‘Team effort made us champions’

Awards and accolades are gradually becoming a norm for Eugenson Lyngdoh, the 2015 AIFF Player of the Year. The engineering dropout was handpicked by Ashley Westwood two years back and since then, it has been a fairy tale kind of a journey for him with the I-League team Bengaluru FC. Lyngdoh spoke at length about his journey so far, his club environment, his commitment for the national team and much more.

Excerpts:

On his first I-League trophy with Bengaluru FC: The euphoria is just unmatchable — it’s the premier award of the Indian football. Being a footballer you will always push your limits to win something, to achieve more. Winning the I-League with Bengaluru FC has been always the top priority and by God’s grace, we have achieved it. On the Federation Cup: It was our team effort which helped us win the Federation Cup in 2015. But every tournament starts from the scratch and we have to put more effort to get the job done. If we can follow our I-League crown with the Federation Cup trophy, it will be nothing less than the icing on the cake.

On him being the ‘Best midfielder of I-League’ for two consecutive years: Obviously I feel on top of the world having won the award for two years on the trot. But the entire credit goes to the Bengaluru FC support staff. They pulled through a humongous task to keep all of us fit. Even during my rehab they worked tirelessly to bring me back on the pitch.

Our gaffer is an outright technical bloke and he always inspires us to try something new on the pitch. It’s because of the team effort we are here. No matter what happens, we always have our dinner together. There lies the foundation of Bengaluru FC.

On his journey so far: It has been a fairytale for me — a dream come true situation. I have always fancied playing football but never got the opportunity. Finally, when it came I couldn’t afford to let the opportunity go and grabbed it with both hands. On his transfer from Rangdajied United to BFC: Being called by the champions club and donning their colour was something beyond my dream. I will always cherish that moment. The day will always be etched in my memory.

On his next goal: As my personal goal I will push myself harder to play a part in the upcoming national team fixtures so that we can qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. We all are striving to seal a berth in the AFC Asian Cup, that’s the biggest thing coming up.

On his aspirations for the next five years: I want to be a person to be looked upon so that youngsters could dare to live their dream, their passion. I would be elated if I could inspire even one of the thousands of the youngsters in our country, grinding a self-belief within them.