Mohammed Rafi | The Interview

Mohammed Rafi hailing from the north most district of Kerala - Kasargod - is the new face in Indian National team camp which is to start on November 15th at Goa. Rafi celebrated his call up in style, scoring 2 crucial goals against Chirag United for Mahindra United in I-League.

Rafi was earlier called for the national team camp in 2005, but was not able to make it to the final team. But this time, the striker seems confident of going all the way......

FK: You have been recently called up for the Indian National team camp. What do you feel about it? Rafi: It feels great to be called to represent the country. I am very happy after hearing about this. I expect I make to the final team this time around.

FK: How much has Coach Bob Houghton influenced Team India? Rafi: He is a very good coach as you can see from the recent performances by India. That clearly shows the coach’s brilliance and the players’ hard work.

FK: What do you expect from the Indian team in World Cup qualifiers and AFC Asia Cup? Rafi: I hope India can advance to the knock out stages of the Asia Cup if we work hard. We can also perform better in World Cup qualification matches than last time. I will give my best to the team to accomplish it if selected.

Rafi’s club side, Mahindra United, will be facing JCT away from home on 31st October. The team will depart Mumbai on Thursday. Rafi scored a brace against Chirag United in their last match which played a crucial role in the 2-2 draw.

“Last few matches haven’t been going as expected for Mahindra. We could have won them. So, we will be trying to return to our winning habits with a good performance against JCT at their home,” the Jeepman said.

FK: How is your new coach David Booth? Rafi: David Booth is a very good coach, at the same time a good individual too.

FK: Did he bring any changes to the team’s style of play? Rafi: The team has been hard working from the start of the season and teamwork has increased.

FK: You have been scoring a good number of goals in the new season (7 goals this season). What’s the reason behind this form? Rafi: Last year, I was implemented as an attacking midfielder in the Mahindra team. But this year, the new coach has asked me to play as the striker alongside Muritala Ali. This is why I have been in score sheets more often this season. I also believe my hard work has helped me.

FK: So, which position does you enjoying playing at? Striker or Midfielder? Rafi: I can play at both positions well. But, I think being a midfielder is a bit harder than being a forward player.

FK: What is your outlook of Mahindra United Football Club? Rafi: The team has always done well in the league as well as in other tournaments. I have the company of 5 other Kerala players here – Ajayan (our captain), Pradeep, Sushanth, Justin and Aseem. Everybody at the club is very ambitious and proficient.

“I and Pradeep have been playing together for 7 years now. We have been playing for State Bank of Travancore (SBT) for 3 years before we were bought by Mahindra. This is our 4th year at Mumbai. After all this, it feels great to be together in an Indian camp,” Rafi recollected.

Rafi did not feature for Kerala in the last Santosh Trophy at Tamil Nadu. He said he wasn’t called by the Kerala selectors and refused to comment further.
“Kerala didn’t call me, but Maharashtra did. But I wasn’t able to join the team because of an injury,” Rafi told footballkerala.

Footballkerala.com once again wishes Mohammed Rafi the best of luck and success in his career.

Adwaidh R writes for Footballkerala.com

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 29 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.