Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

BHUBANESWAR: When Mohammed Yasir stepped onto the pitch in Bhubaneswar during his side FC Goa’s Kalinga Super Cup quarter-final match against Punjab FC on Saturday, April 26, not many would have thought the substitution would make much of a difference.

It was the 81st minute, and FC Goa were trailing 0-1 as Yasir, who self-admittedly is on a slow yet steady return from a quadricep injury, replaced Carl McHugh on the pitch. Fast forward 12 minutes, and the 27-year-old midfielder walked off as a hero for the Gaurs, scoring the winning goal in the third minute of injury time, after Borja Herrera had equalised for FC Goa.

 “Things were not looking good for us at that point, but the coach (Manolo Márquez) showed a lot of trust in all of us. He showed a lot of trust in me personally as well,” Yasir said to the-aiff.com. “Over the course of this season, I’ve felt that bad luck has followed me, with injuries keeping me out. Even when I was called to the national camp last year (September 2024 FIFA International window), I sustained an injury and had to be replaced.

“But the support my teammates and coach showed me has been immense. They all trust me to do the job as an attacking midfielder, a position that is natural to me. When you come back from an injury, such confidence is necessary to get back to the same levels of performance,” said Yasir.

While returning from his injury is what the 2021-22 ISL champion with Hyderabad FC is currently focussing on, coming back from adverse situations is nothing new for the midfielder. A resident of the Khabeisoi township east of Imphal, in Manipur, Yasir had a tough time during his childhood.

With his father suffering from various ailments, Yasir’s mother took up the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner for the family, working on farms. It was due to this state of affairs that Yasir’s love and penchant for football was initially not taken too kindly by his elders.

“My mother would always ask me to focus on studies and get a good job, but I was adamant to play,” he recalled. “So she eventually allowed me to go play local tournaments, as long as my father would not find out.”

The young Yasir’s father was finally informed of his son’s possible future in the beautiful game after he got selected in his school’s trials. “He was quite happy when I got selected, and supported me quite a bit,” said Yasir.

As the youngster began to get better at the sport, the need arose for him to go to bigger and better academies to further improve. The bigger and better academies, however, were hundreds of miles and a sizeable investment away for a family struggling to make ends meet.

“My father decided to sell a part of our land, so that I could go to the Tata Football Academy for trials. So I went with a lot of hope,” said Yasir. Those hopes, however, were dashed when he was not selected.

When opportunity arose for Yasir to go for another trial at Pune FC, his father did not think twice before selling off another part of the family’s land for them to afford flight tickets and a new pair of boots for their son. This time, Yasir did make the cut.

“That was the time I promised that I would repay them, whatever the cost,” Yasir said.

Indeed, after his move to Hyderabad FC, where he became an ISL champion, Yasir was able to return the favour. “After I started earning a decent living as a professional footballer, the first thing I did was to buy back those pieces of land for my parents,” he said with satisfaction written over his face.

Such lessons have left a deep imprint on the mind of a young man, who shows maturity far beyond his years, be it on the pitch or off it.

“I may have been young back then, but the struggles that my parents have gone through for me are something that I shall ever be grateful for,” said Yasir. “It’s because of such tough times that I always remember to stay humble, keep working away towards winning more matches and trophies, and keep inspiring and helping youngsters.

“For now, my focus is to return fully fit from my injury and make it back to the national team again.”