CHENNAI: There is perhaps no other footballer whose name is more synonymous with Chennai than Syed Sabir Pasha. In the 90s, when there were few brighter stars in Indian football, Pasha had admirers everywhere. There is a story, unconfirmed of course, that one of the Kolkata giants tried influencing India’s then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to get him out of his Indian Bank job so that they could sign him. Pasha, though, was having none of it. Home was where the heart lay.
And now, in his second incarnation as coach, Pasha is seeking to continue the symbiotic relationship that he had with Chennai as a player. Speaking to Express, days after he replaced Vivek Nagul as Chennaiyin FC’s assistant coach and their head of grassroots, the former left-winger said his mission was to ensure that more talents from Tamil Nadu get opportunities. “Chennaiyin FC has been doing a great job at grassroots level. I will try to carry on the good work and add my expertise to make it even better,” he said.
“The objective is to ensure the number of kids playing football in Chennai and Tamil Nadu increases,” he added. “What used to hurt me while being coach at AIFF Elite Academy was the lack of talent from Tamil Nadu even in Indian youth teams. We at Chennaiyin FC are committed to change that and produce top quality talent from the state both for Chennaiyin first team and India national team.”
After retiring as player in 2007, Pasha was quick to get his coaching badges. He coached India at various age levels, but his brightest moment behind the touchline came in 2012, when he took Tamil Nadu to the Santosh Trophy final. It remains one of the two occasions when the state made the final, the other coming way back in 1972. His latest assignment offers him more opportunities to write more chapters to the state footballing lore. “It is going to be major step up though. More than that, it will be an honour to work with greats and be a part of the Chennaiyin FC family.”
But by dipping his toes into the ISL pool, Pasha is fishing in muddy waters. Not everybody in the country is a fan of the league. Many argue that for it to gain more credibility the current structure, where teams are active for five months and virtually non-existent for the remaining seven, needs to change.
Pasha is keen to dispel the notion that working for Chennaiyin involves doing nothing for the major part of the year. “One can’t really say there is little to do (in the off-season) because we are doing a lot of work at the grassroots and have to work harder,” he said. “We have a centre of excellence in Chennai where the best under-13 and under-15 boys selected from various grassroots festivals train on a regular basis. Such festivals are held regularly and we have many others plans. We will be sharing them soon.”