Even as the FIFA ban dominated most Indian minds and timelines on Thursday, another chapter was added to the history of Indian football in the diplomatic municipality of Engomi, near Cyprus’s capital of Nicosia. At the stroke of 60th minute in the match between Apollon Ladies FC and SFK Riga, Manisha Kalyan came in as a substitute for the former at Makareio Stadium and became the first Indian footballer - among both men and women - to play in the top-most European club competition, the UEFA Champions League.
The closest that Indian football had come to such a feat was when Gurpreet Singh Sandhu represented Norwegian club Stabaek in the Europa League qualifying in 2016. But for Manisha, it was not the impending history for the nation but the personal milestone and earnestness to stay focused that topped the mind ahead of her debut.
"Coach (Laurent Fassotte) had told me before the match to be prepared and that I would get some time in the match, even if it was for 10-15 min. So, I had begun preparing myself," Manisha told the TOI from Nicosia on Friday.
"I was telling myself that I needed to be ready, to give my very best. The entire time, the focus was on giving my best for the club. In fact, I had played some matches for the national team that had more intensity than yesterday’s (Thursday) game and I believed I was ready for it."
The first round Women’s Champions League qualifying tie was also Manisha’s competitive debut for Apollon Ladies, having already scored for the Cypriot women’s champions in a pre-season friendly. It was also a winning Champions League debut for the 20-year-old as they beat the Latvian top-flight club 3-0 in their European opener this season.
"I was a bit concerned that it was my first match for the club and I had got about one-and-a-half months of training with them. Communication was also a bit of a worry ahead of the match. But once I was in, my teammates were supportive and also appreciated my game," she said of her match experience where she played in her favourite position - the left wing - and also created a couple of chances for Apollon.
Manisha donned the No. 12 jersey on Thursday, the same number that graced her jersey at Gokulam Kerala. Having come into limelight with her strike against Brazil - in the South American’s home - during a four-nation friendly tournament last year, it was her superlative show for Gokulam in the last edition of India Women’s League that got her the contract in the Mediterranean country.
Crowned AIFF Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2021-22, Manisha is the second Indian woman footballer to join an overseas club this year, the other being Dangmei Grace who signed for Uzbek club PFC Sevinch Karshi. They joined a group of elite footballers after Aditi Chauhan and Bala Devi to have plied their trade abroad.
But the young winger, who has been praised by India head coach Thomas Dennerby for her "excellent speed and dribbling" and been termed "our best player" by the Swede, has age on her side to reach her full potential and fly higher in career.
"The playing style here (at Apollon) is very different from how we play in India and I am slowly adapting to it. I want to keep giving my best here and keep performing so that I can find more opportunities to play abroad in future," Manisha signed off.
