Ex-national goalkeeper Shuhash talks with The Independent

Players, organisers both responsible for poor football

BFF, clubs should take talent hunt programme

“Football is a passion, football is one kind of obsession, if one can’t contemplate the game as part of his life it is not possible for him to be good players,” said Shuhash Barua, former national team goalkeeper of late 70s to early eighties.

Shuhash, who played in the top level domestic football and in the national team just few years, obtained huge popularity across the country.
Shuhash, began the top level in 1975 in Dhaka playing for Wari Club and the first match was against the then Abahani Krira Chakra and said good bye in 1985 season but irregular from 1982 and then concentrated to his job as custom officer.   
Shuhash, about the downtrend of country’s football said, “It is difficult to identify any particular reason or to blame anybody is responsible for this wretched condition, as there are so many questions and so many answers.”         
“But what I think to be a football player or a football organiser should have a great enthusiasm for the game and it is one of the major pre-conditions to generate the football culture.”
 “The failures to keep up the fashion, culture and craziness of the past one of the important reasons of today’s condition, gradually, day by day it has been missing.”
Shuhash, cited the example of his own how he became a footballer, when he narrated the story of his short time career said, “Then I was mere a school student of class VII-VIII, I used to see many of our big brothers were playing football.”
“There was regular football league at MA Aziz Stadium and in different parts of the city there were so many tournaments took place, however, at that time I also started to play.
 Iqbal Khan, brother of our cricketer Akran Khan and father of cricketer Tamim Iqbal called me and encouraged me to play.” 
“I began to play in the Rising Star Club in the local second division league, then in the Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club for seven years at a stretch. At that time one of our elder brothers of Chittagong was playing in Wari Club in Dhaka.”
“It was 1975, he offered me to play for Wari and my debut was against a big team Abahani Krira Chakra, still I remembered, in that match I (my team) conceded only one goal and it was also at the eleventh hour, in that match I made so many saved. In next day in all daily news papers published the news with my photo. In the next year I had call in the national team.”
“Then I played in BJMC and Abahani up to 1982-83, just two or three years before  joining a job in custom department” Shuhash reveled the story of his being a footballer. 
“At that time there were so many tournaments took place across the country round the year, we played and we had opportunity to play in different leagues in different districts, as far I remember Probably I played different tournaments in all districts of the country. But now all over the country the district leagues are not being organised regularly, so where from you will get footballers.”
“The then football federation collected the footballers for the national team from the clubs and the clubs collected from different district leagues and tournaments.”
Replying to a query the former national custodian said, “What I saw in my time and still I believe that to produce footballers clubs can play the main role and federation can do one thing, they can take long time plan with Under-12, 14 and 16 players.”
“But I can tell again clubs should come forward to take the initiatives to scouting for the talented players from across the country.”
“In fact, now a days, everything has become changed, there are scarcity of passionate organisers, players are very much professional but they are very much careless about their fitness,s training and commitments.
“In our time, coaches became tired but we did not stop our practice, we did at our own responsible to keep up the fitness, in the off season we also continued our practice,” said Shuhash.
“So, to change the overall scenario, there should be a chain of work with the clubs, federation and district associations. But only federation cannot alone change the whole situation,” said Shuhash.

Ex-national goalkeeper Shuhash talks with The Independent

Players, organisers both responsible for poor football

BFF, clubs should take talent hunt programme

Football is a passion, football is one kind of obsession, if one cant contemplate the game as part of his life it is not possible for him to be good players, said Shuhash Barua, former national team goalkeeper of late 70s to early eighties. Shuhash, who played in the top level domestic football and in the national team just few years, obtained huge popularity across the country. Shuhash, began the top level in 1975 in Dhaka playing for Wari Club and the first match was against the then Abahani Krira Chakra and said good bye in 1985 season but irregular from 1982 and then concentrated to his job as custom officer. Shuhash, about the downtrend of countrys football said, It is difficult to identify any particular reason or to blame anybody is responsible for this wretched condition, as there are so many questions and so many answers. But what I think to be a football player or a football organiser should have a great enthusiasm for the game and it is one of the major pre-conditions to generate the football culture. The failures to keep up the fashion, culture and craziness of the past one of the important reasons of todays condition, gradually, day by day it has been missing. Shuhash, cited the example of his own how he became a footballer, when he narrated the story of his short time career said, Then I was mere a school student of class VII-VIII, I used to see many of our big brothers were playing football. There was regular football league at MA Aziz Stadium and in different parts of the city there were so many tournaments took place, however, at that time I also started to play. Iqbal Khan, brother of our cricketer Akran Khan and father of cricketer Tamim Iqbal called me and encouraged me to play. I began to play in the Rising Star Club in the local second division league, then in the Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club for seven years at a stretch. At that time one of our elder brothers of Chittagong was playing in Wari Club in Dhaka. It was 1975, he offered me to play for Wari and my debut was against a big team Abahani Krira Chakra, still I remembered, in that match I (my team) conceded only one goal and it was also at the eleventh hour, in that match I made so many saved. In next day in all daily news papers published the news with my photo. In the next year I had call in the national team. Then I played in BJMC and Abahani up to 1982-83, just two or three years before joining a job in custom department Shuhash reveled the story of his being a footballer. At that time there were so many tournaments took place across the country round the year, we played and we had opportunity to play in different leagues in different districts, as far I remember Probably I played different tournaments in all districts of the country. But now all over the country the district leagues are not being organised regularly, so where from you will get footballers. The then football federation collected the footballers for the national team from the clubs and the clubs collected from different district leagues and tournaments. Replying to a query the former national custodian said, What I saw in my time and still I believe that to produce footballers clubs can play the main role and federation can do one thing, they can take long time plan with Under-12, 14 and 16 players. But I can tell again clubs should come forward to take the initiatives to scouting for the talented players from across the country. In fact, now a days, everything has become changed, there are scarcity of passionate organisers, players are very much professional but they are very much careless about their fitness,s training and commitments. In our time, coaches became tired but we did not stop our practice, we did at our own responsible to keep up the fitness, in the off season we also continued our practice, said Shuhash. So, to change the overall scenario, there should be a chain of work with the clubs, federation and district associations. But only federation cannot alone change the whole situation, said Shuhash.