“Go kill 'em!”
These are the final words from Mohammedan's assistant coach James McAloon as I put on the famous black and white shirt. My nerves were kicking in. Childhood memories of my friends and me playing football on our neighbourhood field suddenly flash through my mind for a few seconds. It is finally about to happen.
I enter the pitch with only a few minutes left and slot into the defensive midfield position. We are 2-0 down to the eventual league title winners Bashundhara Kings at their stadium. I realise the chances of a comeback are unlikely, but I am determined to make an impression in the little time I had. In injury time, I see somebody on the right flank with the ball and space to run in front of him. I cover the grass as fast as possible and make a sliding tackle to win the ball fair and square. It was all over shortly after.
The final outcome was disappointing for the team, but I knew this was just the beginning for me. It is difficult to put into words how special a moment this was. In the stands of the Bashundhara Kings Arena were my parents, who had come to the stadium hoping to see me play. He, fortunately, stayed back and I will forever cherish the TV footage of my dad recording my performance on his phone from the stands. After the match, he told me the sliding tackle at the end reminded him of his playing days. A league debut in my early twenties pales compared to what he has achieved, but it is a near impossible task to emulate your father when your father is Kaiser Hamid.
For those not familiar with Bangladesh football, Kaiser Hamid is one of the finest players the country has ever produced. He was known for the immaculate timing of his sliding tackles – I must have gotten that from him. I wish I had some of his heading ability too. He was a commanding centre-half back in the day when football was still massive in Bangladesh. He played for Mohammedan for several years and also captained the Bangladesh national team. Mohammedan went five years unbeaten in the league when he was with them – let that sink in! Even to this day, I find this statistic unreal.
He was an icon at a time when football rivalry was at its peak and tensions ran high amongst the supporters. A lot has changed since those days, and our football journeys couldn't be more different. When I was a child, he was often occupied with work, but one thing he always did was attend all my games, be it a school match or a friendly with my friends. He would never say no, and I loved that. It sums up the support I had from him. He would never miss my games. While growing up, I used to hear so many stories about him, and it was difficult to escape football in the household. As cliched as it may sound, football was in my DNA from the outset. Yet there was no pressure from my family to take it on at a professional level.