Doyen of Indian football Habib passes away

Habib, who was considered the first professional in Indian football, breathed his last in Hyderabad on Tuesday

Hyderabad: What started as a bright and joyful day with the celebrations of India’s Independence Day on Tuesday turned out to be a dark day for the country’s and Hyderabad’s football fraternity with the passing away of one of the yesteryear’s superstars Mohammad Habib. He was 74 and is survived by his wife, four daughters and a son.

Habib, who was considered the first professional in Indian football, had been suffering from health issues, including Parkinson’s disease. He breathed his last in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

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Habib, who was the mainstay of the Indian football team during 1965 to 70s, was honoured with the Arjuna award in 1980 for his exploits on the football field. Having played for the top three clubs in Kolkata – East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan SC, Habib had a career spanning over 17 years. He was also part of the Indian team that won the bronze medal in the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok, which was led by another Hyderabad footballer Syed Nayeemuddin. While he was playing for the country and clubs in Kolkata, he never took a regular job considering playing as his full-time job. After retiring from the game too, he was associated with it as a coach and served at Tata Football Academy for a decade.

Former Indian football team captain Victor Amalraj termed Habib as the first professional footballer of the country. “He was known as bade miyyan of the Kolkata maidans. He brought true professionalism to Indian football and he is the first one to have contracts with the clubs in Kolkata. He was a top-class player. He played for all the three major clubs multiple times signing contracts. That helped other players as well,” he recalled.

“I played with him for four years from 1978 to 81 in Kolkata. He was a star striker who later played as a midfielder. He was unique,” added Amalraj.

Another former Indian player from Hyderabad Shabbir Ali said Habib was a great player who was very hardworking. “I played only once with him in the Indian team but I knew him very well. He was a very good player – serious and disciplined. We also played exhibition matches in Mumbai when the Sao Paulo team toured India. He was a real professional and dedicated his life to football,” said Shabbir Ali.

Former international and Telangana Football Association (TFA) secretary GP Palguna said Habib’s death left a huge void in the football fraternity. “I was lucky enough to play with him and also under his coaching when he became the manager of our SBI team. We (SBI) played in the Federation Cup when he started his stint as a coach. We toured Srinagar in 1988. I distinctly remember him saying he was bowled over by the beauty of Srinagar. He told me ‘Palguna, I travelled the entire world but never got to know about the beautiful Srinagar at our home. We have jannat (heaven) at our home.’”

“SBI team drew with East Bengal during that tournament. East Bengal failed to advance to semifinals because of that. That was a big result for us under his guidance,” he added.

Meanwhile, TFA officials and president Mohd Ali Rafath also condoled Habib’s death.