In the late 1970s and early 80s, this man was the most sought after striker in Indian football. Now, after his playing days are over, Iranian-born Jamshed Nassiri lives another life as a football coach in Kolkata. Nasirri speaks Hindi and Bengali like any Calcuttan. The City of Joy is now his home.
On any given day, Nassiri could be spotted at the Calcutta Football Club where he imparts knowledge of football to his wards. After his stint with Mohammedan Sporting early last year, Nassiri left for Duliajan in Assam where he coached Oil India Limited. But he couldn't stay there for long. He missed Calcutta dearly. Soon he came back to his 'home'.
"I like India. I found the culture and tradition common to Iran. It was a great experience playing in front of such a massive crowd. That's the reason I preferred to stay back here."
1979. I was barely 8-year-old then. It was not the age of Harry Potter. But of course, Tintin, Phantom and Lothar and Mandrake were there. They were my favourite pastimes. And there was one thing more.
The myriad football magazines which were so popular in Calcutta during those days. It was in one of those magazines (and I still possess those magazines which could be more than 100) that I saw Jamshed Nassiri for the first time. He didn't a sport a thick moustache then but still possess the same physique. He was clicked alongwith other Iranian players, Majeed Baskar and Mehmood Khabazi.
After 16 years, I happened to interact with this Iranian at the Mohammedan Sporting club premises. At that time he took over the reins of Mohammedan as a coach for a brief while. And still today, he looks like the same Nassiri as he was during his playing days. Elegant, fit and agile. Once when I had asked him to exhibit his 'headers' which once made him the most dangerous striker inside the 18-yard-box, Nassiri did it with same impetutiosity.
Though in the initial years it was only Majeed (a member of the Iranian World Cup team in 1978) who dazzled with his brilliant ball play and charisma, Nassiri incorporated his name in Indian football as one of the most devastating striker much later.
Probably the post 1982 saw Nassiri blossom into a devastating striker. Thrice he scored the match-winner in the successive Federation Cup finals and guided Mohammedan Sporting (1983, 1984) and East Bengal (1985) to triumphs. Nasirri played for East Bengal in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1985. His second Calcutta club was Mohammedan whom he joined in 1982, and stayed till the late 80s before he retired.
Nassiri came to India as a student along with Majid and Khabazi to study in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). But life had something else in store for him. Along with Majid, Nasirri soon started playing in Kolkata for East Bengal.
"Before coming to India, I was playing for Iran juniors. So it wasn't too difficult to carry on with football in India. And moreover, during the Varsity football tournament, I and Majeed scored a lot of goals. Our performance helped AMU win the title," Nassiri recalled those halcyon days.
"During the course of the tournament, some of the East Bengal officials were present and they had noticed our performances. And since a clutch of star footballers had left East Bengal in 1979, they wanted to build a decent side. The offer came instantly. And we also decided to take a dip in football crazy Calcutta."
After his retirement, Nassiri, who is happily married with his Indian wife and two kids in his modest apartment at Park Street in Calcutta, also left an indelible impression as a coach with Mohammedan Sporting and state team Maharashtra.
"If India is to reinstate its status as Asian power once again, it needs to focus on the talented players at the grassroot level," he said. The Iranian is focused to do something for Indian football. He firmly believes that for the development of football one needs to focus at the nursery level. Hence, he devotes his time and attention on the kids 'only' in the age-group of 5, 7, 9 at the Parsee Club in the Maidan.
(In Kolkata, 2005)
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