“Pakar, Pakar, Pakar” (Catch him, Catch him, Catch him) used to be the shouts when Mohammad Habib would run at his opponent's goal like a bullet back in the 1970's and 1980's. The same came true again Tuesday night when a gathering tried to nail him down to say a few words but the “Silent Assassin” made good his escape saying only: “I am just like you. I was surprised to hear all the good things you had to say about me.” The felicitation ceremony arranged in honor of “the Indian Pele” by Hyderabad Football Association, Jeddah, and Hyderabad Young Men's Association though heard a number of interesting incidents and stats from people who know and love Habib. He was in the Kingdom to perform Umrah. All the speakers praised the former Olympian footballer for his hard work and dedication. They acknowledged the fact that Habib and his brothers have all dedicated their lives to Indian soccer. A few speakers also pressed him to show the same spirit again to help lift the game in India since he holds an observer's post with the Sports Ministry of India. The president of Hyderabad Football Association, Jeddah, Sarwar Aziz, spoke of the joy of “having the privilege” of playing alongside Habib. He also recounted the memories of the 1977 Cosmos-Mohun Bagan encounter in Kolkata which pitted Habib against the Brazilian great Pele. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with Habib scoring one of the goals for the host team. He noted that Habib played for Kolkata teams for around 18 years. “Believe me you had to be good to play for the teams Habib Sahib played for in those days. And you had to be very good to play with them for such a long time,” he stressed. Syed Ather Hussain Zaidi, an architect by profession and a die-hard Habib fan who met the Indian international footballer for the first time at the gathering, had a bagfull of stories to recount. Zaidi, who brought his children to the ceremony as well, had all of Habib's goals on his finger tips. He recollected Habib's mastery on the field with the fervor today's young Indians could only show while talking about cricketers. Dr. Abdullah Moopan, founding president of Saudi-Indian Football Federation (SIFF), said it is hard to imagine a person so humble as Habib to be a flash that he was on the football field. He lamented the fact that Indian soccer has lost its base in south India since many important tournaments have simply vanished. L. Ramnarayan Iyer of Arab News had vivid memories of the only season he witnessed Habib in action with Tata team in Mumbai. He recalled the energy Habib brought to the field. He recalled: “Sitting in the stand when you heard the shouts of ‘Pakar, Pakar, Pakar' (catch him) you knew the ball was with Habib. The same shouts would arise with the fans egging the goalkeeper to catch the unerring shot unleashed by Habib.” Talking about Habib's popularity in his hey day Ramnarayan recalled the incident when Habib planned to move to Mohun Bagan from East Bengal but the East Bengal supporters whisked him away from the signing ceremony to Kerala. Habib emerged only a week later after promising to stay with East Bengal. SIFF president T.P. Ahmed, acknowledging that he did not know much about the Indian great, said he had imagined Habib to be a huge man but was surprised to see his diminutive figure. Himself a small man from South India, Ahmed said that size does matter in today's soccer and urged the Hyderabadi youngsters to take up soccer back home and in Jeddah through SIFF to help revive the sport. Earlier, Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, founder general-secretary of Hyderabad Young Men's Association, welcomed the guests and thanked the sponsors – Air Wings, Jeddah; Aero-Wings, Hyderabad; J.C. Cargo, Jeddah; and Shadab Restaurant – for their help in arranging the function at such a short notice. __
