India's 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team member MM Somaya was on unfamiliar turf yesterday. The hockey stalwart has completed his 'D' license football coaching course recently and as part of the mandatory 40-hour coaching requirement, he stepped into a football coach's boots for the first time, as Dadar XI took on Tata Power in an MDFA Division I league match at the Neville D'Souza Football Turf in Bandra. Though his young bunch went down 2-3 to a professional Tata Power outfit, Somaya was thrilled with the experience and is keen to kick on.

'Football is my first love'

"Football has always been my first love. I first played football for my school [St Mary's SSC]. We won the inter-school title in 1974 and five of us got picked into the Maharashtra team. Then, I played for my college [St Xavier's] and also for Bombay University. I also played in the Harwood League for Mahindra Tractors followed by club stints for Catholic Gymkhana and Dadar XI among others," Somaya told mid-day yesterday.