This August 17 was the birth centenary of a legendary coach, the late Syed Abdul Rahim. Although it is unfortunate that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to remember his centenary year, it can retrieve lost ground by organising an event in his honour that would befit this gentle Hyderabad giant. His contribution to Indian football was immense.
A fourth place in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and gold in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games have etched themselves in memory. The players who played under him, would vouch by saying he was the best and special. What made Rahim special? “He had a special knack to spot talent,” recalls Mohammed Zulfiqaruddin, who played for the nation under Rahim.
“He spotted me while playing in a local league. He called me and straightaway said I would play for the country and asked me to get ready for the Melbourne Olympics. I was stunned. The gentle coach made me work hard and I made it to the 1956 Olympics. It was one of the greatest moments of my career.”
Summoning memories of the coaching style of Rahim, the fleet-footed Zulfiqaruddin recalls how the great man tapped inspiration from the unlikeliest of sources –- even from monkeys.
“Everyone would think it’s funny but he would look at monkeys’ play. Their funny movements provided valuable inputs to Rahim Saab. He would make his own plans and put them into practice,” said the former pupil. He also talks about how Rahim, “never made a hasty decision.”
“He had a computer brain. He would analyse the players, the team and come out with a brilliant strategy. He evolved his own strategy by observing things in day-to-day life.”
Rahim, says Zulfiqaruddin, made ordinary players champions. “It is not all about soccer, there was emphasis on fitness and discipline, which made him a unique coach. He would embarrass (us) by coming 30 minutes before the training session and set about his task. It was his discipline that made the Indian team a force to reckon with,” he said.
Recalling the perfectionist in Rahim, he said, “People talk of free-kicks but Rahim had his own technique. He would place the balls from different places and ask the players to kick with instep, inswingers or outswinger. He was particular while practicing the free kicks. (And he was equally resolute in his) emphasis on skilful dribbling, man-to-man marking or the long range passes. He would often say since we lacked the height, we should beat the taller Europeans with our skills and speed. That is how we were able to beat the Australians twice. Can we do that now?”
Tulsidas Balaram, one of the attacking forwards of the fifties and the sixties, calls Rahim one of the best football coaches India has ever produced. “People can forget him now but we remember him and his value as a coach. He was an outstanding coach. It is sad people don’t remember his contribution to Indian sport,” he said.
Balaram insists that the credit for India’s success at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, where they finished fourth or at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, where India won their only gold, should go to Rahim. “He would observe simple things in life and implement them in the game. It was Rahim’s magic potion that would make players dazzle against big international teams.”
Revisiting Rahim’s extraordinary dedication to work, Balaram said, “I still remember he was suffering with advanced cancer during the Jakarta Asian Games. But the struggling Rahim Saab never complained and went about his job in a meticulous way. We won the gold. There was tears in his eyes when we won the gold. He died one year later. That was the last big achievement by the Indian football team. It is sad the authorities concerned choose to ignore his unstinting efforts,” said Balaram.
“Even as many of (the team of 1962) have been honoured, Rahim was never given his due.”
SS Hakim, the son of the coach and a former international, says his father was an innovator. “He was modern and imaginative, which often surprised the opponents. My father had invented the withdrawn forward system in 1956, which was a flexible 4-4-2 formation. With limited options at his disposal, he would make the team a champion unit. That is the secret of his coaching technique,” said Hakim, who played in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
das@epmltd.com