File picture of Tomba (jersey number 9) and his teammates hoisting the Manipur coach after winning the Santosh Trophy in Imphal

Imphal, Feb. 4: Wangkheirakpam Tomba, popularly known as Golden Tomba after his golden goal against Kerala gave Manipur their maiden Santosh Trophy title in November 2002, was declared footballer of the year, 2003, by the All-India Football Federation in New Delhi on January 10.

He is the first Manipuri footballer to win the coveted award and second from the Northeast after national captain Bhaichung Bhutia. O. Bembem Devi of Manipur had won the 2001 footballer of the year for women.

The 21-year-old star player of Salgaocar FC played a key role when the Goans upset National Football League (NFL) champions East Bengal to win the Durand Cup in November last year. He was instrumental in Salgaocar’s runners-up finish in the last NFL.

Speaking over phone from Goa, Tomba said there were two Manipuris — he and P. Rennedy Singh of Mohun Bagan — among the four nominations for the award.

The player, who hails from Nongmeibung Wangkheirakpam Leikai in Imphal East district, said he could not believe his ears when his coach in Salgoacar informed him about the award.

Tomba said the AIFF must have been impressed with his performance in the Durand Cup, the NFL and the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad last year where India finished runners-up.

The player-of-the-match in the Santosh Trophy final is at present nursing an injury, but hopes to be fit enough to play the World Cup qualifying matches for India.

Born to Wangkheirakpam Bihari and Ashangbi Devi, the prodigious player began his career with YWC, Thambalkhong, in the junior circuit before making a speedy climb to the senior division.

The player’s ageing father said he was delighted to hear of his son’s latest achievement.

After donning the ESU, Wangkhei and the USA, Khurai, colours for some time, Tomba’s talent bloomed in the under-19 B.C. Roy Trophy nationals in Imphal in 1998 where the hosts defeated Sikkim 4-1 in the final.

Tomba’s next port of call was Air-India (1998) and from there he moved to Goa giants Salgaocar that have five Manipuris in their ranks.

Almost all the major clubs in the country have a Manipuri player, he said.

The talented midfielder, whose Rs 9 lakh two-year contract with Salgaocar expires in May, believes that Manipur could have the best football club if the state’s players scattered across the country played as a single unit. “We can be invincible,” he said.

Tomba, like many other players of his calibre in the country, nurtures a little dream — playing for a foreign club in the future.

Golden Tomba in the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga, the English Premier League or the J-League in Japan — nothing can be more perfect than this for his fans.