Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — They are born to play football and that is their destiny. The passion for this beautiful game has guided them to a stage that no power in the world can separate them from football. Brothers Saleem and Saheer from Koothuparambu (Kerala state in India) bloomed into stellar professional soccer stars in India and while at their peak, starring for their respective professional clubs, had to leave their country for Saudi Arabia seeking greener pastures in life. Fortunately the loss to Kerala happened to be a big gain for the Indian expatriates soccer in Jeddah. They revolutionized the typical Kerala style "Sevens Soccer" on elevens' field into proper "Elevens Soccer" on a standard football ground. The last two sons of Amina and Moidu couple Saleem and Saheer are identical in their passion for football but are south pole and north pole in their approach and in life. Hailing from soccer-mad northern part of Kerala state there is no wonder that these boys were naturally attracted to this game at an early age. Saleem is indebted to his maternal uncle Abdul Azeez who used to take him to all-India football tournament matches in Kannur (Sree Narayana all-India football tournament) that kindled the soccer fire in him, while Saheer saw his five-year older brother Saleem, who had already turned into shining soccer star in school, as his idol. Saleem's soccer graph shot into fame quickly. From starring for his school team he represented Kerala State sub junior team twice in 1980 and 81 was adjudged best player when Kerala won the national title for the first time in Chennai in 1981. In 1982 and 83 he represented the state in junior nationals. After pre-degree, he was recruited by Kerala's professional team Keltron Kannur. Dazzling all over the renowned all-India football tournaments, winning best player trophies and team championship trophies he ruled all India tourneys in vain. His forthright behavior, coupled with instant reactions, raised eyebrows of officials in power. He failed to earn a senior state jersey during his best years. Alas! He was in the camp for the 1991 Kerala team which won the Santhosh Trophy under late V.P. Sathyan's captainship but failed to make the cut. While things were not going bright for him financially as well as his professional soccer career his elder brother Mohammed Ali, who has been with Saudi Cable in Jeddah, paved the way for him to Saudi Arabia. Luckily for him expatriates' soccer has been gaining momentum in Jeddah. There were clubs here deeply involved in football and have been conducting local tournaments — some ending successfully and some in chaos and free for all. This had led to the formation of Saudi Indian Football Forum (SIFF) which brought all expatriate football clubs under one umbrella, guided by proper rules and regulations on the pattern of Kerala Football Association (KFA). SIFF is the brainchild of Asiana Jeddah Club player and official Machingal Ahmedkutty, a former Kerala Postal and Telegraph player. When Ahmedkutty, who was affectionately called "Elappa" on and off the ground, put forward the idea, eminent personalities, community leaders, other soccer clubs and soccer-lovers joined hands and made it a reality that changed the soccer scene in Jeddah. Official SIFF Football League has been in full swing and the arrival of Saleem boosted Asiatic Sports Club which roped him in soon. With the full support of his employer Al-Ryan Polyclinic, Saleem emerged as the star of Jeddah soccer. He made significant change in the game here. The Sevens Soccer Style gave way to proper Elevens Soccer. This even spread to other teams here, improving the standard of the game. The teams were slowly gaining a professional touch. Soccer rivalry among clubs was at its peak and SIFF League became very competitive. Saleem later moved to ACC Club and won a number of laurels. But soon, a serious injury scotched his playing career. Even then a never-say-die Saleem could not be separated from football. Shifting his role, he donned the mantle of coach and started training his club ACC successfully. Later he left ACC, and took over Zabin FC Jeddah and Newcastle Club. Zabin has established itself as one of the top teams here. It recorded a hat trick of title wins in the well-known four-year–old Blue Star Soccer Tournament. Incidentally, in the inaugural year of Blue Star Soccer Festival it was Saleem's ACC that emerged champion and Saleem now holds a unique distinction of being the coach of the winning teams in all four championships. Meanwhile, Saleem had moved from Al-Ryan to Initiative, a media wing of Albert Promo7 advertising company, which also supported his soccer activities. If Ahmedkutty, who was also secretary of Malappuram Disctict Football Association and team selector, was an authority in technical matters of football among expatriates in Jeddah two decades ago, now it is Saleem. He is thorough with rules and now holds a referee's badge and also coach's certificate from ISM, Italy. Saleem served on the SIFF official board as vice president from 2017-17. He is a regular figure at all the expatriates' football tournaments in Jeddah. The expatriates' soccer has gone a long way here in this span with the emergence of soccer academies. Jeddah Sports Club opened the first one in 2010 under the watchful eyes of former Calicut