Syed Arif: Hyderabad FC will bring back 'Golden Era' of Hyderabad football

The former legendary goalkeeper opened up on tournaments in Indian football and the emergence of ISL club in the city.

Hyderabad is a football-loving state and its contribution to Indian football is often unheard of by the current generation of fans. With the inception of Indian Super League outfit Hyderabad FC, the state is looking to get back its lost crown as an elite footballing destination. 

The club, which looks to reboot the legacy of the state, arranged a live session for the footballing greats from Hyderabad including Shabbir Ali, Victor Amalraj to share their stories. Among the greats, there was former player Syed Arif too, who reminisced about their time and also heaped praised on Hyderabad FC for coming to the football-loving state. 

Syed Arif who was in the panel for the Facebook live session, reminisced about his days as a goalkeeper for Hyderabad XI, where they participated and won several tournaments all over India. 

When asked the reason why the city loves football, Arif emphasized on the impact of the great Hyderabad Police team. He said, "I think the impact of the Hyderabad Police team made people here fall in love with football. Now, I am thankful to Hyderabad FC for promoting the sport in the city."

The former custodian also highlighted how playing in an array of tournaments during their era was considered important. But, now the big teams are only playing in the ISL. He pointed at how there is a lack of tournaments for players nowadays. 

"We used to regularly play the DCM Tournament with Hyderabad XI and also the Seth Nagji, Stafford Cup. We have played all Indian tournaments with Hyderabad FC. Now, the big teams are only playing ISL, I hope that Hyderabad FC will bring the glory back to this city." 

During the Facebook live session presenter Suhail Chandhok flashed an image of the 1981 Hyderabad Santosh Trophy team and looking at that, Arif shared his memories from those days. 

"In that era, we were a great batch prepared by former Olympian Abdul Salam. That batch went 7-8 years representing Hyderabad and we won several trophies during that period. I remember we entered the semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy in 1985, but lost in the dying minutes by 0-1 to Maharashtra. That was a good time for Hyderabad football."

"My coach was Abdul Salam and he decided that I should play as a goalkeeper. After that, a lot of greats of the game like Mohammed Habib and others advised me to play under the bar as I have good goalkeeping anticipation. In 1980, we won the All India School tournament and were the gold medalists and from there, my journey started," the legendary shot-stopper went on to add. 

The Convenor of Coaches at the Telangana Football Association also stated how local players should work hard since they have this great opportunity of playing for a local team. Arif believes that Hyderabad FC will act as the nurturing pool for the Telangana Football Association. 

"I want to say that players should work hard and enjoy the game and whenever you get the opportunity utilize it to the fullest. I feel Hyderabad FC can be the nursery for the Telangana Football Association.

Reminiscing about his playing days for Hyderabad XI and also for the Telangana Santosh Trophy team, Syed Arif pointed out one of his best matches in his career. "My best memory from my playing days has to be the Lal Bahadur Shastri tournament against Ambala Heroes. I heard from the opponent that Aaj bhaijaan goal nahi hone denge (today the goalkeeper will not concede)."

"A lot of senior players came to advise me and one of them has to be Adams Askari. He always used to train with me and even after retirement he used to practice with me."

Lastly, the former Indian custodian admitted that he is hopeful that Hyderabad FC will improve with time. He feels that the club can be the binding force to bring people of the city together for their love of football. 

"I wish that Hyderabad FC will do well and bring back the golden era of Hyderabad football," Syed Arif concluded.