More than a tale of redemption

NEW DELHI, August 17: Two and a half years might not be a long time, but for Subrato Pal these last 18 months have been much more than just a tale of redemption.
Since that fateful Sunday of December 5, 2004, when Dempo SC's Brazilian striker Cristiano Junior died during the Goan club's Federation Cup final against the Kolkatan outfit Mohun Bagan, 22-year-old Pal seems to have lived a whole life."I have changed," Pal says. Sometimes life just doesn't give you other options.
"Everything hurt after that - when people thought I had killed a person, when I had to sit out 10 NFL matches, everything," recollects the mellow-voiced Bengali hailing from Sodhpur village near Kolkata, who can't even remember whether he had ever got into a street fight and wonders how he got into something as big as death.
But then such has been Pal's belief in God throughout and the optimism that he derives from it, he thinks that even the incident, however horrifying, made a positive impact on him as a player. "I haven't studied beyond high school. I couldn't have become a doctor or an engineer. I just had football with me," says Pal, telling one how his love for the sport that started in the maidans like any other Bengali kid reached another level when his mother gave him soccer boots, jersey and shorts on Durga Puja when he was 10.
"I had always worked hard, and after that tragedy I had all the more reasons to work harder because my family had supported my dream despite all the paucities," Pal says, determination shining in his eyes. "My then coach Debashish Mukherjee helped me to emerge stronger from that turmoil - motivating me and giving me lessons I still abide by," says the Gianluigi Buffon and Oliver Kahn follower. "I now know how to talk to people, control my emotions and just concentrate on my game."
As they say, hard work always pays off. Pal, after keeping the nets for the U-19 team and the India U-23 national squad in the pre-Olympic qualifiers earlier this year, got into the senior camp for two years. That has finally helped him win coach Bob Houghton's trust and he made his debut against Cambodia in the ONGC Nehru Cup on Friday.
Pal says that while he still gives his 100 per cent on the field, his style of play is still as aggressive now - when a rival hard tackles his teammate it still angers him, he still hates defeat as ever - but he doesn't convey it.
That's it! The life beyond the grounds of this TFA product, former Mohun Bagan custodian and now-East Bengal member, remains unchanged. "As usual, I go to practice, come back to my room... I do not like to roam about," confides the homely Kolkatan, who is now waiting impatiently for his younger sister's exam results.
"All I want now is to keep improving my game and guard the Indian goal for at least 10 years continuously," he says, and adds "Abhi to bahut chalna hai (have to go a long way)."
But would he charge at the ball as hungrily as he did THAT DAY? "Us din bhi main ball bachana chahta tha or ab bhi hamesha wahi chahata hoon (That day I wanted to stop the ball and now too I want to stop the ball from going into the goal)," Pal says, the pain of having been asked to prove himself innocent once again, evident in his voice.
"After all, is that not what a goalkeeper is supposed to do? I want to keep a clean sheet in the Nehru tournament," he adds. Friday night was just the perfect beginning then.
Right at the start of the conversation, Pal had firmly said that he would not be talking about the 'Junior incident' as "I have forgotten it completely and moved on". If only memories could die so easily, pal!