‘I-League teams should send scouts to Santosh Trophy’

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For Indian footballers, there was a time when breaking into the West Bengal Santosh Trophy team was more difficult than finding a place in the national squad.

Tanumoy Basu, former India goalkeeper and currently the coach of Pailan Arrows, said a earning a place in the Bengal squad used to be an achievement for the players.
“There are so many such instances when players who represented India couldn’t get a place in Bengal’s starting XI,” recollected Basu, who has been part of 14 Santosh Trophy wins for Railways and West Bengal.
“A place in the Bengal side was seen as an achievement. We used to play for our respective clubs throughout the season only to get selected for the Santosh Trophy.
“All of us, used to look forward to the nationals as that was the opportunity to prove our mettle against the best in the business,” he added.
Plying his trade with Railways and Bengal, Basu tasted success with his native state winning three titles for Bengal. He also captained the most accomplished outfit to glory in the 1994-95 edition.
“I’m proud to say that I was the captain of the side which won 31 trophies in total, in the year 1994. I remember Baichung (Bhutia) scoring the winner, then the golden goal, in extra time. We won 2-1 against Punjab. It was euphoric. I cannot put it in words,” Basu said.
“In Kerala they used to have temporary bamboo stands for the tournament. I remember the galleries getting full by morning itself. People used to flock like in. Tickets used to get sold in no time for big matches, Bengal playing Kerala, for example,” he detailed.
The former India goalie also felt that scouts should pay extra attention to the Santosh Trophy.
“A lot of budding talent goes unnoticed. Club representatives should go and watch these boys play. Indian is a vast country, and states, that don’t have an I-League team, have the Santosh Trophy to put to the fore their skills.
“Icons like I.M. Vijayan, Baichung, Joe Paul Ancheri; coaches of the calibre of Pradipda (PK Banerjee), Nayeemda (Syed Naimuddin) were all part of the Santosh Trophy,” he concluded.
Former India captain Shabbir Ali seconded Basu’s view.
“To me, the state teams are of paramount importance. States who don’t have any representation in the I League, get a chance to show what they can offer. If you have I-League coaches or even assistant coaches to watch the Santosh Trophy matches, it will do Indian football a world do good,” asserted Ali who played for both Bengal and Maharashtra in the coveted meet.
“The fact that Santosh Trophy is being played in February-March is a good thing. Teams like Services and Railways who practice till January stay fresh during this time. Also the weather is conducive for quality football. AIFF should be credited for this move,” he said of the ongoing Santosh Trophy.