Punjab has produced a number of illustrious defenders who have donned the national colours with distinction. The legendary Jarnail Singh Dhillon, Gurdev Singh, Gurcharan Singh Parmar, Amarjit Bhatia and Anwar Ali are some of the names that immediately come to mind.But 29-year-old Anwar Ali, who hails from Jalandhar and has 31 international caps to his name, may not have got the recognition that he earned had he not taken a gamble early in his career.Born into a middle-class family, Ali’s footballing potential landed him a full-time job with Punjab Police, for whom he turned out in various local engagements. Taking Punjab to the Santosh Trophy final against Kerala in New Delhi was a career-defining moment. He was immediately approached by then-JCT Mills coach Sukhwinder Singh who suggested that he should not remain with his employers if he wanted to fulfil his potential as a footballer.“I immediately said yes, but quitting Punjab Police was not an easy task. After quite a struggle and with the help of Joga Singh, assistant coach at Punjab Police, I resigned and joined JCT in 2006,” recollected Ali in an exclusive conversation with indiansuperleague.com.The Punjab Police coach and senior colleagues all tried their best to dissuade him from leaving. They said he would not fit into the JCT side as they were a professional outfit. There also was immense pressure from his family to continue with Punjab Police, as it was a secure government job. “It was the biggest gamble of my career, but I knew it was worth taking and that’s one of the reasons why I am here today,” said Ali.Luck also played its part in the six-foot-plus centre back’s journey to the top of his trade: “As soon as I joined JCT, I was fortunate enough to play in the 2006 Durand Cup as one of their senior players backed out due to injury. We reached the final and lost to Dempo, but it was a good tournament for me as I won the ‘most promising defender’ award.”Ali continued to play for JCT until 2009, following which he joined Dempo and tasted I-League success. He then moved to Mohun Bagan in 2010, and played for a couple of seasons with the Kolkata giants. Ali has also played for Sikkim United and Mumbai FC. At the international level, he helped India lift the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and the Nehru Cup in 2009, and also figured in the prestigious Asian Cup in Qatar in 2011.A great admirer of senior defenders Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal, Ali believes that a defender needs to have a lot of patience, good presence of mind and co-ordination with his teammates as even the smallest of errors can cost the team the match.Ali will turn out for Delhi Dynamos FC in the Hero Indian Super League. He feels that the tournament has already achieved a momentum of its own and will continue to grow day by day. “It’s really good for new players as they will get exposure at the top level. And with so much media coverage, they will be eager to forge their own identity,” he concluded.
