Salim to Chettri - Indian football's European connection

Salim……footballing wizard!

As Sunil Chettri donned a green and white stripped European club jersey, there was already an Indian who had done this long before Chettri was born.

Mohammed Salim, who used play for Calcutta’s Mohammedan Sporting, during the British rule in India, played for Scottish club Glasgow Celtic during the 1936 -37 season.

In fact, Salim is credited with inventing the ‘Bicycle kick’. Salim, who played as a winger, was terrific during his time at the Calcutta club, helping them win 5 Calcutta league titles.

Salim took sail to Scotland, on the insistence of a relative who asked him to try his luck in European football and impressed the Celtic bosses during his trials, outclassing some great club players, playing barefooted.

Though Salim rejected a professional contract with the club due his homesickness and returned back to Calcutta, his tryst with Celtic was the start of India’s European connection in football.

The next Indian player after Salim, to get an offer from a European club was the legendary Chunni Goswami.

Goswami, who helped India to a fourth place finish in the 1956 Olympics, was offered a contract by Tottenham Hotspur, but had to decline it due to his job posting in a government bank.

Next up was ‘Sikkimese sniper’, Baichung Bhutia, who played for English club Bury (1999- 2002) and though did not have a great time during his stay at the club, was richer for his experience of playing in England.

Sunil Chettri’s recent move to Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ makes him the third Indian footballer overall to play for a European club.

Also, there are a handful of Indian origin players, who have played for top European sides, like Vikash Dhorasoo and Michael Chopra (Dhorasoo played for Lyon in the French league and Chopra played for Sunderland in the Premier League).

Apart from players, the connection with European football extends to coaching too, with Indian origin coach Robin Dutt managing Bundesliga sides like Sc Freiburg (2007) and Bayer Leverkusen (2012).

Economically too, magnates like Lakshmi Mittal and the Venky’s group have forayed into European football, with Mittal being a stakeholder of British club Queens Park Rangers and the Venky’s group owning Blackburn Rovers.

India’s association with Europe in soccer goes a long way back from the days of Mohammed Salim, and Chettri’s move to Lisbon may just be a sign of the bigger things to come.