Anwar Ali's return a triumph, but he's just getting started
It's no fun when Lallianzuala Chhangte runs at you. Even in the best of circumstances. And these are not very good conditions. It's the 88th minute and you're tired. This is your first competitive match in three months. In fact, this is your debut in India's top division. You are playing a role that you are not fully familiar with. Against you is a fresh, have-a-points-to-proven scrimmage, introduced from the bench late in the second half. He's rushing at you with that unique mix of speed, directness and power that usually stuns defenders with ease. In general.
You stand your ground, point it away from the target, before accelerating and stepping in front of it to shield the ball. Chingte challenges back, but neither the ball nor you move an inch.
You see, you are Anwar Ali, and you do not wither.
Had Ali been there, he would not have been here, playing for FC Goa in the Indian Super League. After all, no matter how hard he had to work to get here, a charging chute would have been such a welcome sight.
Jonathan Selvaraj details Ali's journey here and here, but it tl; The DR version is - Anwar Ali starred in India's Under-17 World Cup campaign in 2017. He, as is the norm, played for the Indian Arrows in I. League. Impressed, Mumbai City signed him. Where it was discovered she had a heart condition known as hypertrophic myocardiopathy (where the wall of the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick and affects the pumping of blood). Doctors concluded that he could not play again. He was also barred from practicing with a professional club by the All India Football Federation's medical committee.
He suffered for two years. He fought with administrators and doctors, trying to convince them that he was good to play. He changed his diet, the way he lived, to reduce his heart risk. He went to court. He did it all when he saw his friends and age-group teammates establish himself in top teams across the country.
Even when he eventually convinced the AIFF's medical committee of his fitness, even after submitting an affidavit absolving anyone else of any responsibility, Ali had to Had to wait before ISL dream came true.
He played in the Himachal Pradesh and Punjab state leagues. He played in the I-League Qualifiers and Durand Cup with Delhi FC. After signing a contract with FC Goa, he could not play with them immediately, as they could not register him before January. So he stayed with them in their bio-bubble, practicing with the main team but not kicking the competitive ball since September. Not that an untrained eye would have detected it on Saturday.
When they signed him, Anwar seemed a perfect fit for Goa. Whether under past coaches Sergio Lobera or Juan Ferrando, or current director-football-plus-coach Derrick Pereira, the club has long asked its defenders to play from behind. Ali has always been comfortable with the ball at his feet.
None of this took into account the pressure he was under.
There were a lot of people who wanted to prove Ali wrong. There were many more people working hard for his success, every little positive being celebrated aloud on the pitch. This story, for example, was written halfway before Ali could even kick a ball - because the mere act of him being there is such a triumph of human effort.
Ali, however, would like to be judged only by what he did on the pitch. That is, why did he fight the battles he did.
And on the Bambolim GMC athletic pitch, he produced a mixed bag of performances.
For someone who was playing his first match at this level, after two significant development-age years, he was remarkably comfortable. Only two players on the pitch attempted more passes and only four had more touches of the ball – their teammates regularly looked for them, and trusted them with the ball.
He made mistakes with it, however, as much of it was situational. Playing to the right of the back three, Ali at times seemed to have strayed a little too wide, a little too high. This meant that on the rare occasion Chennaiyin responded, he struggled to get back into position.
He also escaped a potential narrative-killing scare, a handball appeal just before half time. He appears to have misunderstood the flight of the ball and controlled it with his hand inside his box under very little pressure. The error was bad, but the nerves were understandable.
In the second half, he had almost nothing to do defensively until Chhangte came along and then rose to the challenge all over.
Now, truth be told, Ali couldn't have asked for a better protest that day. For the bulk of the match, Chennaiyin abandoned the concept of attacking and simply pitched around two edges five deep in their own half. It's not likely to be easy for him again. There is a lot of attacking talent in the league and this season has been particularly tough on defence. He won't mind though.
Anwar Ali has never settled for comfort before, and he is not going to start now, not when his dream has just begun.
