Newly promoted Viva Kerala will be up against the defending champions of I-League 2009-10, Churchill Brothers, on the 6th of October at Goa and the team will be lead by the relatively young and inexperienced midfielder, MP Sakeer.
Sakeer, from the Malapuram district, turned his focus to the game of football at a late age of 15 playing for his school side. His fist major break was the call up to the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) team in 2007.
The 23 year old Sakeer who has represented Kerala in last year's Santosh Trophy was the key behind Viva Kerala's promotion to India's premier football championship last season. He was remarkable for the moves he created with the Viva import, Babathunde. The extra responsibility of captaincy could bring some level-headedness to his play, or it could leave him confused, trapped between his natural instincts and the needs of the team. It is a risky move which could go either way!
If the Viva Kerala Coach, AM Sreedharan, wanted a malayali to lead his team which has 19 players from Kerala, who would have been a better choice?
Sakeer has never captained a side before. But he believes that the team can do very well in this season's I League and hopefully finish in the top half of the league table.
To get an expert opinion about the issue, footballkerala.com contacted the legendary Goal Keeper, Coach and moreover a strong follower of football in Kerala, the now coach of the Mumbai-based Akbar Travels, Victor Manjilla. According to him, "Communication skills is not that relevant for a football captain as in cricket since coaches and managers can interfere and communicate all along the game from outside."
"Even though Sakeer hasn't played many matches and has huge experience he might have something in him to keep the team spirit going and keep the team gelled together. Team management should have noticed this and made captain," the ex-Kerala coach added.
Will Sakeer be able to use the captaincy to spur him on to greater efforts? Or will it blunt his edge? We can certainly look forward to a fascinating period for the Viva Kerala team, and a testing one for MP Sakeer himself.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Monday 5 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.
Comments · 2
To my mind, Bello Rasaq seemed like an obvious choice given his experience. Sakeer may be a shy lad but he is definitely the creative spark in the team and hopefully be an inspiration for the whole team. Good Luck Sakeer!!!
Sakeer was a perfect choice for captain. He commands respect and is a very talented player.