আমি ক্রিকেট খেললেও আমার প্রিয় খেলা ফুটবল: সৌরভ | Oneindia Bengali
আমি ক্রিকেট খেললেও আমার প্রিয় খেলা ফুটবল: সৌরভ
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Transcript
00:00 This is my first visit to Madrid and I must say to Mr. Tevez that although I've played
00:06 cricket all my life, captained India for so many matches, but football still remains one
00:11 of my most favorite sport, favorite sport.
00:14 And growing up in a city where from a young age I've only seen football.
00:19 You know, cricket came in later probably because when I played for India the interest of the
00:23 game in that part of the world grew a lot more.
00:26 But as a young boy growing up, it was absolutely football in that part of the world.
00:31 And you have three very, very big clubs who carry enormous legacy, who carry enormous
00:35 fan following and clubs who require enormous amount of support from the infrastructure
00:41 and the quality of football which you play in this part of the world.
00:46 My reason, one of my most important reason along being invited by one of my favorite
00:51 persons, Mamata Didi, is to see your both stadiums, the Real Madrid and the Atletico
00:56 Madrid stadium.
00:57 You know, we've had a small association for three years with Atletico, with Montbagan
01:00 when ISL came in for the first year.
01:04 My dear friend, he's very younger to me, he's here.
01:08 Mr. Goenka, he's here with us.
01:10 We together got Atletico Madrid to Kolkata and I could see the frenzy, what that association
01:15 created and most importantly, where it took the standard of football to our part of the
01:21 world.
01:22 It's a country with enormous talent.
01:23 It's a country once you go there and San was in India for a long period of time.
01:28 It's a country when you go and when you actually see the young kids kick a football because
01:31 it's a very simple sport.
01:33 All you need is a football and I keep saying everyone, to everyone that we talk about infrastructure,
01:38 we talk about money, we talk about whatever it is but all you need in this sport is a
01:44 football and enormous amount of skill for young players to deliver.
01:48 You know, you've had Messi coming to this part of the world at the age of eight, nine
01:52 or ten and teams like Barcelona who actually helped him to become who he is.
01:58 As I landed on the airport the other day and I asked my driver that how do I go, how do
02:03 I get to see the real Madrid football club and he came with a whole lot of names who
02:06 are his favourites.
02:07 Sergio Ramos, Iniesta, I know Iniesta played for a club differently, Pique.
02:14 So this country has a huge, huge heritage of football.
02:19 You've seen when you won the, when you were the runners-up of the under-17s a few years
02:23 ago in Calcutta.
02:25 I know you lost to England that night but you must have been excited to see 60,000 people
02:29 watching an under-17 football match in that part of the world.
02:33 So it's, as they say, it's a volcano which needs to be looked after and which needs to
02:38 be harnessed and to make sure that this talent achieves the heights and the promise which
02:43 they always do.
02:46 You know, football fascinates all of us.
02:47 You ask every member sitting in this room, along with cricket which is more of a religion
02:52 in this country.
02:53 This sport fascinates a lot of people.
02:56 I've actually watched Atletico Madrid play here many a number of times and seen the frenzy,
03:01 the UFA Cup final, the Champions League final, the El Clasico.
03:05 It's just on a different level.
03:07 Thank you so much for inviting all of us to this wonderful city.
03:11 Thank you, Mamta Didi, for inviting me to this special location, for taking care of
03:15 all of us, personally me, and it's been fantastic.
03:18 Hope Spanish football makes a mark in our city of Kolkata because I know once you get
03:25 into the city of Kolkata, you'll get every possible facility, not just from the government
03:29 but from every young boy and a football fan in that city to make football a very popular
03:35 game in that part of the world.