KOCHI: A fan of Argentine forward Lionel Messi, Antony Raju first started playing football at the age of 14 while he was a student at St Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Vizhinjam. The first tournament that he participated in was a three’s tournament that was launched by players in Vizhinjam.
“My team emerged the winner and it was the first time that I got to wear boots,” said Antony. At that time Antony used to play for his school team which was coached by Ebin Rose, the current coach of Kovalam FC.
“My friends and I used to ask our coach whether we could join Kovalam FC,” said Antony. Fast forward to the present: Antony plays for the Kovalam FC senior team and also represents the Thiruvananthapuram district team. He also captains Kovalam FC and Kerala University teams. He was part of the district team that secured third prize in the Kerala state inter-district championship held last year.
The majority of the players of the senior team are from the coastal areas of Vizhinjam. This is the first team in the state to have its own training base and stadium.
But this was not always the case. “Earlier, we used to practice in Vizhinjam, Punnakulam and the University ground. The ground in Punnakulam had only space for playing five-a-side football whereas people didn’t allow us to play on the Vizhinjam ground,” he said.
Like every other player, Antony aims to play in the Indian Super League and the I-League. “If we win the upcoming Kerala Premier League, we will get a chance to play in the I-League second division tournament,” he said.
Antony’s daily routine starts with early morning practice at St Mary’s HSS ground. After the two-hour session gets over, Antony heads back to his home in Vizhinjam where he lives with his parents and two sisters.
Later in the morning, he drives a rickshaw to make both ends meet. “Driving an auto is necessary owing to financial difficulties,’’ says Antony.