Indian football’s father-son combo

Father-son duos are common in football but very rarely do we hear about a father and a son being teammates. Perhaps the most famous example of the same was the feat of Arnor and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Former Chelsea player Eidur came on as a substitute at the age of 17 for Iceland to replace his 35-year old father Arnor in an international friendly with Estonia in 1996.

Although not on the international stage, father Ramesh and son Dheeraj Mistry have emulated the Gudjohnsens as the duo are current members of the State Bank of India team in Mumbai District Football Association Super division league.

Ramesh is 51 now and has been part of the team for 26 years while 21-year-old Dheeraj joined them in 2012. Both are midfielders although Ramesh usually operates in a deeper role just in front of the defence.

“I was nervous to start with. But his presence and his continued guidance helped me play more freely,” said Dheeraj, who has represented Daman & Diu in the Santosh Trophy, was quoted saying by TOI. Ramesh, who has also appeared in the Santosh Trophy in the past, has no intentions of retiring just yet.