Hockey stalwart MM Somaya keen on football coaching

Hockey Olympian-turned-football coach MM Somaya (centre) speaks to his Dadar XI players during half-time of their MDFA Division I league match against Tata Power at the Neville D'Souza Football Turf in Bandra yesterday

India's 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team member MM Somaya was on unfamiliar turf yesterday. The hockey stalwart has completed his 'D' license football coaching course recently and as part of the mandatory 40-hour coaching requirement, he stepped into a football coach's boots for the first time, as Dadar XI took on Tata Power in an MDFA Division I league match at the Neville D'Souza Football Turf in Bandra. Though his young bunch went down 2-3 to a professional Tata Power outfit, Somaya was thrilled with the experience and is keen to kick on.

'Football is my first love'

"Football has always been my first love. I first played football for my school [St Mary's SSC]. We won the inter-school title in 1974 and five of us got picked into the Maharashtra team. Then, I played for my college [St Xavier's] and also for Bombay University. I also played in the Harwood League for Mahindra Tractors followed by club stints for Catholic Gymkhana and Dadar XI among others," Somaya told mid-day yesterday.

Interestingly, Somaya claimed he got "pushed into hockey" after leading the Mumbai team to the Junior National title for the first time in 50 years. "Joaquim [Carvalho], Merwyn [Fernandis] and Marcellus [Gomes] were all in that team and we stuck together," said the three-time hockey Olympian.

Football's sudden spurt and hockey's corresponding slide in the city has contributed to Somaya's decision. "I am very keen to coach professionally in football because the sport has grown so much in the city. Though it's too premature to think about stints with any of the Indian Super League clubs, there is a lot of scope to work with some of Mumbai's top schools and colleges; clubs or corporate teams. There are a lot of women's teams also involved and that's another great sign that the game is growing. Unfortunately, in hockey there are hardly 10 schools competing and maybe half a dozen colleges. When we played competitively, there were over a dozen teams like Tatas, Mahindras, Indian Navy, Central Railway and Western Railway besides all the banks, who would recruit at least four or five players every year. But today, jobs in hockey have dried up," added Somaya, 59, who retired from BPCL as Executive Director last year.

Known to be a tactical midfielder in his playing days, Somaya has drawn up an elaborate action plan for Dadar XI. "We've had a series of practice matches with Don Bosco [Matunga] and the Indian Football Schools team at Cooperage. Our aim is to finish in the top four in Division I," added Somaya, who led the Indian hockey team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

'Brilliant thinker'

Meanwhile, former Dadar XI coach Clarence Lobo felt Somaya is the best thing that could have happened to the 30-year-old club. "Som is a brilliant thinker and his strategies - be it in hockey or football - are top-notch. Our Dadar boys will only benefit from his expertise," said Lobo, a former Junior India hockey coach.

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