I-League: A second chance or homecoming - Players who have returned for a second spell

Shylo Malswamtluanga (East Bengal)

Mama (No.28) Photo Credit: AIFF Media

Better known as ‘Mama’, Malswamtluanga is one of the first footballers from Mizoram to have a successful career in Indian club football. The crafty wide midfielder joined East Bengal as a teenager back in 2002 during the tenure of the legendary Subhash Bhowmick. Mama played an important role in East Bengal’s back-to-back league triumphs and the historic ASEAN Cup success in 2003. The 28-year-old spent five seasons with the red-and-gold brigade before moving to Salgaocar in 2007 but didn’t have a successful time there and joined Mohun Bagan in 2008.

Despite winning three trophies with the green-and-maroon brigade, Mama wasn’t the same player that dazzled for East Bengal. He joined United Sports Club in 2009 and it was only last season that he regained his best form and got a call-up to the national team. Mama has now returned to East Bengal after six years and recently revealed how his family got upset when he first left the red-and-gold brigade.

Note: Veteran midfielder Dipankar Roy has also returned to East Bengal for one season after which he will formally announce his retirement from professional football. In recent years, he has been a bit-part player for some Calcutta Football League (CFL) teams. East Bengal accepted his request of allowing him to retire at the club where he spent the best years of his career, in the early part of the Noughties.