Growing up in Manipur, I grew interested in football as a child. My father, who was a football player and runs a football association in my hometown Sekmai, always took me along to watch matches. I started liking the game and eventually ended up playing it.
In 1989, I was selected for a training-cum-trial camp by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Following that, I played in the under-12 national tournament representing Manipur and we reached the final against Bengal, which was held in Kolkata. After that tournament, Tata Football Association (TFA) selected me; I was then 11 years old.
My World Cup memories go back to 1986 when my father took me to others’ places as we did not have a television at home. In 1990, I watched the World Cup at TFA with other players.
Since the beginning, I have supported England. I liked them from the days of their coach Bobby Robson. Though I know that they have least chance to win or even make a mark in the tournament, I support them from my heart. I like their style of playing. This year too I am supporting England but looking at their team, I hope they will play better this time.
Every World Cup has its own set of memories for me. In the earlier days I liked Romário (Romário de Souza Faria). The one match I remember clearly is the 2010 quarter final match between Germany and Argentina. Germany won the match 4-0. That was a devastating moment for Argentina. But in 2014 they reached the finals. While Brazil also had a disastrous tournament in 2014, this time I hope they bounce back.
It is hard to pick out any particular memory. Every World Cup is memorable for me.
This year I will miss Italy. It is one team that always plays well and I look forward to their matches but this year they failed to qualify. Although I will miss them playing on the field, I hope to watch a few matches that compensates their absence.
Mohamed Salah of Egypt is my favourite player. I do like Lionel Messi but when it comes to being good human being and contributing to the nation you come from, I feel that Salah has much more to offer than any other player these days. I also like Iniesta (Andrés Iniesta Luján), his style of playing.
I think Spain has a good chance of winning this year, apart from Brazil and Germany.