and Customs and Central Excise Cochin player Abdul Rafeeque. After Rafeeque left the Kingdom for good, Saleem took over. Now he is the chief coach of JSC Academy. A father of three, Saleem still feels that he has a lot to give for football. "I have gained everything through football and now I want to give back," says Saleem. Saleem's younger brother Saheer, though he followed Saleem like a shadow onto the football field, and being inspired also by Kerala State player Abdul Rasheed from Tellicherry, he gratefully remembers his father Moidu who was an ardent sports-lover. Moidu was not only interested in football but loved other games too, especially cricket. He was a fan of the then successful Pakistan team. According to Saheer, he was named after the great Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas (though the spelling is different). Moidu who was a teacher at Koothuparambu School later moved into marketing and has been travelling a lot. The family also shifted from Koothuparambu to Tellicherry. Saheer doesn't like to compare him with Saleem. He says, he doesn't deserve it. "Chettai is too big, I am nothing in front of him. He didn't get what he deserved or failed to grab or snatch that he should have." This soft-spoken and humble player is a smiling assassin on the field. No compromise in the game — hard work and discipline. He also earned a spot in Kerala State sub-junior team and won Indian jersey in 1989 and toured with national side to Maldives. Saheer caught the attention of the soccer bosses soon and just after pre-degree joined an emerging NLC (Neyveli Lignite Corporation) team, coached by Indian international Sethumadhavan. As in 1980s, NLC cornered glory under Keltron excelled with a group of youngsters including Saleem Sethumadhavan. Saheer recollected a lot of great matches he played for NLC under this loving coach who used to boost his wards on and off the field. Saheer thanks his coach for his academic degree. "Had Sethu Sir not forced me to pursue education I could not have achieved it. Now I live with it." The successful days in NLC won Saheer a berth in Tamil Nadu State team thrice for Santhosh Trophy Nationals and even captained the state in 1992 in Andhra Pradesh nationals. Saheer's performance in the nationals, Federations Cup and other tournaments paved the way for him to a bigger team Titanium Travancore Ltd Trivandrum. He cherishes wonderful memories playing with such a great team. His performance in Federation Cup against Mohun Bagan Calcutta which had internationals I.M. Vijayan and Sharaf Ali, earned him a ticket to state camp and played for Kerala in 1994 Bombay Nationals. If it was his eldest brother Mohammed Ali who brought Saleem to Saudi Arabia, Saheer was advised by his only brother–in-law Abdullah to come to Riyadh. Saheer, who is so attached to his sister Saeeda and Abdullah, especially after the demise of his mother at an early age, took long leave from Titanium and landed in Riyadh. Since Saleem suffered a career-threatening injury on football field, Abdullah wanted to shield Saheer from football. The more disciplined and obliging Saheer, however, slowly wriggled out and started playing. "How can a player stop playing at his peak, it's like suicide," says Saheer. Soccer-mad friends in Riyadh forced him into the game and Saheer became active. Saheer began his career in Saudi Arabia, joining an insurance company Cunningham. He shifted to cargo section of British Airways and then to Swiss International Airline as operations manager and ended up at Emirates in Jeddah which made him an ACC player. Like Saleem, Saheer too was a star midfielder with a powerful right foot. With Saleem as coach ACC again ruled Jeddah soccer. Slowly as years passed, Saheer too shifted to coaching and technical wing. Saheer is also a member of JSC Academy's coaching team and one can spot Saheer at the technical table of most of the Jeddah tournaments. He has been groomed into this role by soccer veterans K.T. Hyder, a former Calicut University and Cochin Port Trust player, who worked with Kuwait Airways here and Basheer Machingal. These Tellicherians too believe that there is no short cut to success – practice, practice and practice should be the mantra. "Now big-time sponsorship is coming and it a is good sign and we saw the outcome in the recent Asian Cup this year. But without big league football, or Indian stars playing abroad like lot of Japanese and Koreans doing at present or better foreign players taking part in our league than the "veterans" as seen today, our standard will not improve," they said. Both the brothers are satisfied with what they gained here. But they say their children missed a lot here and with that their soccer career. Saleem, with only one son and two daughters, and Saheer, with two sons, feel that these three boys could have achieved more had they been in Kerala. "We have done a lot here. There are academies and boys tournaments. But they miss competition. By the time they finish their school and get back to India they might have missed a lot of chances, which are vital and decisive in life," says Saleem. "There are gains and losses, but we have to live with it. That's life," says Saheer. Come what may, they are not ready to leave football. No wonder when soccer veterans in India say "the dust and wind of northern part of Kerala smell football".
