Anil Gurung- A Humble Footballer

Anil Gurung needs no introduction in Nepal. A quality player who served the National team with distinction for more than a decade. Born into a humble family Anil’s story of grit and determination is an inspiration to any young footballer. A few years back he announced his retirement from the national team and was given a fitting farewell by the All Nepal Football Association. It might not be wrong to say he is one of the Legends of Nepali Football along with players like Late Mani Shah, Hari Khadka, Ganesh Thapa, and Raju Sakya to name a few. I am sure he will continue to play at the club level for some more years before he hangs up his boots. 

I had seen Anil Gurung for the very first time in 2007 during the All India Governor’s Gold Cup in Gangtok. He was with New Road Team during that time and in one of the matches just as I was entering the stadium, A long pass was played to him from the left flank, he had run towards the edge of the penalty box, controlled the ball with his right foot made a quick turn and unleashed a stinging shot with his left foot which the goalkeeper somehow managed to save. I had stopped walking by then and I thought this boy is special. The rest of the match my eyes were fixed on him and by the final whistle, I had become his fan.  I started to think this boy can easily play in India and I really wanted to help him get a deal with one of the top clubs here but during those days I was just a student and did not know any of the club officials, so for the next few years, I could not execute my plan. In Nepal, Anil was making his name heard all across the country.  

I joined Zee Sports in 2009, and we got a project to make a package on North East Football scene. So I along with senior cameraperson, Debasis Batabyal traveled to Shillong, Imphal, and Aizawl along with my hometown during those days, Gangtok. In Shillong we covered Shillong Lajong FC, back then they were just bursting into the Indian football scene. Larsing Ming, the owner of the club granted us an interview and we spent a lot of time talking about football in general even after his interview was over. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch. 

In the next year or so Lajong was promoted to play in the I-League and I got a call from Larsing Ming, He told me that he is coming to Kolkata in the next few days and he has something important to discuss with me, I asked him what was it and said that he wanted to make a strong team for the I-league and he wanted my feedback on what kind of players he should sign. This got me excited and I started thinking about Anil Gurung. Next, I was sitting at the coffee shop of Park Hotel with Lansing Ming along with one of his club officials.  I gave him the list of names I had prepared and at last, I asked him about the Asian Quota player. He told me he has not thought about any, and this was my chance to let him know about Anil Gurung. I was a bit hesitant as well because Nepal was lower ranked than India and not much was known about Nepali football in India but finally I did put forward Anil’s name and they asked me some questions. Then Ming said, “Saurabh tell me how good is he?”. I did not know how to answer that. Then he said is he as good as Sunil Chhetri? To which I replied Yes. Now Sunil Chhetri has reached another level.  

Negotiations continued for the next week or so. Ming shared his apprehensions with me and he had a valid point as it was a big risk to sign a player from Nepal on Asian quota. Japan and Middle East nations were better options. So I told him instead of directly signing Anil, he can call him for trails. Ming agreed to do that but there I was faced with another problem. One was Anil was a regular in Nepal national team will he agree to come for trails and two was I did not have his contact details.  Somehow I got hold of his number and called him. He had just returned to Nepal after training with Chelsea Football Club in England and had joined Three Star Club. I also talked with his Uncle, Sudhashan Ranjit, and Three Star Club, President Late Lalit Krishna Shrestha. Lalit Shrestha did not like it as I was trying to take away his best player but later he understood that it was a big opportunity for Anil and this might open doors for other players from Nepal as well. 

So finally everything was set and Anil along with Bikram Thapa his agent in Nepal arrived in Shillong. Anil was put through the trails for nearly 2 weeks and was signed. This made big news in Nepal with every major newspaper and channel carrying his story. I also got some calls from the Nepali Journalist. This was after many years a footballer from Nepal had signed for an Indian Club. If I remember correctly before Anil, Hari Khadka and Upendra Mansingh had played in India. Another news point was that Anil had signed a 3 years contract with the financials being close to Rs 20 lakhs which had made him the highest-earning athlete across all sports in Nepal.  

Anil started playing in the I-league and scored some goals as well, Lajong reached the semi-finals of the Federation Cup losing to East Bengal on penalties where Anil missed a shot. In between, he was called for the National team duty in Bangladesh and he had traveled through Kolkata where he spent a night at my place. Back then he was a very naive and humble person. Humbleness remains with him till today. What I found funny was that he had carried a lot of cash with him and when I asked him about it he told me that he is yet to open a bank account in India.  

Now, Anil has become a legend and is considered one of the best players to have played for Nepal, but whenever I send him a message he replies and always asks me how I am doing. We have not met face to face for a very long time, but I do watch his interviews in Youtube, and just a few years back he had appeared in It's my Show which is a top-rated talk show hosted by Suraj Singh Thakuri. During that interview, I saw how mature he had become. It's a wonderful memory for me to have come across a wonderful player and person like Anil Gurung. I hope he will keep serving the game of football in Nepal and inspire the future generation of footballers from there. I have always believed that Nepal is rich in football talent but is yet to make the most of it. If people like Anil Gurung and others get involved, I am sure Nepali football will blossom in the coming future.