Abu Dhabi: Two weeks into the Indian Super League (ISL) and Sachin Tendulkar co-owned Kerala Blasters’ marquee player-manager David James will be feeling the heat.
Last Tuesday, they suffered their second successive defeat, this time to Chennaiyan FC 2-1, and are currently languishing at the bottom of the table. It is clear that the 44-year-old former England custodian — the oldest player to be involved in the inaugural ISL season — has his task cut out for him in the coming days. Nevertheless, James is up for the challenge and feels he can get his team’s campaign back on track.
“We lost the first two games unfortunately and you can say I learnt now how to lose as a football manager. Not that to lose is something I wouldn’t like to do. Now we have to try and win, no matter who our opponent is and that’s what I have to make sure as a manager and player,” James said in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.
They say goalkeepers tend to play longer and James’ presence has assured the Kerala Blasters of a seasoned resource and the veteran has been, so far, brilliant under the bar. Though in a lost cause, James has displayed some of his trademark acrobatic saves, which he attributes to his hunger for the game.
“I just love the game and this format allows me to keep going. Probably if it was a six-month season, I would have not been able to do it,” says the English goalkeeper with over 24 years of experience having started his senior career at Watford back in 1989.
Was it a spontaneous ‘yes’ when this concept came up? “My head said yes straight away. I felt that it was an opportunity to learn at so many different levels. I had to make sacrifices with regards to leaving my family [and] television work behind and also coaching in England,” said James, who in May this year, declared himself officially bankrupt.
“I had never been to India and I had to do some homework and see if ISL will kick off or no. This concept was being planned for some years now and every time, it would fall out,” added James, whose decision to come to India materialised after he met Tendulkar in London.
“I wanted to know his [Tendulkar’s] plans and his dreams for Kerala Blasters. He was one of the owners, so it was important that this meeting occurred. I went on the internet to look for Indian players and [learn] about them. However, most of it was historic stuff and so that was challenging but once I got out here things have been very good.”
Like James’ first assignment in India, this sporting venture is also the first one for Tendulkar after he hung up his boots and who better than James to provide an insight on how the ‘Master Blaster’ was going about his business in football.
“Sachin very well knows his football,” said James, who has the distinction of having played more than a 1,000 games in all competitions with more to come with this ISL.
“Work with Tendulkar has been easy because he is 100 per cent dedicated and committed. I mean, his physical presence may not be 100 per cent, but he knows what is going around.
“Whenever he has visited us, I have found that he knows everything; who is training, who is not. Being a sportsman himself he understands the task at hand. He also aware of the format which we are playing and there is so much energy between him and the ISL.”
Like a lot of people, James feels that ISL can make the impact that the whole of India and the world is looking forward to — a complete revival of Indian football, making them a force in this sport.
Seeing improvement
“For sure, it will. If you play entertaining football then it becomes a good watch. The fact that the Indian players are doing well, I would say we have got a good product so far. The young players coming from the grass root system will be inclined to perform better and will try to catch the eye of the ISL franchisees.
“The opportunity of playing with the stars they have watched would have definitely surprised them. So far, the level of football is higher and better. I have already seen improvement in players. We have got 1.2 billion people in India and so there is massive potential to have a strong Indian team at the world stage,” said James, who is also overwhelmed by the diversity of the country.
“I have been amazed with what I have seen so far. I have enjoyed the food and I do love the spice but as a sportsman I have to take care of my body, so I have to stick to the boiled food.
“What has thrilled me is the diversity here. Kerala has a lot of greenery, going to Mumbai which is crowded, North East has a lot of agriculture and mining and then Kolkata, I think has more buildings than in Dubai. Even the people are so different from the Indians that I have encountered in England.
“Our team has players from different states. Of course, garbage disposal is an issue in India and Tendulkar is a part of a clean-up initiative. So India has definitely amazed me and I’m looking to explore more,” said James, who took a similar role of player-manager at Icelandic side IBV Vestmannaejar in 2013 before taking up a coaching position with Luton Town, his boyhood club.
