When Premier Tyres stars were as popular as Mammotty and Mohanlal
The Hindu
The team is celebrating its 50th year of its formation
When Major P.S. Paul came to Victor Manjila’s house and invited him to join the Premier Tyres football team in 1972, he was thrilled. The company, at Kalamassery in Ernakulam, was posting impressive profits, it was No. 3 among Indian tyre manufacturers and it wanted to start a football team.
“I was just completing my B. Com and I joined,” said Manjila, the former Indian goalkeeper, in a chat with The Hindu at the Maharaja’s Stadium here on Wednesday.
T. Abdul Rahman, who played in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where India entered the semifinals, was roped in as coach and he signed some of the best talent available. The team then had stars like Xavier Pius, K.P. Sethumadhavan, C.C. Jacob, and T.A. Jaffer.
With such a wonderful bunch, Premier Tyres became a powerful and popular side. Thousands thronged the grounds to cheer the stars wherever they played.
The Premier Tyres football team celebrated the 50th year of its formation at the Maharaja’s Stadium where it had played some memorable matches. The Bolghatty Football Club had arranged the event to honour the team and almost all the stars were present.
The Premier Tyres team played a big role in the revival of Kerala football. When Kerala won its maiden Santosh Trophy title in 1973, 10 were from Premier Tyres. Manjila, K.P. Sethumadhavan, Premnath Philip, C.C. Jacob, Xavier Pius and C.D. Francis went on to play for India.
Strangely, the first big first big triumph for Premier Tyres came after nearly a dozen finals. And then the next year, it won three.