Victor Manjila the previous Indian goalkeeper and one of many members of victorious 1973 Santosh Trophy staff
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Fifty years on, the perfume of Kerala’s first Santosh Trophy triumph remains to be candy, and so too are its recollections. It was a humongous achievement by underdogs Kerala on that frigid December night on the Maharaja’s College Stadium, and it changed the way forward for the Beautiful Game within the State forever.
Captain Mani along with his hat-trick within the closing towards Railways gained immortality and his bunch of gifted gamers turned the primary actual superstars of the State. For the primary time within the historical past of the State, the Government declared a public vacation to commemorate the title win by a sports activities staff.
Kerala’s maiden Santosh Trophy win was very a lot unexpected in an period the place the sport was dominated by Bengal. Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been formidable sides and Kerala was a rank outsider within the event.
The 1973 Santosh Trophy was performed underneath floodlights and your complete Kerala staff was taking part in underneath lights for the primary time. The event began relatively ominously for the host because it misplaced its first alternative goalkeeper Victor Manjila to a fractured shoulder within the opening match towards Delhi.
“I had issues sighting the ball underneath the lights. We couldn’t observe that a lot underneath the lights, and it was a problem for all of us. I suffered a hairline fracture on my shoulder and needed to depart the sector within the first match towards Delhi. But I stayed with the staff until the tip of the event,’’ mentioned former Indian goalkeeper Manjila.
Itty Mathew, the previous India goalkeeper who was a member of victorious 1973 Santosh Trophy staff
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Constant accidents pressured coach Olympian Simon Sundararaj to tinker with the staff a lot that solely 5 gamers — Captain Mani, T.P. Jaffar, Hameed, Ok.P. Williams and Devanand — began in all of the matches.
“The team started to settle down after the first match, and we improved as the tournament progressed. Najimudeen and Mani excelled as forwards. We adopted a 4-2-4 system and Sundar sir’s game plan was to attack through the wings and feed strikers with low crosses, and it worked,” mentioned Manjila.
“There were nearly 50,000 people in the stadium, and it looked like 70,000 when they occupied every inch of the ground till the touchline. Often, players had to remove the spectators while taking corners. The atmosphere was electric,’’ said former Indian international goalkeeper Itty Mathew. “The positive energy of the crowd rubbed on the whole team. The noise was deafening when Mani completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute.”
Of the 26 gamers, 10 have handed away and a few are ailing. The Santosh Trophy Football Players Welfare Association will felicitate the gamers and the teaching workers in Kochi on Sunday as a part of the Golden Jubilee celebration of Kerala’s maiden Santosh trophy win.
