Getting to Know the Future...One Player at a Time

The other day I was just about to leave for a quick trip to Bangalore when my colleague, Randeep, stopped me to ask a favor. He said that one of the players he represents, Malem Metei, currently plays for Bangalore based I-League club, H.A.L, and that he would appreciate it if I could meet with him while I was down there. My schedule was pretty packed with meetings, but I told him that I would take his number and try my best to meet him.


After my first 2 meetings, I called Malem and invited him out to dinner thinking I was doing Randeep a nice favor. Boy was I wrong. It was actually Randeep who was doing me a huge favor.

I never thought about it, but since moving to India I haven’t spent much time at all with I-League players. I don’t know most of their names, what challenges they have overcome to get to where they currently are, what their experience is playing professional football in India and what their dreams are. At MLS, I got to know many players during player appearances and social events, but I’ve not had the same opportunity since moving here.

I was sitting in a Café Coffee Day chatting with a new friend Adhip who runs Bangalore Youth Football League. Malem and his younger brother showed up and took a seat at our table. It was a bit awkward at first, but fortunately Adhip knows a lot about H.A.L and was able to keep the conversation flowing. After coffee, Adhip recommended a nice Mangalorean restaurant and me, Malem and his brother hopped in an auto and headed towards the restaurant. The randomness of me, a professional footballer from Manipur and his younger brother in an auto together made smile.

Dinner was wonderful. Malem ordered all his favorite dishes for us: Mutton, Pork, Chicken, Fish and we pigged out. Better than the food though was the conversation. Malem and his brother told me about their family, life in Manipur, their dreams, football in the Northeast, Bollywood movies, school life, etc… They are both such great guys that it would be impossible not to want to see them achieve success in anything that they do.

At the end of the night, I declared myself to be a major Malem supporter and committed that I would spend time with more I-League players when I travel. I hope they are all like Malem…


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