In Aizawl’s ranks, journeymen and discards

A DAY before Aizawl FC faced Bengaluru, Mahmoud al Amna’s phone buzzed. It’s been seven years since he left Syria to settle in a ‘more stable’ Egypt. But every time his phone rings, Amna feels the shivers. That day was no different. It was his friend, informing him about the chemical attack in his country.

A week later, on the day when Aizawl were to take on Churchill Brothers in Goa, the 34-year-old received a message again. This time, a suicide blast in his home city Aleppo. “It’s become normal, you know, all this war,” Amna says. “I’ve my brothers and friends living in Aleppo. Some of my friends have died too. But what can be done?”

Aizawl’s other international player, Ivory Coast’s Kamo Stephane Bayi, grew up idolizing Didier Drogba. The 20-year-old hails from the same city as the former Chelsea star but to help his family financially, he preferred a big-money move to South Asia rather than going to Europe, where he would have been paid far less. “I played in Ivory Coast and Nigeria but then I moved to Nepal to help my family,” says Kamo, whose father is an electrician in Abidjan.

Seeking a historic win on Saturday, Aizawl FC players spoke about loss first - the ones off the field. Unlike Mohun Bagan, their only I-league challengers who have cherrypicked some of the best players from the country, Khalid Jamil has assembled a team of discards and journeymen.

Jamil himself was shown the door by Mumbai, who felt the team was underachieving by merely avoiding relegation each season. How ironic, then, that as Jamil’s Aizawl fight for the title, Mumbai are still fighting for survival.

Mumbai FC also asked Jamil’s two key players, Jayesh Rane and Ashutosh Mehta, to leave. ‘Khalid’s boys’ were not seen as ‘not good enough’ in the Mumbai set-up. They followed their childhood coach to Aizawl and have only grew in stature. “It’s a different life, here. In Mumbai, no one knew or cared if you are a footballer. Here people recognize you wherever you go,” Mehta says.

Amna, Kamo, Rane and Mehta have been crucial in Aizawl’s success. Their streetwise play and level-headedness provided the right balance to the flamboyance and aggression shown by the local Mizoram players. “We always believed that despite their relegation last year, Aizawl players weren’t bad. They just weren’t prepared,” Mizoram Football Association secretary Lalnghinglova Hmar says. “Khalid brought with him a few experienced players and look what they have done!”

With the quartet taking extra responsibility, the players from Mizoram were given the license to play in their natural style. The likes of Brandon Vanlalremdika, who was raised by a single mother, and Laldanmawia Ralte flourished, with their speed and football knowledge catching many teams by surprise. All these players, though, have always featured in teams which have fought relegation. Saturday will be a first for them. “Our journey has been full of it sacrifices and setbacks,” he says. “Let’s hope the story has a happy ending.” Brandon knows they might not get another chance. “All this is because of God’s grace. We won’t get another chance. Teams like ours get just one opportunity and it is up to us to take it,” he says.