Kerala's hero, JCT's asset

ON October 30, 2003, Indian football coach Stephen Constantine, sitting in the lounge of Hyderabad's Green Park hotel, made a profound statement concerning the composition of the national team. "I would like to have 10 Bhutias, 10 Vijayans and 10 Ancheris in my team," he thundered as the Indians prepared for the final of the Afro-Asian Games against Uzbekistan billed for the following day. The Ancheri that Constantine referred to was none else than Kerala's star international Joe Paul, who has made Punjab his home for the past two seasons.
Born on August 2, 1975, at Trichur, Kerala, Joe Paul Ancheri is today ranked among India's finest midfielders. He not only marshals the midfield intelligently but also poses a constant threat to rival defence with his power-packed shots. In the inaugural Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad, Ancheri as a member of the national team, played a key role in propelling India into the final, which unluckily tilted Uzbekistan's way through a solitary goal coming in the dying minutes.
Son of Mr AP Paul, a vegetable market accountant in Trichur, Ancheri has three elder brothers, one younger to him and one sister. Currently a key member of Punjab's premier soccer outfit JCT Phagwara, Joe Paul Ancheri made his first international appearance in 1992 in the under-19 team. In 1993, he was picked in the national side for the Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup and since then he has been continuously representing India. In 1994 and 2000 he was adjudged as India's best player by the All-India Football Federation. He has also been the captain of the Indian team thrice in the pre-Olympic tournament in 1995, SAF Games in Nepal in 1999 and in the 2000 Merdeka Cup.
Joe Paul picked up the rudiments of the game from coach Joseph Raice at Tirur while studying at St Thomas High School. Former national coach and JCT's current coach Sukhwinder Singh polished his skill further and today he is not only an asset for the midfield but also for the forward line. In fact JCT's fortunes rest with the well-built Kerala lad who had to miss the opening tie of the ongoing National Football League against Indian Bank at Chennai on December 1 due to a knee injury.
At Phagwara, where he has been allotted a decent house inside the JCT complex, Ancheri is a much-loved person. He has a good rapport with team-mate IM Vijayan as also families of some employees hailing from Kerala. "Phagwara is a nice place. I am enjoying my stay with JCT," Joe Paul said during a recent meeting. On December 9 Ancheri is expected to play a leading role in JCT's clash with East Bengal at Ludhiana in the national league.