We are all going through very tough times, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for me. Just about a month ago, I lost my dear friend PK Banerjee (who passed away on March 20) and on Thursday afternoon I got the shocking news that another close friend of mine, Chuni (Goswami), is no more.

It is a huge personal loss for me. It is a loss for Indian football. It is a huge loss for the country as well.

When you talk about Indian football, you say: Chuni, PK and Balaram. They are gone, I am still fighting. I know they were above 80, everyone has to go one day. But for me, it is hard to believe that I will never meet my friends again.

I have so many memories of Chuni. We first met in 1956 in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram). That year, the national championships were being played there.

I was representing Hyderabad and Chuni was with Bengal. That time, Bengal were full of star players. But I saw a young player was hogging the limelight. I came to know that player was Chuni. Had I not seen him that day, I wouldn’t have got this success. He inspired me to be a better player.

Legends among legends; PK Banerjee with Chuni Goswami and Sailen Manna Telegraph file photo

After seeing him, I thought we almost have the same height and body structure. So if he can control the ball so well, dribble past players so easily, then I too should be able to do the same. But I needed to work hard.

That year we won the national championships, but Chuni won the heart of football lovers.

Because of him I came to Calcutta and joined East Bengal. We used to play in the same position for our clubs. He was left-in of Mohun Bagan and I was left-in of East Bengal. When the two giants played against each other during that time, people always used to say — it is Chuni versus Balaram.

But off the field we were always good friends. Chuni always had huge fan following. He was a genius. He was a champion footballer, an excellent cricketer and was rather good at tennis too. Chuni was a rare talent.

For India, Chuni used to play at inside-left and I used to play outside-left.

We played many international matches together which include the 1958 Asian Games, 1959 Merdeka Tournament, the 1960 Olympics and the 1962 Asian Games.

We won the 1962 Asian Games gold medal, defeating South Korea (Korea Republic) 2-1 in the final. The night before the match, he was constantly cracking jokes. Only he could do that.

He used to call me ‘Bala’. I don’t remember when he started it, but he continued to call me that till the very last time we met.

That was a few months ago at the Salt Lake Stadium. The production team of Maidaan, a biopic on legendary football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, had invited us. He was in a wheelchair. But as soon as he saw me, he started calling out to me: “Bala, Bala”.

He asked me how I remained fit. That day I didn’t understand whether he was joking or paying me a compliment. Even then he didn’t look very ill.

He was always very cool on the field. He knew with his skill and ability he would be able to put any opponent on the back foot.

I can bet there will never be another Chuni Goswami.

Rest in peace my friend.