Bygone era: Hyderabad’s football had shone like a beacon and HCP was the torchbearer

In which sport has Hyderabad produced the best players? Some would say badminton. Because in badminton, many top players have emerged from Hyderabad. Some others would say cricket. In cricket too, there have been famous players from the city. But the sport in which Hyderabad has done exceedingly well above all others is football.

In football, Hyderabad has produced six captains of India, nine national coaches who coached the Indian team, 14 Olympians (some of them being double Olympians), 21 senior international players plus numerous junior internationals and three accredited international referees, who served on the FIFA world panel.

It is a stupendous achievement by any standards. After Kolkata, which was once considered the Mecca of Indian football, it was Hyderabad which was the dominant force in the game several decades ago.

Creation of Hyderabad City Police

In the year 1939, a team was founded in Hyderabad that rocked the national football scene. That team was the Hyderabad City Police (HCP), also known as the City Afghans. Dressed in their yellow and black jerseys, they created a tsunami which swept aside all opposition throughout India.

Hyderabad Police football team, which annexed the Rovers Cup at Bombay for the fifth year in succession on November 3, 1954 by beating the Keaman Union, Karachi, 2-1. Standing: Latif, Noor, Moin, Patrick, Doraiswami and Jamal. Kneeling: Mahmood, Laiq, Nabi, Aziz and Sussay. Pic: The Hindu 

HCP chalked up a series of astounding achievements before India became independent. It was the first club outside Kolkata to capture the entire nation’s imagination. Almost on a daily basis, the newspapers carried screaming headlines about the team’s achievements.

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In 1941, the policemen reached the final of the esteemed Stafford Cup in Bangalore but lost to the illustrious Bangalore Muslims to finish runner-up. But that was just the beginning for HCP. Its first major success came in 1943 when the team won the Ashe Gold Cup. This was followed by a victory in the prestigious Durand Cup, one of the oldest football tournaments in the world. In the final, it defeated the star-studded Mohun Bagan of Kolkata.

British Raj ended but HCP rule continued 

HCP’s success continued after independence. It won a total of four Durand Cups, including one after the team was renamed Andhra Pradesh Police. The team won the Rovers Cup in Bombay five times in a row from 1950 to 1954. Those were the days when the police team chased down and captured every title they sought.

Fans of Hyderabad football were to be found even in Bollywood. Thespian Dilip Kumar was a keen follower of Hyderabadi players as was music director R D Burman. In the 1970s, whenever Hyderabad’s footballers played at the Cooperage ground in Bombay (now Mumbai), these Bollywood celebrities would definitely turn up to watch. Seats were always kept reserved for them. Dilip Kumar used to say that Hyderabad’s footballers had a unique and pleasing style in their game. 

Talent scouts from Kolkata hunted in Hyderabad

For many years talent scouts from the big clubs of Kolkata (then called Calcutta) made a beeline to Hyderabad to select talented local players and induct them into the big teams like Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. As a result, the budding young footballers of those days found a stable platform, and they could earn a comfortable livelihood through sport.

But how did this football revolution begin? It began quietly and without fanfare. It was the British army units stationed in Secunderabad Cantonment which introduced football to the youth of the twin cities in the early 1900s. Later, the then principal of Nizam college, an Englishman named Kenneth Burnett, began conducting football matches between college and school teams. The first teams to be formed were from Nizam College, All Saints’ High school, St George’s Grammar school, Asafia High school and Darul-Uloom High School.

Formation of Hyd Football Association was a big step

In 1939, the Hyderabad Football Association was formed. One of the presidents of the HFA had a huge influence on the development of the game. That was Shiv Kumar Lal, a top ranked police officer who devoted himself to promoting football. The Goshamahal Stadium became a hub of football activity and with Shiv Kumar Lal’s support, the Hyderabad City Police team began its unstoppable rise to the top. With the legendary S A Rahim to coach the players, the police team became unbeatable.

Shiv Kumar Lal, a top ranked police officer, devoted himself to promoting football in the twin cities. Pic: The Hindu

In 1948 when the first Indian team to take part in the Olympic Games was sent to London, two Hyderabad players were named in the side. They were Norbert Andrew Fruvall, a police officer from Hyderabad and K P Dhanraj from Secunderabad. Sadly, Fruvall could not go since he could not manage to collect funds. Back then the players had to meet their own expenses.

