Even as Kerala gears up to put its best foot forward in the final of the 67th Santosh Trophy on Sunday, the eve of the title clash provided a perfect setting for a rather nostalgic get-together at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, here on Saturday.
Two generations of footballers, who combined to give five national titles to the soccer-crazy state, came together for a unique felicitation function titled ‘Salute the Heroes’.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the programme and honoured the captains who were at the helm of the five victorious sides. Leading players filled in where the skippers were absent, as in the cases of the late V P Sathyan and on-duty V Sivakumar.
s by Bhagath Soccer Club, Tripunithura, in partnership with the Kerala Football Association and the Ernakulam District Football Association, the get-together saw a most members of the 1973-winning squad, including coach Simon Sunderraj and captain T K S Mani, in attendance. The 1992, 1993, 2001 and 2004 Kerala teams were also represented by some famous names.
The most poignant moment of the day was when former India captain and legendary defender V P Sathyan’s wife, Anitha, came on stage to accept a memento on her husband’s behalf. “It gives me immense pleasure to be attending this function in which so many famous footballers are taking part. I hope this excitement helps Kerala win the Santosh Trophy on Sunday,” she said.
T A Jaffar, two-time Santosh Trophy winning coach Peethambharan, C C Jacob, who won the title as a player and technical director, and iconic former India captain I M Vijayan were the others bestowed with special awards. Following the function, some of the veteran players took part in an exhibition match on the artificial surface at the Regional Sports Centre.