Somsubhra DAS
Correspondent (Calcutta)

It was November 2005. I had just finished off the Third Professional MBBS Part I Examination and was sitting back home enjoying a few days holiday. The IFA Shield was due in a few days, and FC Bayern II was the foreign flavour of the tournament. It was widely circulated in the local newspapers that the Bayern squad would be accompanied by the legendary German striker Gerd Müller, who incidentally was the assistant manager of the team. I longed for to watch this man who then held the record for maximum number of World Cup goals. In order to witness him in the team dugout, I made up my mind to go to the Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) for the second semi final between Mohammedan Sporting Club and FC Bayern II. Meanwhile my friend and neighbour, Swagatam called me on the day of the first semi asking whether I had any plans to go to the ground, as he had two free tickets. I came to know that he was working for IndianFootball.Com (I didn’t know much about it as at that time I didn’t have a net connection in my home) and that he was introduced there by Sujay, a guy whom I didn’t meet before but had heard a lot about from Swagatam. I had plans to go for the final as well, but unfortunately, no tickets were distributed for the final (later we came to know that the entry was an open-to-all affair for the final match).

However, fortune was smiling on me the other way. Sujay had flown back to Mumbai and his media accreditation card was there with Swagatam. Just an hour before the match, Swagatam called me and said that he can take me for the final, and I can have the view from press box (courtesy: Sujay’s accreditation card, which was a transferable one) provided I don’t remain idle. I had minimal idea about what he meant by not to remain idle. His reply was that I have to take down some notes about the match sitting there. Wow!!!!! I felt. Taking down match notes from live matches on television was something I had been practicing since three or four years and had to withstand derision from some so-called friends in college who by chance came across this habit of mine. Swagatam’s offer was a stupendous one for me – it gave me the opportunity to test my ability of taking match notes as I’d be doing it in the field this time, and at the same time there was a chance of providing at least one tight slap in the face of those hooligans who had been ridiculing me so far. At that point of time, I hardly had any thought of becoming a future member of Team IFC. Press box was a new experience and as the match progressed, even Swagatam was surprised to some extent by the minute-by-minute details. In the meantime, he mentioned that he had informed Arunava, the ed-in-c of IFC about me and that the latter was happy that more guys are keen towards this kind of work. On the way back, Swagatam gave me the details about IndianFootball.Com and the more I listened, the more I got interested in it. I was eager to accompany him for the upcoming matches. The next tournament on the cards was the 10th National Football League and I was up on my feet to attend the opening match between East Bengal Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club. In the report that night, Swagatam generously mentioned about my contributions in the day’s work and that I had been with him since the IFA Shield. The response from Germany was faster than I had expected. Since I didn’t own any e-mail id at that time, the acknowledgement from Arunava was there in Swagatam’s inbox. My name was already in the credits page of IndianFootball.Com and the founder was expecting more contributions from me. This was great for me, and at once I made no hesitation in assuring him.

The idea that I can also be a part of Team IFC began to play in my mind and I could feel the excitement. I started attending the Calcutta matches of NFL regularly. It was a morning in the end of January 2006; I was on my way to college when my cellphone rang. It was Swagatam on the other side, ecstatic. I exactly remember what he said – “Congratulations!!! I deserve a treat. Apni second correspondent hochen Kolkata theke (You are going to be the second IFC correspondent form Calcutta).” I almost jumped out of the auto-rickshaw in which I was traveling. My joy knew no bounds and I was thankful to everyone – to Swagatam (it was he who had taken me to the ground and made my acquaintance), to Arunava and Chris (they considered me which immediately effected in this gift), to Sujay (it was his card which I was using, and the fact he flew back to Mumbai before the scheduled date made it possible for me to attend the Shield final from press box), and of course to my madness towards the beautiful game.

My official date of joining IndianFootball.Com is February 1, 2006 but this name has been a part of my life from days before the official date. Being a correspondent not only gave me the taste of the life of a journalist, but it also provided with opportunity to get exposed to a world quite different form my first profession i.e. medical practice. Life is not easy for a budding doctor, and both Swagatam (also a medico) and I found the IFC work as a gush of fresh air in our monotonous life. Together we two (later three after Samrat joined) have covered quite a few tournaments and pre-tournament briefings, and each time I felt a new challenge of bettering the previous coverage. Many a time, fellow journalists from different houses can’t conceal their wonder about the main professions of IFC editorial team members, but the charm of this work is a task too difficult to be explained to them. There is no ‘editor’s deadline’ and none has to work under any red-eyed threats. The friendly atmosphere is the focal theme of this team. It’s a fact that since passing out as a doctor, I had been able to donate minimal time towards IFC owing to the immense pressure of duties. I do feel sometimes that I am not dedicated towards our site, but as always, the support of Arunava and Chris is always with us. The fact that I am also a football correspondent besides being a doctor has drawn mixed attentions among my known beings. While my parents and family have extended their full support and many well wishers have cheered, a lot have been surprised and even some has passed negative remarks. I just silently smile over those poor fellows who belong to the last category. This mixture of reaction is also visible within my fellows and seniors in medical line. While some bookworms regard this as useless (again a silent smile for those frogs that never come out of their wells), the others are full of acclamation and show real interest and as a result I am often at the receiving end of their queries. Football is not just a game to me, it’s a major part of my life and IndianFootball.Com has provided the momentum to enliven it. I just hope that India’s premier football site gets fruitful returns from my side.

When I joined IFC, the editorial team capacity was only six – Arunava, Chris, Abhishek, Sujay, Parameswaran and Swagatam. More than two years have passed since then and now the team has grown up to nineteen. The growth is not yet over and in the coming years IFC will always bring quality service to the football lovers. We Love To Football You.