KOCHI: Winning the Santosh Trophy for a record third time is indeed a great achievement for any football player. Anoop Pauly, who hails from Thrissur is someone who managed to achieve such a rare feat in his career. Playing with the Services side, he had won the coveted trophy in 2015, 2016 and 2018 respectively. The twenty-seven-year-old is currently in the city with his Indian Navy team who are competing in the ongoing Mayor’s Cup all India football tournament.
Anoop started playing football when he was in Class IV with his father PJ Pauly, an Ex Army official and other locals near his house. His father Pauly was also a sevens football player who had played in many national tournaments. “My interest in the game developed after watching my father play,” said the 27-year-old. It was also his father who admitted Anoop to Red Star football academy in Kuttanellur while he was in Class VI.
There, he was coached by Bino George, the current Kerala Santosh team coach. “He taught me new techniques and basics of football such as positioning and touch,” said Anoop. After spending five more years at the Academy, Anoop played in the football team of CMS school during his higher secondary education. He also used to play for junior teams of Chirag United and Viva Kerala during the time.
The two years which followed were tough for Anoop. Anoop used to work at his father’s shop and play sevens football occasionally. “I didn’t get that many chances during the time,’’ he remembers. A brief stint with Kochi based Josco FC soon followed. However, things changed for the better when Anoop got selected in the trials conducted by the Indian Navy for their football team in 2013.
Although Anoop was selected for the national football camp in his first year, he had to wait for another year to finally join the services team.
In spite of the hardships he faced as a player, Anoop is optimistic about the future of football in the state. “Back when I started, there were fewer opportunities for players from Kerala. At the time, candidates playing for departments like Indian Navy were not allowed to go to clubs outside Kerala. But now players are allowed to do so,” he adds.
According to him, the emergence of Gokulam FC and Kerala Blasters in the last few years have also led to better opportunities for homegrown players. Anoop’s achievements include winning the 2019 Kerala Premier League with Indian Navy and bagging the runner up position at Gokulam FC in 2018. His dream is to play in the I-League. “I want to continue playing well in my career. The
rest will fall in place,” concludes Anoop.