NEW DELHI: Former stars Sharaf Ali, K.T. Chacko and Babu Raj retired from their Kerala Police jobs on Saturday as their junior colleague IM Vijayan termed it as “end of an era.”
The trio were key members in Kerala Police that won back-to-back Federation Cup titles in 1990 and 1991.
“They were like my extended family. Sharaf Ali was the foootball manager whereas I am the Technical Director. It’s only football which we discuss every time. That’s our life. Life moves on. We don’t know who will come next but we’ll miss them dearly,” Vijayan told www.the-aiff.com.
Ali made his national team debut against Korea Republic in 1986 Nehru Cup at Thiruvananthapuram and joined the force in 1985.
“It’s a mixed bag of feelings for me today. When I joined the force in 1985 I didn’t foresee this day. We were like a family. We ate and slept and trained together. That was the success mantra behind the team’s success,” said Ali.
With the influx of talents in the mid-80s, Kerala Police improved by leaps and bounds to become an intimidating team in the country.
Ali, and others were followed by CV Pappachan, the deadly attacker who still rues missing the open net from close in the 1993-94 Santosh Trophy final.
“Back then there wasn’t any concept of professional football unlike now. We had to do our daily chores of duty for the force and then continue our training. But, it was fun, it was like shrugging off the stress at the end of day’s job,” the 60-year-old continued.
Following their maiden success in the state level in 1986, Kerala Police introduced themselves as a force to reckon with in the country but they had to wait for another four years to taste their first major trophy in the bigger stage.
