Syed Abdul Rahim or the ‘architect of modern Indian football’ coached the Indian team to the semi-finals of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic football tournament. Rahim was a sports lover since childhood and possessed exceptional football skills at a very young age. Let’s know more facts about Syed Abdul Rahim.
Biography/Wiki
Born on 17 August 1909 in Hyderabad, Syed was an all-rounder. He used to participate in his school’s sports and athletic events and was also good in studies. In the mid-1920s, football ‘culture’ reached Hyderabad and inspired Rahim and attracted him to the game. After this, he went on to play for his university in the Osmania University football team. He was a graduate and started his career as a school teacher. However, he made a career out of becoming a coach and led India to glory.
Family
Syed was married and has a son – Syed Shahid Hakim who is a former Olympic football and FIFA official.
Syed Shahid Hakim
coaching career
- Syed was called Stan Cullis of India. He was among the greatest Hyderabad players from the 1920s to the 1940s, when he played for ‘Qamar Club’, one of the best teams in the local league of Hyderabad at that time.
Indian football team at the 1960 Rome Olympics
- Hyderabad Football Association came into existence in 1939 and after 3 years, in 1942, SM Hadi became the President of Hyderabad Football Association and Rahim became the Secretary and remained in the same position till his death.
- Rahim had an unconventional, innovative, yet effective style of coaching. To sharpen players’ reflexes, speed, stamina, skills and techniques, he organized football tournaments adapted for youth. Syed did not follow the traditional British style of dribbling the ball. When he became the coach of ‘Hyderabad City Police’ (HCP) or ‘City Afghans’ in 1943, he introduced the concept of passing the ball more and focused on being ambidextrous, i.e. the ability to play with both feet.
Syed Abdul Rahim – Hyderabad City Police
- In a matter of months, he transformed the HCP team into an influential local team, which came into limelight after its famous victory in the 1943 Ashes Gold Cup final in Bengaluru against the Royal Air Force, attracting England cricket and football internationals. Were. “Dennis Compton.” They also managed to challenge the well-established Bengal football teams of that time as they defeated Mohun Bagan in the final of the 1950 Durand Cup.
- In 1950, he became the coach of the Indian national football team and also managed the Hyderabad City Police team.
- After taking over as the new Indian coach, Rahim changed the outlook of the Indian team by scrapping the 1948 Olympic team. He made decisions that increased the team’s productivity and efficiency, even if it meant firing underperforming stars and promoting new talent.
- Rahim’s first major tournament as India coach was when India hosted the 1951 Asian Games. Rahim made India proud and India won the gold medal by defeating Iran 1-0 in the final.
- After India lost the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, a high-ranking AIFF official intervened and prevented Rahim from choosing a team of his choice.
Syed Abdul Rahim – Indian football team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
- HPC was successful in winning all the 12 national tournaments held in the years 1950, 1957 and 1959.
- Before 1959, Hyderabad and Andhra were seen as two independent entities of football. Since then, both the entities were merged into one entity – Andhra Pradesh Football Association, where Rahim played a key role in making this possible.
- At the 1960 Rome Olympics, India did not get a good start in the tournament; As they lost 2–1 to South Korea, India managed to bounce back with a 2–0 win over Japan in the next game. In the final group game, India defeated Thailand 4–1 and advanced to the next stage. By showing such spirit in the Olympics, India became a spectator.
Favourite Things
Syed’s favorite football team was Hungary, and favorite football players were Gustav Sebes, Robert Andrew Fruval.
Death
Syed died in India on 11 June 1963 due to cancer (age at death, 53 years). He retired as a high school principal in Hyderabad and remained associated with the game until his untimely death. He never got the credit he deserved but a trophy in the I-League and the ‘Syed Abdul Rahim Best Coach Award’ award are named after him.
fact
- Syed Abdul Rahim used to smoke.
- Under his excellent coaching, the HCP team won 5 consecutive Rovers Cups, which remains a record to this day. The team also managed to reach 5 Durand Cup finals and won 3 of them.
- In 1952, the Indian football team participated in the Olympic Games in Finland. India suffered a crushing 10-1 defeat against Yugoslavia, mainly because the Indian team played without shoes. When India returned, the AIFF announced that players would have to wear shoes while playing for India.
Indian player without boots.
- After a humiliating exit at the Olympics due to a shoe problem, Rahim took inspiration from Hungary’s attacking 4-2-4 formation and changed the state team’s formation from centre-half to a ‘W-formation’. Initially this decision was not taken very well but not everyone understood what Rahim’s motive was behind it. However, this decision paid off when India defeated its arch-rival Pakistan in the Quadrangular Tournament in Dhaka in 1952.
- In the 1954 Asian Games, India lost in the group stage. However, Rahim’s motivation and belief in his team paid off and as a result, India surprised everyone as they defeated hosts Australia in the quarters and managed to finish fourth in the competition.
- In the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Indian team was placed in the death group along with Hungary, France and Peru. They lost to both Hungary and Peru 2–1 and 3–1 respectively, but managed to draw 1–1 with France.
- The achievement of winning gold in the 1962 Asian Games was no less than a rose for the Indian team. To add to the difficulty, most of the Indian athletes had to come back to India due to various global political reasons. The Indian players had lost hope but Rahim took up his role as coach and took the team to the streets of Jakarta and said, “Tomorrow I want a gift from you guys…tomorrow you win the gold,” which means, “I want a gift from you tomorrow…a gold medal.” Such strong words completely changed the team’s approach and the Indian team surprised the South Korean team in the final by playing the injured Jarnail Singh as a striker, who used to play as a centre-forward during his college days. Were. Rahim’s risk paid off when Jarnail scored to put India 2-0 ahead before half-time. The Indian defense was strong and South Korea scored only one goal in the second half. Thus, India created history by winning the Asian Games gold medal 2-1, which was the pinnacle of Indian football.
- India’s indomitable spirit at the 1960 Rome Olympics astonished everyone and they soon became one of the favorites to win gold at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. India did not get a good start in the tournament; As they lost 2–1 to South Korea, India managed to bounce back with a 2–0 win over Japan in the next game. In the final group game, India defeated Thailand 4–1 and advanced to the next stage.
- Thanks to his coaching, the years 1945 to 1965 are considered the “Golden Age of Hyderabad Football” and the years 1951 and 1962 are considered the “Golden Age of Indian Football”.
- Ajay Devgan is set to play the role of Syed Abdul Rahim in the sports biopic, to be produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by ad film director Amit Sharma.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn