Footballer Atanu Bhattacharya, a member of India’s 1984 Asian Cup squad recalled how their coach Milovan Ciric helped the team filled with players of diverse cultures jell better and taught them that football was a team game.
It was the year when Indian Football made a huge turnaround to qualify for the Asian Cup after 20 long years in the wilderness. 1984 was a year of celebration for Indian Football as Sudip Chatterjee and his men marched into the final rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time since 1964. They displayed great team spirit in the qualifiers and gave a good account of themselves in the finals in Singapore, which included a goalless draw against mighty Iran.
Sadly, Chatterjee is not among us anymore. But there are others to tell the tale about how a bunch of 20 players stood united to accept the challenge of taking India to the elite group. It was like the iconic dialogue from Shahrukh Khan’s Bollywood movie ‘Chak de! India’: “Mujhe States Ke Naam Na Sunai Dete Hai Na Dikhai Dete Hai … Sirf Ek Mulk Ka Naam Sunai Deta Hai – India!” (I can neither hear, nor see the name of any state … I can only hear the name of one nation – India).
While players performed commendably, many believe the driving force behind India’s success was Yugoslav coach Ciric, who was then known as one of the finest in the business in the world of football. He made it clear that the team is above any individual. India earned a significant amount of success under him and everybody who got the chance to play under him cherishes their memory to date. “As a coach, Milovan Sir was exceptional. He knew Indian players came from different states, different cultures and different food habits. Yet he managed to jell us up as a team. He was aware of the capabilities of each player and used them accordingly.