#TFGinterview: IM Vijayan on India's attacking gameplay, Balwant Singh's brace & 'Stephen ka dimaag'

FORMER INDIA CAPTAIN IM Vijayan, a legendary striker dubbed 'the Black Buck' by his admirers, is thoroughly enjoying his new role as an Official Observer for AIFF. 

Ahead of India's match against Macau, he travelled with the team and kept a keen eye on whether or not every arrangement for their practice and the matchday facilities were up to the standard.

During the match, he was at his expressive best. Unable to contain himself within the air-conditioned VVIP box, he walked out to the balcony and took the match in, pacing around in excitement.

After the match he was relieved and excited. A quick conversation with TFG found him satisfied with the result,

"I think the boys did well. The game was a bit one sided."

Just like Stephen Constantine, Vijayan found the overwhelming possession and attacking dominance that India enjoyed to be remarkable,

"In the first half we were had loads of possession. Macau weren't even getting the ball and when they got it they lost it quickly. We were playing with just one striker and Sunil Chhetri had a bit of a withdrawn role. In the second half, Stephen ka dimaag hai, the coach introduced a second striker in Balwant Singh and the boy scored two goals."

At the end, Vijayan said the takeaway was the resilience from Indian players to break down a team determined to block us by crowding the final third,

"It was good to see attacking that gameplay from us. Otherwise it was a bit of a one sided game... humlog toh khelte hi rehte hain."

Vijayan was also impressed by the performance of Balwant Singh, who scored two goals for India,

"Balwant Singh is a good player, very good in the striking zone. In the other game he came on in the second half and scored a goal. Tonight, too, he came on and scored two goals. He has an amazing scoring capacity."

So, did he think Balwant Singh had surpassed Robin Singh in the pecking order for the national team's frontline? Vijayan answered diplomatically,

"That... we can't say things like this, depends on the player's form."

The former striker who netted 40 goals for the national team is active as always, with a successful acting career in the Malayalam film industry and an increasingly active role as a football administrator under AIFF.

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