If music be the food of love, then Eugeneson Lyngdoh is a sonata in the working! “The Ukulele I play for fun and I’m just alright at it,” says a modest Lyngdoh with a smile before he is interrupted by the Bengaluru FC media manager who chips in, “He is just being modest,” to which the midfielder adds with a laugh, “I am just a very shy guy and I take time to open up.”
Since switching to BFC last season, Lyngdoh has built a reputation for himself as a crowd favourites and one of (if not the) best midfielder in the country. A hard worker and an assist machine, the 29-year-old has carved a niche for himself as the creative hub of the team. And his creativity extends well beyond the lush green of the football field. The Shillong-born lad is a talented guitar, keyboard and ukulele player. So much so that head coach Ashley Westwood handed him a guitar during the club awards last season where he won the Player of the Year award.
“My father plays the guitar and he influenced us in such a way that we grew up loving music and sports; all part of a creative spirit. So music was always a part of our lives and gave us so much joy,” he says, revealing, “I was in the first standard I think, when I asked him to teach me the guitar, I thought it would be easy. He asked me get a notebook and started writing down notes, and I didn’t want to study all that. He would come and ask me, ‘Did you do your homework?’ Eventually, that interest faded as you have to work hard to learn to play an instrument and I didn’t want to do that,” he quips.
But as he grew older, he feels that his passion kept growing, “I wanted to learn it by myself and I did. Now and then, my dad and I sit and play together, which is wonderful. I have never played for anyone. I only play for myself. It’s a passion, a mental satisfaction,” reveals the Blink 182 and Guns N’ Roses fan who also enjoys cycling and the peace and quiet of the wilderness during his spare time.
The last two years have been a game changer for Lyngdoh. Not only did he break into the national team set-up, he also coaxed the second highest fee in the domestic Indian Super League auction, with a price tag of '1.05 crore.
But through all the success, he has remained the same grounded and hard-working boy next door. And much of the credit for this goes to his upbringing as he still lives by his mother’s advice. “My mother would say, ‘Whatever you do, always remember where you came from, your family and what you represent.’ I am a believer and whatever I do, I try to do in the right way. One way or the other, we are a blessing to the others so I try to live in such a manner,” reveals the former Shillong Lajong man, who scored a goal and was part of an assist in the previous match for BFC against East Bengal, and was sitting gleeful as he watched his team finally get silverware as I League Champions.
And to think, all this might have never come his way had he not doggedly followed his passion, and had instead opted for a more safe career choice.
“My father was a player and I started playing when I was very young. I always dreamt of being a professional player but never thought that dream would come true. I ended up being more into academics than football. Eventually, it was a total turn of tides that I ended up being a football player,” he says.
“I came to Bengaluru and did my schooling at Bishop Cotton till the 12th standard, and went to Pune to do my engineering in Electronics and Telecom at Maharashtra Academy of Engineering. I didn’t complete it as I knew it was something that I didn’t want to do, and eventually getting a lot of backlogs gave me the gap to play football and opened the door to my calling. I don’t regret what happened but I would say that it shaped me into the man I am today,” he mulls.
And today, as he stands on top of the mountain, the one thing that Lyngdoh has ticked off his list: the I-League crown after the recent show of prowess by BFC will always stay as the most cherished memory in his mind. Having come within four minutes of winning the league title last season before Mohun Bagan snatched it from their grasp, the midfield maestro and his men won the title.
“I wanted to win the league. I haven’t done it before. I think this season is sweet revenge. Last season was amazing in terms of performance but it was sad as we could not win the league.” But now, with the title glinting on the BFC mantle piece, the success is only more dear.
Quick fire
Name: Eugeneson Lyngdoh
Birthplace: Shillong, Meghalaya
Age: 29
Position: Midfielder
Clubs: Rangdajied United, Shillong Lajong, Bengaluru FC, Pune City FC (ISL)
Favourite actor: Christian Bale
Favourite actress: Megan Fox and Nicole Kidman.
Other sports: Tennis
Idols: David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Juan Roman Riquelme.
Best thing about being a footballer: Getting to play a sport you love everyday and getting paid to do that.
Worst thing about being a footballer: It is the hard work one has to put in. When you see us play, it’s different. We look like we are having fun and we do enjoy the game. But it’s a professional sport which is performance-based and you have to work hard day in day out to get selected.
If not a footballer: Probably an engineer (laughing)
