinch the Shield title.
Although the trophy was out of reach, the stocky ponytailed striker made sure to bag the golden Ball with 14 goals and 8 assists. A never-tiring pair of feet, a never-say-die attitude and an insatiable appetite for goals saw Krishna rescue his side from the jaws of defeat with four match-winning goals after the 75th minute. Whenever The Mariners were down and time was almost up, Roy would deliver the sucker punch to salvage a draw or notch the winning goal.
After a blitzkrieg season speculations began as to whether Krishna would continue with the club or find a new home. Mumbai City made an inquiry and talks were initiated but Mohun Bagan had the last laugh. He extended his contract for another year as the team prepared for the 2021 AFC Cup around Roy.
On Mohun Bagan Day 2021, Krishna was awarded 'Best Footballer of the Year'. In the AFC Cup, Bagan sailed smoothly winning the group stage with Krishna scoring thrice but calamity struck at The Inter Zonal semi final where FC Nasaf put half a dozen goals resulting in a humiliating loss.
Brushing the AFC campaign aside, Bagan focused on the 2021 ISL campaign. A rejuvenated Mohun Bagan crushed Kerala Blasters in the season opener with a dominating 4-2 win. New signing Boumous became the league's fastest scorer in an opening encounter while Krishna scored a crucial penalty to swing the tie in Mariners favor.
Post the Kerala visit came the auspicious derby. On a day when nerves of steel conquer earth, Krishna rose valiantly drawing first blood. Pritam Kotal’s dangerous cross found Krishna who would make no trouble swinging a right-footer on the volley past Arindam's far-side to break the deadlock within just 12 minutes! At full time, Bagan had the bragging rights with a 3-0 win, Krishna netting and assisting one. However, Krishna’s form dropped in the subsequent matches as Bagan dropped points as well. The Fijian marksman was able to net only once in the next seven games.
A change of guard was required and head coach Antonio Habas departed. Spanishman, Juan Ferrando saw a breath of fresh air but Krishna was diagnosed with COVID 19 and was sidelined for the majority part of the season. He finished the season with only 7 league goals with his last goal for the club coming against Maziya in a jubilant 5-2 win in the 2022 AFC Cup group stage. That was the legend’s parting gift.
Now At 37, his club level shows no sign of slowing down. After three years in Kolkata it was time for new challenges and Bengaluru notched him up for a season. After a year, he switched allegiances to Odisha FC under Sergio Lobera and pledged his loyalty to The Kalinga Warriors.
While his ability as a striker has never been in doubt, Roy Krishna’s time in Indian football has also seen him take up the mentor’s role in the team. Whether it's with Manvir Singh, Jayesh Rane and Liston Colaco in Mohun Bagan or Sivasakti, Suresh Wangjam in Bengaluru or Vinit Rai, Amey Ranawade, Isak in Odisha; the Fijian has been an influential figure in the dressing room often coming to the youngsters’ aid.
It’s a role that he’s played well in the past as well. Especially with the Fijian team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where he was included as one of the three over-aged players in the squad. Named the captain of the team, the striker also scored Fiji’s first-ever goal at the Olympic with a 10th-minute strike against Mexico.
His Olympic heroics have been mentioned earlier but few would have imagined that Krishna would continue at a rich form till such ripe age. His legendary status increased multifold, when in 2021 he was announced as the official ambassador of Oceania Football Confederation. At the Pacific Games 2023, Krishna became the all-time leading goal-scorer for the Oceania Federation, after surpassing the record of 34 goals held by Chris Wood of New Zealand.
That Krishna has only played 59 games for Fiji and is already the country's most-capped player attests to the limitations of Oceania federation. With so few games each year for Fiji, Krishna utilises each and every opportunity presented to him in national colours. For fifteen long years, Roy has proudly served The Bula Boys and created his legacy. In the OFC Nations Cup 2024, Krishna, being the oldest player of the tournament became the top scorer netting 5 times in 5 outings.
It's never easy for players of Krishna's ilk to step outside their comfort zone — moving from Fiji to New Zealand to Australia to finally his country of origin, India but easiness and Roy Krishna do not go in the same sentence. The Fijian’s journey has been nothing short of a fairytale Hollywood script as he keeps on inspiring generations of kids from Oceania to become a Roy Krishna in future.
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