Avittappally brothers bond over the beautiful game

KOTTAYAM: The five brothers of Avittappally family at Changanassery near here are the custodians of a great football legacy. Born in this small town, the brothers had made their mark as goalkeepers at the national level during the '60s and '70s. Popular names in the football-crazy lands of Goa and Kolkata, four of them had played for various teams in the Santosh Trophy.Three of them had donned India colours and one represented the India Junior team.
All of them, leading a retired life, are now planning a get-together during the World Cup. The eldest of them died in an accident last year while one is in Mumbai. The other three are settled in Changanassery.
It was the late Soman Nair, who inspired his younger siblings Vijaya Kumar, Babu Nair, Sashi Kumar and Vinay Kumar to take up goalkeeping.
Soman was the fourth of the 14 children of Narayana Pillai, who owned a textile shop in Perunna, and Amminikutty Amma. Soman had played football at NSS Model High School and later on at NSS Hindu College.
"He had a daring attitude, with great acrobatic skills," remembered Vijaya Kumar, who is currently settled in Perunna.
Soman went on to play for local club Lucky Stars and later joined the Indian Navy, where he made it to the Services team as the second goalkeeper to the great Peter Thangaraj. He later switched over to Caltex and then to Mafatlal. He helped the Mumbai club to a series of victories, including the Rovers Cup and Harwood Challenge. He had also represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy for four years. In 1969, he donned India colours against the visiting Russians. After retirement, he became the manager of the Mafatlal team. However, his life was cut short by an accident last year in Mumbai.
Vijaya Kumar, the next one to Soman, had represented UP and was also the keeper of the Indian Youth team for the Asian Championship in Kuala Lumpur. For Kerala, he kept the goals for three successive Nationals from 1964. Vijaya, who was also the goalkeeper of Goan clubs Vasco and Sesa, later joined the then star club of Kerala Alind. He had a premature end to his career after a serious head injury he suffered during a game with the star club from Jalandhar 'Leaders' in the Bandodkar Trophy in 1971.
Both the brothers had competed against each other on the ground several times. Vijaya remembers the 1966 Durand Cup quarterfinal when Alind and Mafatlal clashed in the crucial tie. "My elder brother was at the other goalmouth. Finally, they won the match by a solitary goal," he said. The brothers had represented two different teams — Kerala and Maharashtra — in the Santosh Trophy held in Kollam in the same year.
The third one, Babu Nair, was the goalkeeper of the state team that won the Santosh Trophy in 1973. He had also played for the Services and represented India against Bangladesh in Mumbai in 1972. At present, Babu is staying next to Vijaya's house in Perunna. Though the fourth brother, Sashi Kumar, played only at the university and club level, the fifth one — Vinay Kumar — represented the Kerala Junior team and was a member of the team that shared Dr B C Roy Trophy along with Orissa in the Junior Nationals at Cuttack in 1969. He then went on to play for Tata Sports Club. He also represented the Maharashtra state team and was also the captain of the Maharashtra junior team.
Vinay mainly attributes their success to facilities available at the school and college they studied. "The grounds were at a walking distance from our home. We found time to play there while going to the templeEven our parents did not know that we used to play there," he said. Vijaya, Babu and Sashi are anxiously waiting for the World Cup matches to begin while they expect their brother Vinay, who is settled in Mumbai, to join them any time.