However, Dhanraj managed to find sponsors, and he went with the first-ever Indian team to the Olympics. Incidentally, Norbert Fruvall’s son Conrad Fruvall became a good cricket player and represented the Indian schoolboys team.

Novy Kapadia mentioned Hyderabad’s exponential growth

In a book titled “From Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football”, the eminent football writer, the late Novy Kapadia, has written that in the 1950s, there were 75 football clubs, nearly 2000 registered players and more than 40 qualified referees operating in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

SA Raheem

Talent blossomed rapidly as every nook and corner of the twin cities produced excellent players. At the 1956 Olympic Games, the Indian team included eight players plus the coach S A Rahim – all from Hyderabad. At the next Olympics, there were seven players plus the coach from Hyderabad. This was the golden phase of Hyderabad football and rarely did any city dominate the sport like Hyderabad did during this period.

Legendary names represented the police team

At different periods of India’s football history, Hyderabad City Police was represented by some of the most legendary names of the country. They included S K Azizuddin, Noor Mohammed, Anthony Patrick, Yousuf Khan, S S Hakim, S A Salam, Zulfiqaruddin, Moin, Lateef, Laiq and H H. Hameed among others.

Notable players emerged from Secunderabad cantonment 

But it was not just the police team which took Hyderabad football to the top. From Secunderabad Cantonment emerged internationals like K P Dhanraj, D Kannan, Tulasidas Balaram, Peter Thangaraj, Janikaram, Kanakidas, Kamala Kannan (junior India), John Victor and his brother Victor Amalraj and others shone in their careers and popularised football culture in Secunderabad.

Diamonds in the Rough: Secunderabad Cantonment’s Sporting Goldmine

Similarly in Hyderabad, even outside the HCP team, a wonderful football ambience developed as good players came into the limelight from different corners of the city. They included Syed Nayeemuddin, the two brothers Md Habib and Md Akbar, Shabbir Ali, Md Farid and many others.

Syed Nayeemuddin

But sadly, all good things come to an end sometime. So, it was with Hyderabad football. After several years, the City Police team faded away, and the glory of Hyderabad football declined. The sun ceased to shine on the football fields of Hyderabad and the pomp and power waned.

Last of the footballing conquerors

Now only a handful are there who belong to the last line of footballing conquerors. They include S Nayeemuddin, Mohammed Habib (who passed away a couple of years ago), his brother Mohammed Akbar, Shabbir Ali, Victor Amalraj and Mohammed Farid.

Syed Nayeemuddin, better known as Nayeem, had led the Indian team to a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games and other noteworthy triumphs. Later he also served as the coach of the Indian national team and several clubs. He is the only sportsperson to win both the Arjuna award as a player and the Dronacharya award as a coach.

Shabbir Ali also captained India and still holds the record for scoring the fastest hat-trick for the country

Shabbir Ali also captained India and still holds the record for scoring the fastest hat-trick for the country. Under his captaincy India finished joint winner (with Iran) of the Asian Youth championship in 1974. He led India’s best teams to memorable wins and then coached the leading clubs of India such as Mohammedan Sporting, Salgaocar and Churchill Brothers FC. He also was the Technical Director when India won the gold medal in the SAF Games in1995. For his services, he was given the Dhyan Chand award in 2011.

Shabbir Ali: The Sniper Who Never Missed — Still Hitting Life’s Biggest Targets At 70

Victor Amalraj, younger brother of John Victor, led Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and India in the course of his illustrious career. Amalraj was one of the finest footballers of Asia. He was a midfield general who marshalled the defenders as well as the attackers of the team.

Interestingly, not many football fans know that Victor Amalraj was also deeply involved with Hyderabad Cricket Association

Laxman said Amalraj was India’s most gifted midfielder

Cricket legend V V S Laxman has described Amalraj as India’s most gifted midfielder. Interestingly, not many football fans know that Amalraj was deeply involved with Hyderabad Cricket. He was elected Executive Committee member of the Hyderabad Cricket Association and also served as manager of the Hyderabad Junior teams in 2007-8 and 2008-09. He managed the Ranji squad during 2014-14.

When these talented players were exhibiting their breathtaking skills on the field, Hyderabad ruled the roost. Now that they have retired, Hyderabad’s golden sheen has faded. Football fans have only memories of those heady days when Hyderabad’s football shone like a beacon and showed the rest of India the path that should be followed.