For those great replays on the pitch again

There were some bald heads on the pitch, while some of them swiftly removed the gray hair and some saw a punch.

But the names were hardly any, then. The names featured in the exhibition match between the Kerala Police team and the Bolghetti FC veterans at the Ambedkar Stadium on Thursday brought back an avalanche of memories of an era when Kerala football was perhaps at its peak, and without the Indian side those marquee Malayalis. Some of the players were unimaginable.

For the Kerala Police, IM Vijayan was the choice who rode on the opposition box with his now-legendary predator poaching instincts, quarreling and jumping, occasionally punching, and as usual with some tough matches. Were in the end. While Kurikesh Matthews carried the ball 20 yards to the box before loosening a fierce hit, and still fit-a-fiddle Katie Chacko would see a stylish professional under the bar every time she saw an active professional. Left to catch. Fearlessly an advance striker advanced from the line to rob the ball on the collective gases.

Playing for his boyship club in the opposition ranks and marshalling the midfield was PP Thobias, his former Kerala and Kerala Police teammates and in whose honor the match was held.

For Bolgatti FC, a 48-year-old club from the little-known island of Ponjikkara, Mr. Thobias remains his most iconic son, and there was no better farewell than bringing his teammates of that golden age together for an exhibition match.

“We were planning to organize a farewell for him when it became clear that many of his teammates from the Kerala Police team would be changed,” said Bonnie Thomas, a Ponjikara performer and an avid football lover.

Mr. Thobias, who retired as Chief Marshal in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, made headlines for playing Indian in the SAF Games in 1992 before captaining the Indian youth team in Bangkok in 1992–83. He joined the Kerala team eight times in a row. The year since 1984 and was part of the 1992 and 1993 Santosh Trophy winning teams.

While the former Indian and Kerala players, who turned up for the event, recalled many of their adventures, the best compliment came from their first coach, Rafas D’Souza, who considers many state and Indian players to be his disciples.

“His character and honesty shone through. In football, you need to honor the ball, and the ball will give back that honor. He had that quality and also knew when, where, where and to whom to deliver the ball, ”said Mr. D’Souza, who had been coaching children in Fort Kochi for the past 51 years.

Mr. Thobias recounts his boyhood days at Ponjikkara, where the small spot in front of a local church doubled as the ground, and a firm kick sent the ball to the backwaters surrounding it. That place is no longer there, as the club shifted its training sessions to Ambedkar Stadium a few years ago.

He said, “Even in the past, footballers mostly came from the frayed ground, and the background of players like me and Vijayan proves that. Therefore, it is my mission to identify and prepare players from such backgrounds.