KOCHI: From playing a starring role for his college side to being bestowed with the honour of the best footballer in the state, Jijo Joseph has come a long way from where he was a little over two years ago.
The classy central midfielder — who had walked away with the best player award in TNIE GOAL 2013 while helping Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, to the title — was taken by surprise when he came to know of his latest achievement flicking through the newspaper at home on Sunday morning.
“I was never expecting such a reward for my efforts,” says Jijo.
“I was happy with the progress I have made in the last two years, but to be recognised as the best footballer in Kerala is something I never thought of.”
At 23, he is one of the youngest to receive the Kerala Football Association’s token of appreciation.
Hailing from Thiroor in Thrissur district, Jijo started playing football at the age of 10. But it was at 13, when he joined Government Model HSS, Thrissur, that his career really took off.
“Coaches like Franco, Anand and Naveen at school gave me valuable support during the early days,” he reminisces.
Thanks to their travails, in 2009, Jijo booked a spot in the Kerala schools team for the nationals in Goa as well as emerging victorious with Thrissur in the state under-17 championship at Chalakudy. The following year, he was also part of the Viva Kerala under-19 team coached by Bino George.
“I wanted to carry on playing football after school and it was Kerala Varma College that was my first choice,” says Jijo who enrolled for an undergraduate programme in English Literature at the college. Here, he came under the wings of coaches Narayana Menon and T Purushothaman.
“My coaches at college shaped my career. Also, I was fortunate enough to play in TNIE GOAL 2013 in my first year at college itself,” he says.
Post his exploits in the tournament, Jijo’s first claim to fame came with the TNIE GOAL 2013 All Star XI that blanked the Kerala Santosh Trophy team 2-0 in a practice match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi on February 11 that year.
“It was a huge confidence booster for all of us in the team. Personally, that was when I became confident of competing at the senior level and when I was selected for the Santosh Trophy next year, I was sure it wasn’t beyond me,” Jijo points out.
While at college, he also played his part in making Calicut University the champions in the all-India inter-university football tournament under the tutelage of Satheevan Balan. Soon, State Bank of Travancore (SBT) swooped on Jijo, bringing the youngster under their rolls. He has now represented the bank side in several tournaments throughout India including the Kerala Premier League in Wayanad earlier this year.
In the 35th National Games and the two Santosh Trophy editions that he has played so far, Jijo was employed as a defensive midfielder by coaches A M Sreedharan and P K Rajeev.
“It may be due to my positioning or physicality, but I do as the coaches demand from me,” he stresses.
But much like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, Jijo likes playing further up creating goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates as well as scoring some himself.
“I like playing behind the strikers setting up goals for my teammates and, sometimes, having a go at goal,” the youngster says.
Now being the best footballer in the state, one of his biggest dreams is to see Kerala tasting success in the Santosh Trophy. “We weren’t good enough in the nationals the last two years. I want to go out and win that trophy soon,” he says.
Like every footballer, he too nurses the dream of representing the country.
“It would be a very proud moment if I could play for India,” Jijo says. Accounting how his career is panning out, not many would be betting against it.