PANAJI
A solid stopper-back, the 25-year-old reveals to The Goan that he decided to put the offer of continuity at Neroca FC on hold as he had the bigger picture of the ISL on mind. With him becoming a talking point of an impregnable talent in the citadel on domestic circuit, his well-wishers suggested him to give it a try in the forthcoming ISL as he merited a fair opportunity.
On his chances of being part of the ISL 4, Ali says that he says whoever that may sign him from the draft, he will give his best and it need not necessarily mean it has to be a Goan outfit. He credits his mother, Dilshad Bi for being his greatest backbone. "My mother has done everything for me. She ensured that nothing goes less for us (three brothers), but less for herself. I just want to make her proud and fulfill her wishes," the stopper-back reflectively stated. "I remember at 13, when I was neglecting my studies she stopped me from playing the game once. But it was Sir Francis Raposo at Bosco's who assured her that he will see that I focus on studies besides excelling in the game. When I began going for Nationals, she started believing in me. And she reminds me wistfully, "That time I stopped you from playing now see where you are." My older brothers, Niyazuddin and Hazarat Ali have also been the pillars of my strength in my playing career," the defender added. Going down memory lane, he reveals an interesting story into his discovery for football. "I was about six years, youngest of three siblings - all brothers. My mother would drop me off first at Don Bosco School, Panjim. And before she would turn up again, I was already watching the much older children play on field. I gradually got on ground myself with my first coach Ulhas who began to teach me the nuances of the game at eight. I began playing at the school level, in Std V when I met Sir Francis Raposo and Diego Gomes. It is because of Raposo I have reached at the level I have in the game. Fr. Edwin Baracho, who was the principal, helped me in every situation - on and off the field as back then our financial situation was very bad," the 1.83 m tall footballer said.
"I was a defender at DBO at 12, while I was the goal-keeper for CSM, Taleigao at the U-14 level. But it was not working out. Opting to play only for DBO, all players had their fixed positions and so I thought let me vie for the defender's slot and cope with that defined role. And since, I have plied my trade as a stopper back," Ali reveals. In course of time, his career went progressively before moving to represent Dempo SC at the U-19 I-League) and the U-20 side which became the TACA Goa champs.
