This page will be dedicated to all my heroes - footballers! Well, it starts with my dad, he loves the game of football but never played professionally. He used to manage a team from our colony (housing society) called the Mahalakshmi Sports Club (MSC).
I used to accompany him for all the matches they used to play locally around Mumbai (mostly Vile Parle, Versova, Amboli, Kalina, Tata colony etc.) and we used to win most of the tournaments. It was only 11-a-side tournaments then, futsal was not so popular in Mumbai. And that is how my love for the game started.
I began understanding the game and loving it. The team that time (around 1987) consisted of players like Suresh Mendon (Union bank of India), Kamlaksh Mendon (Orkay mills), Harish Suvarna (Bank of India), Chandrakant Poojary (Bank of India), Vijit Kunder, Thapa (I do not recall his complete name), Paresh Amin, Manvinder Singh Mand and many others. The team at one point of their glorious career were practically unbeatable.
And to just be a part of the team's supporters had an amazing feeling to it. And those who have felt it will only understand by what I mean. The best tournaments then, were held at Versova ground, Andheri and St.Xaviers ground,Vile Parle. I remember this incident when I was 11 or 12 years old, and had accompanied the team for a match at Versova (Andheri, Mumbai), the spectators would literally step aside for the players to pass and the news that "the mahalakshmi boys have arrived" ("Mahalakshmi aaya" in Hindi) would spread like fire.
Later the team had new younger players like Dhanraj Karkera, Nitin Mendon, Suraj Bantwal and many more. The team was always a mix of young talent and experienced players. The number of supporters from the colony for any match would be between 20-25 men and me!
The younger generation which joined the MSC were not professional footballers and hence could not practice together like the earlier players. The veterans used to regularly practice at the Juhu beach every Sunday. They would never miss a single Sunday. Football was religion. But one has to agree with me that footballers do not earn a lot and hence many were forced to choose a different career option.
The third generation of players were Gautam Mendon, Prasad Adka and Praneel Mendon (ex-Union Bank of India, ex-Air-India and now Mumbai Customs). There were many players in the recent years who were not from the colony but loved to play for MSC.
In the 1990's Rink football tournaments had started and we started dominating in that too. But since its a quicker version of the game and very few youngsters were left in the team, Mahalakshmi started winning the rink format in the veterans section.
Such were the glory days of Mahalakshmi Sports Club. And we still play football, used to conduct small tournaments in our school (MVM) and sometimes participate in the tournaments. But due to hectic lifestyles and different careers, there was no time left for football. But football will always be in our hearts and hopefully this game will get the recognition it deserves in our country.
Cheers to the beautiful game!
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