I am my own coach: Matin

Once a player for hire at the suburbs and rural areas of Sylhet, Matin Mia used to earn his living as a house painter. He gave up his job once he was lured by the riches of top-flight football in Dhaka, and the youngster is now the talk of the country's football. He caught attention in his debut season in the Bangladesh Championship League, scoring six goals for Saif SC. The promising forward recently helped newcomers Bashundhara Kings lift the Independence Cup title with a scintillating goal against Sheikh Russel KC in the final match. The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman spoke elaborately with the youngster regarding the transformation of his life and his future goals.

The Daily Star: How have your family members and friends reacted to your winning goal in the Independence Cup final?

Matin Mia: Personally, I feel really happy that my goal helped Bashundhara Kings win the Independence Cup. My family members are also happy and they all watched the match on TV. My friends, who I used to play with once, are happy and overwhelmed. 

TDS: Do you think your skill and technical aspects improved under two foreign coaches in successive seasons?

MM: I am my own coach as I learnt playing football with my own effort. If you talk about skill, I honed those while playing regional football in Sylhet but I do agree that I lacked positional sense which has improved under the guidance of foreign coaches. My fitness has also improved significantly.

TDS: What type of improvement do you believe you still need to make?

MM: I think I should improve on my positional sense and develop finishing in front of goal. My running also needs to be improved a bit.

TDS: Once a hired player in Sylhet, you are now playing in top-level football. Do you see any change in your life?

MM: These are two different lives. When I played as a hired player, some Dhaka clubs offered me to play for them but I could not accept their offer because of weakness for my home and family members. One day, national player Yeamin Ahmed Chowdhury Munna bhai convinced me that I would get a lot more by playing for big clubs and so I joined Saif SC in the Bangladesh Championship League in the 2015-16 season. I scored six goals for Saif SC in that season. 

TDS: You have scored six goals so far in two tournaments this year. What is your target in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League?

MM: I have scored three goals each in the Federation Cup and Independence Cup. If there are 20 to 22 matches [his club will actually get 24 league matches], I want to score a minimum of 10 to 12 goals but I want to score in every match if I am given a chance. I'll try to compete with the foreign players in goals tally. If I don't do that, I'll try to stay on top among local scorers.  

TDS: But do you think that is possible since you play mostly as a substitute player?

MM: It is an issue. However, it may also happen that whatever time I get on the pitch as a substitute player is equal to 90 minutes and I can score more than one goal within that time frame. I want to utilise whatever time I can get as a substitute player. All depends on team decision.  

TDS: You scored some eye-catching goals last season and this season as well. How have you earned such skills?

MM: I used to train individually after club training. I spent at least 10 to 15 minutes on the ground trying to curve shots from different angles. The coach [Oscar Bruzon] also inspired me to take individual training sessions. I also get inspiration to score spectacular goals by watching goals in overseas leagues.

TDS: Costa Rican World Cupper Daniel Colindres is your teammate. Have you ever received any tips from him regarding goal-scoring skill?

MM: Once I asked him which style of play will suit me and where I should stay when he has the ball at his feet. He gave me some tips and I believe those tips can help me lot.

TDS: Media often refers to you as a house painter-turned footballer. Do you feel any discomfort with this reference?

MM: I don't feel bad with such things because I did it for my bread and butter. And I think it is a big achievement for me to reach such big stage from such a small position. 

TDS: Have you reached financially solvency from playing football?

MM: Playing football in Dhaka gave me good financial solvency as I have repaired our house, refurnished furniture. Overall condition has improved in the last two years.