My captain is no more. I always called Chuni Goswami Captain. He was my leader from the Calcutta University team right up to the national squad.

We will not get a footballer like him again. His skills and understanding of the game were brilliant.

My daughter broke the news to me and so many memories came flooding.

Calcutta University hadn’t won the inter-university trophy for three years on the trot. The head of the sports department was not happy with that and told the sports head to build a winning team. That was the first time I met Chuni.

That was, I think, in 1959. We played a practice match against Mohammedan Sporting at their home ground. They had a strong team but we were equal to the task and defeated them 3-0. That was big news the next day as an University team had defeated one of the Big Three of Indian football. Needless to say, we went onto to regain the national inter-university title.

Captain was born with god-gifted talent. Otherwise how can someone be equally good in football and cricket? I still admire his tennis skills.

He came from an affluent family, which was not very common in Indian football those days, but Captain was always very down to earth. Everywhere he went, the fans followed him. I haven’t seen anybody in Indian football till now with such a following.

Players like Chuni, PK and Balaram (Tulsidas) come once in a while. And we got them together.

Players like us achieved whatever we managed through sheer hard work. But with him it came naturally. Those sudden sprints which used to rattle the markers, those dodges... He used to caress the ball. I have not seen someone so comfortable with the football.

Rahim saab (India coach Syed Abdul Rahim) had once said that without Chuni he could not think of the Indian team. Captain’s was the first name he would put down.

The last time we spoke was some months ago. When Boudi (Chuni’s wife Basanti) gave him the phone, he sounded excited. “Arun how are you? We should meet some day,” he said. If only, Captain.