Never wanted to cheat fans and play outside India, reveals I.M.Vijayan
Former Indian footballer I.M.Vijayan, who was a mainstay in the national team in the 90s, revealed that he rejected many offers from Malaysia and Thailand because he wanted to stay in India. The forward played for various top clubs in India during his illustrious career, winning several trophies.
One of the greatest strikers India ever produced, I.M. Vijayan was India’s poster boy in the early 1990s, having stormed into the Indian football circuit playing for his native club Kerala Police. Subsequently, he played for clubs like Mohun Bagan, JCT, FC Kochin, East Bengal, and Churchill. He spent some of the most memorable years of his career at Mohun Bagan. Even though he was had offers to play for Malaysian and Thai clubs, Vijayan has revealed that he overlooked them and stayed with the Kolkata giants.
“I wanted to stay in India. At that time, I was at Mohun Bagan and the fans loved me so much. I also had fellow players from Kerala in the team, so I felt if I left, I would cheat the fans and fellow professionals and that would be a big problem. So, I decided to stay,” said I.M.Vijayan during an Instagram chat with current Indian captain Sunil Chhetri.
The ‘Black Pearl’ of Indian football played 66 matches for the ‘Blue Tigers’, during which he won three SAFF Championships. Even today, he doesn’t have any regrets about not playing elsewhere because there was no one to give him the right advice and anything could have happened back then.
“I didn’t have many people around me from whom I could seek advice. At that time, I took all the decisions by myself. Maybe if I had people at that time who could give me the right advice, anything could have happened. But I have no regrets, I’m very happy,” added Vijayan.
