PT Gimson is a salesman in Ahmedabad. Gimson is also one of many Ahmedabad locals who are often stared at adoringly on the streets and have their hands shaken at bus-stops. Why? Because he is a Manchester United footballer. Uhh, no, this is not one of those sob stories of a Premiership star wannabe who had to come back to India.Gimson’s never had to leave Ahmedabad to play for Man U; he plays for a club with the same name as England’s famous club. And in the ‘Manchester of the East’, the team is almost as popular as their big brothers at Old Trafford.But why the plagiarism? ‘‘It is to attract attention,’’ says Amit Pal Tomar, one of the founders of the set-up. As a footballer, Tomar played for Gujarat in the Santosh Trophy before joining the Income Tax Department and giving up the game. His love for the game didn’t diminish though, and with a few other likeminded friends, including colleague Pratap Barolia, he started the club.‘‘We looked at many names but nothing appealed to us, so Manchester United it was because of the reputation of the club and its fan following. There are lots of people who come from far-off places to see us because of our name,’’ Tomar says.This Gujarati homage to Alex Ferguson’s side is not limited to the name though. The red T-shirts and white shorts with Vodafone logos were brought in from Singapore via Kolkata.But most importantly, the club’s not just about its obvious attention-grabbing ways. It has done its bit to earn respect as a damn good footballing side too. It won the Senior Division league here in 2001. The tournament next year had to be stopped midway beacuse of the riots, but Man U were in the lead at the time too. This season they lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners Reserve Bank of India. The Red Devils’ line-up here is also quite an interesting mix. Thirty-year-old midfielder Prem Kumar is a clerk with IIM, Ahmedabad, and is hooked on to the Primera Liga more than the Premiership. Zinedine Zidane’s his lord and master and he watches Real Madrid ‘‘mainly to learn some new tricks’’. Kumar adds, ‘‘But just watching doesn’t help, because we don’t have a coach. Tomar is out coach and manager.’’Making a living off football is impossible in the western Indian state with little or no footballing culture. ‘‘Our aim is to play in any league outside the state in Mumbai or in Kolkata. In the process, if some of our players can catch the attention of the big clubs and get a breakthrough then our aim will be fulfilled,’’ Tomar says.Gimson, for instance, was called for a Churchill Brothers’ selection camp. He eventually landed a contract with the then newly-launched Bengal-Mumbai FC, played for a year but had to return as the club went bankrupt.B. Com final year student Naresh Chaudhary attended a Mumbai Central Railway selection trial the same year, but couldn’t clear the final hurdle. But the club has managed to send a substantial number of youngsters to the Gujarat state, under-19 and under-21 teams on a regular basis, something that is looked upon as quite an achievement.But the old story of ‘‘no money’’ finds an echo here as well. With no Irish racing tycoons to vie for the stocks, ‘‘We pool money before we go for tournaments. We also try to get as many sponsors or donors we can, which is very rare, to at least provide the bus fare or petrol expenses for members who are still studying or working on daily wages,’’ Tomar explains.There are other basic problems as well, but it’s their love for the game that binds the lot together. And the optimism is palpable as you walk around amongst them during a practice session on a typically bald, hard pitch. A far cry from the Real Thing, back in the Theatre of Dreams that is Old Trafford. But it will do for these Red Devils.
