Syed Abdul Rahim: The Lost Legend

We trace the inspiration behind Ajay Devgn's upcoming movie, Maidaan, the ace coach and driving force behind Indian football's golden age (yes we had one), whom the country forgot

- Aviroop Gupta

A closer look at the trailer of the Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan and you will immediately connect with the fact that Devgn is playing the role of legendary football coach Syed Abdul Rahim - the chief architect of the period that can truly be called the 'Golden Age of Indian Football'. In fact, the story of Rahim and his boys has all the right ingredients from official apathy to heroes battling it out after debacles and rising again to become the top team in the continent for a classic sports movie.

Rahim became the manager of Hyderabad Police and the Indian national team in 1950. During his tenure, Hyderabad Police won the Rovers Cup five times in a row from 1950 to 1954 and the Durand Cup four times. After refusing to participate in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, India won gold at the 1951 Asian Games, beating a strong Iranian side 1-0 in front of a packed home crowd in Delhi, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in attendance.

India's journey to the pinnacle of Asian football became possible only because of the tactical brilliance of their coach. He despised the British style that concentrated on ball possession and dribbling, with the attackers thriving on long aerial balls. To develop fast passing and combination play, he started 'one-touch' football tournaments. Rahim also started a 'weaker-foot' tournament where the players could only use their weaker foot for passing and scoring goals. When the rest of the country was still playing the archaic 2-3-5 formation, the revolutionary coach opted for the 4-2-4 system that was made popular much later by the gorgeous Brazilians in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup. A man far ahead of his time, Rahim could think out-of-the-box and was always ready to try out new tactics. So, it is hardly surprising that three of India's greatest managers in the post-Rahim era PK Banerjee, Amal Dutta and Syed Nayeemuddin - were all mentored by Rahim Saab.