Why is Peter Thangaraj India's greatest ever goalkeeper?

Peter Thangaraj played for India both at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

Peter Thangaraj’s name and memory are probably only preserved by hardcore Indian football enthusiasts. However, the Andhra Pradesh-born goalkeeper had a career that not many goalkeepers in Indian football would even be able to come close to replicating.

Thangaraj played for all three major Kolkata clubs in Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting across – a rare achievement for any goalkeeper in Indian football. He earned most of his popularity and prestige because of his heroics for the Indian football team in the 1950s and 1960s, which is labelled as the ‘Golden Era of Indian football’ by many. There is a strong argument to be made about Thangaraj being the best goalkeeper ever produced by Indian football, and here we look at why.

Early Career

Thangaraj was born in Hyderbad on 24 December 1935 and developed a love for football at a very early age in his career. He began his career with the Morning Star Club before also playing for the Friends Union Club in Secunderabad. Interestingly, Peter actually played as a centre-forward in his youth career before he transitioned into a goalkeeper at the Madras Regimental Centre.

Thangaraj had joined the Indian Army in 1953 and subsequently was ble to play for MRS. He also earned most of his success at the MRS, helping them win the 1955 Durand Cup and the tournament in 1958 as well. Despite his young age, Thangaraj started proving his quality in between the goal from the get-go for MRC and his towering 6’ feet figure was tailor-made for that role.

Success with India

Thangaraj’s heroics with the MRC earned the attention of India boss Bert Flatlet in 1955, who helped give him his call-up. Peter impressed for the Blue Tigers in the 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, helping them win the crowd by defeating the likes of Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

But it was under the guidance of legendary manager Syed Abdul Rahim that Thangaraj took his steps to become an incredible goalkeeper for India. He took part in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, producing a heroic performance in the 4-2 win over Australia in the 1956 Olympics quarter-finals in which he made a string of key saves.

Thangaraj faced even more fierce opposition in France and Hungary in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Despite seeing India unable to win them, he produced memorable saves with his brave goalkeeping and shot-stopping heroics to help India hold France to a 1-1 and only suffer a 2-1 loss to Hungary.

Peter tasted continental success in India by playing a key role in the 1962 Asian Games. He produced impressive performances against Japan and South Korea, keeping a clean sheet against the former and making a string of big saves in the gold medal match against Korea to help his side claim their first (and only) gold medal in football in the Asian Games.

He also finished as part of the India squad that were the 1964 AFC Asian Cup runners-up,  keeping a clean sheet against Japan and only conceding one goal against Hong Kong in the tournament.

Playing Style

Peter Thangaraj was a complete package in terms of having everything in his arsenal that an ideal goalkeeper should have. At a height of 6 feet, he was more than capable of collecting crosses and stopping opposition players from harassing him on aerial duels.

He was an instinctive, reflex shot-stopper who could leap at great lengths to deny powerful shots and had total command of his goal. Thangaraj actually learnt from the legendary Lev Yashin during the USSR team’s tour of India in 1955, and learnt some traits from him too.

Thangaraj, however, was not only a bullish and tall goalkeeper but someone who loved having the ball in his feet. He excelled at moving the ball forward with accurate passes and loved creating counter-attacks wit his perfect 60-70 yard clearances.

The late Novy Kapadia described Thangaraj’s playing style by stating: “Firstly, he was 6’3″ tall, so he could grip the ball very well. He was very good against the crosses from the flank. Secondly, he was a very modern goalkeeper like Manuel Neuer, though he played back then. In the Rovers Cup, he was playing for one of the Kolkata clubs against Inder Singh’s Leaders Club from Jalandhar.

“He used to play like modern-day goalkeepers. He was very good with the ball and he would play like an advanced defender. Inder Singh asked him, ‘Bhai, tu toh goalkeeper hain, tu itne aage kaise aa sakta hain’ (you are a defender, how can you come so ahead), Thangaraj replied, ‘main bhi paer se khel sakta hu’ (I can also play with my feet).

“Thirdly, he was very good with his distribution. While playing for India, he would give directions to PK (Banerjee) with his eyes and make 70-80 yards accurate long kicks. And the throws with the hands!

“He had big palms and he could throw till the halfway line. He was very daring. In one-on-one situations, he would put his whole body in front of the opposition and guard the goal. A commanding goalie, he was probably the only goalkeeper people would come to see. Watching Thangaraj was like watching a spectacle.”

Major awards and achievements

Thangaraj played for the major Kolkata football clubs at a point where the dominated Indian football and was able to earna  lot of domestic success as well. Interestingly, he won the Santosh Trophy title three times with three different teams (Services, Bengal and Railways). He won three back-to-back Durand Cup and Calcutta Football League double titles with Mohun Bagan in the 1960s and also won the 1970 IFA Shield with East Bengal!

The ex-India goalkeeper retired from football in 1972, but he was showered with a lot of accolades in his career. He became the first Indian goalkeeper to win the Arjuna Award in 1967. Thangaraj was also named in the AFC Asian All Stars twice in his career, and he is credited with being the first goalkeeper to introduce the ‘Long throw’ aspect among Indian goalkeepers, as well as the first to play half-volley passes when clearing the ball.

He was also named as East Bengal’s Club Goalkeeper of the Millennium by the Kolkata giants and among the Asian Goalkeepers of the Century in 2000 as well. Thangaraj had a career full of admirable highs which are yet to be matched by any Indian goalkeeper.

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