Syed Rahim Nabi - Indian football's only all-rounder

How often do you come across an Indian footballer who can play in all the positions?

Come to think of it, it’s really tough to be a utility player in football. But Syed Rahim Nabi’s effortless calm and a knack to adjust to situations has made the job look simple.

Short in stature, Nabi possesses a big heart. Otherwise, no player would ever sacrifice his favourite playing position, and that too if he is a striker.

It is hard to imagine how this Indian team would function without Nabi, who is equally admired by his former and current coaches for his tremendous work-rate. It is almost close to a decade that he has spent in the national team, and there is no obvious apprentice ready to take over from him.

As I said, it is difficult for a player to adjust to new playing positions. But Nabi was hailed as a rare talent by his coaches ever since he stepped out of the Tata Football Academy (TFA) corridors in Jamshedpur in 2002.

Nabi has 200-plus goals against his name as a striker but he has adjusted wonderfully in the role of a left-back, both for his club and the Indian team.

In fact, the Mohun Bagan player has virtually played in every position, except as a goalkeeper.

In 2004, when he was still considered as a ‘junior’ in East Bengal, Nabi was put in the midfield by then coach Subhash Bhowmick to accommodate Nigerian striker Mike Okoro, who paired with Baichung Bhutia.

After all, he didn’t have much of an option but to follow his coach’s instruction. In later years, Nabi found himself manning the East Bengal defence as left-back, a position which he now so well managed.

But he would smile and say that he sacrificed his position for the team’s cause. You can only admire his greatness.

I had the opportunity to meet him in 2000. Nabi, then a 15-year-old precocious youngster with the TFA team, was soaking the warmth on a chilly afternoon on the upper tier of Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi.

He started off as a natural striker, who showed glimpses of his early talent when he was with TFA. In his final year in 2002, Calcutta’s top clubs had lined-up at his modest village at Pandua in West Bengal’s Hooghly district. But Nabi decided to join Mohammedan Sporting.

But two years before being noticed by TFA spotters, Nabi announced his arrival in 1998 with a sizzling performance in the U-16 Nationals in Delhi. He was soon signed by Victoria Sporting — his first club in Calcutta — in 2000. His talent then earned him a passport to the TFA.

He has not looked back since.

You won’t miss the unbridled joy which he brings with him to the ground. Even after playing for almost eight years in the national team, there’s no trace of that fake arrogance.

He isn’t moody. He knows that his spoken English isn’t good enough to charm a journalist. He doesn’t even listen to western rock music but would hum Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi and popular Bengali numbers.

He loves to play it simple, both as a person and player because he is grounded. Still today, he has retained the simplicity of a village boy who wanted to play football to earn a living for his family.

Last year, when I went to the Bagan club, a middle-aged woman was waiting outside the club lawn with her son.

After Nabi finished off his lunch at the club, he enquired which hospital she thinks she can put her son for treatment.

“OK, I’ll speak to some people and arrange some funds for your son’s treatment. I’ll do my best,” Nabi assured the lady who had come all the way from his village.

“Dada, if we don’t look after them, who will? After all, she has come from my village with a hope. The Almighty has made me a successful footballer. The game has given me so much. We should also contribute something to the society,” he said.

Nabi’s gesture touched my heart.

Salute to this big-hearted Indian player.