Indian Football team : Interview with Anwar Ali : Defender

In India, very few footballers have become household names. We hope that by getting a quick peek inside some players for Indian Football team, we shall be able to make them a little bit more accessible to fans across India . We start this series by speaking to Anwar Ali, who plays for Dempo and Team India .

Anwar Ali
Date of Birth	24th Sep 1984
Place of Birth	Rurka kalan – jalandhar [ Punjab ]
Height & Weight	6’2 [186 cm]87 kg
Playing Position	Defender (for Dempo & India)

Harmit : When did you start playing football

Anwar : I started playing football in 1999.

Harmit : Where did you play football as a youngster (Any academy etc.)

Anwar : I joined Youth Football Club, Rurka Kalan Academy (www.yfcrurkakalan.org) ,where I first started with football

Harmit :.Clubs played for so far

Anwar : I first joined Punjab Police in 2004.thn I played for JCT Phagwara 2006 onwards. I have recently joined Dempo SC in 2009.

Harmit :.People, Sports persons & Teams that you admire a lot or are fans of

Anwar : I m a huge fan of Steven Gerrard and Liverpool .

Harmit :.Favorite Food

Anwar : North Indian

Harmit : Favorite music

Anwar : I like all kind of music specially Punjabi tracks.

Harmit : Some of your happiest moments

Anwar : The two most happiest moment that I have faced are, when we won the AFC cup in 2008 n the Nehru cup in 2009.

Harmit : Some of your sad moments

Anwar : I was very disappointed when I had to miss the world cup qualifier against Lebonan due to neck injury in 2007. I also was very disheartened when we lost against Maldives in the SAFF cup final in 2008.

Harmit : Favorite sport other than football

Anwar : Tennis.

Harmit :.What do you like to do for fun?

Anwar : I like to go partying with my friends.

Harmit : Your best friends on the Dempo team

Anwar : I am closest to in the Samir Naik in Dempo sc.

Harmit : Your best friends on the national team

Anwar : My best friend in National team is Rakesh Masih.

Harmit : Your footballing ambition

Anwar : I want to contribute for the national team as long as possible.

Harmit :.Any superstitions before or during a game

Anwar : No.

Harmit : Your favorite place where you like to play (stadium or city)

Anwar : Ambedkar stadium in Delhi .

Harmit :.Who do you confide it and seek guidance from when it comes to football?

Anwar : When it comes to football, I seek guidance from Gurmangal Das[President of YFC, Rurka Kalan, Football Academy] and Sunil Chettri

Harmit : Who do you credit for the most for being what you are today?

Anwar : I would not be who I m today without the support of my family. I would also like to thank Mr Bob Houghton for showing his confidence in me.

Harmit :What did you think is your strength as a player?

Anwar : Self-confidence, ability to work hard, and ability to change my weakness into strength.

Harmit :What would you say is your weakness as a player?

Anwar : For a player it is very important to adjust in all climatic conditions, I would say, my weakness is heat, I am not able to give my best performance in very hot weather condition.

Harmit :.If you were not a footballer, what would you have been?

Anwar : I don’t know

Harmit : The best coaches that you have played under so far?

Anwar : Mr Bob Houghton, Mr Sukhwinder Singh and Mr Armando Colaco.

Harmit : Many thanks for sparing the time for us.