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Former Indian football team captain IM Vijayan has given his two cents on the everlasting debate of which club is bigger between rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Having represented both the Kolkata giants during his storied career, the 51-year-old said, "Ask any Indian football player and they would tell you they loved playing in Kolkata. In our time, that city's football was very professional. I went to Mohun Bagan in 1991, and didn't know any Hindi at that time, but was treated so well."
"East Bengal is the best Indian club"
Giving his opinion on the East bengal versus Mohun Bagan debate, the Thrissur, Kerala, native said, "In India, East Bengal badhiya (best) club hai, even though I played for Mohun Bagan for five years and only two years for East Bengal. I loved my time at JCT in Punjab as well, because of the professionalism, and I enjoyed playing under Sukhwinder Singh (the coach of JCT at that time).
"The officials at East Bengal still respect us, and invite me and Suresh for programmes and ceremonies because there is a mutual love between the club and players there. Neetu da, Babu da and many officials have passed away since then, but the new officials still invite former players to programmes."
Ashique Kuruniyan: The next big thing in Indian football
When asked about young Indian players that have impressed him, IM Vijayan singled out praise for Bengaluru FC winger Ashique Kuruniyan. "Among young players, I like Ashique Kuruniyan of Kerala. I tell him, observe Sunil Chhetri and keep learning from him as much as you can. Observe his behaviour, his style of play, his calm demeanour and try to instill it in your play.
"Ashique was in my son's class, whenever I met him or spoke with him over phone, I told him, keep your head down and keep learning," he concluded.
