Today, we bring to you an exclusive interview with the Shillong Lajong FC Goalkeeper- Gumpe Rime. We fired a series of questions to him, lets see how he blocked them.......
Gumpe: I am Gumpe Rime, 35 years old Goalkeeper Shillong Lajong FC. From Aalo, Arunachal Pradesh.
Q. Can you tell us about your family.
Gumpe: Married to Payal Sawhney Rime whom I met during my Mahindra days and we are blessed with two lovely daughters Pegam (7) and Peyi (2).
Q. Whom do you idolize?
Gumpe: Grew up watching peter shilton, Walter zenga, and peter schemeical but was hugely inspired by the former Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos who despite being very short could compete at the highest level.
Q. Your favorite team.
Gumpe: I love watching Manchester United.
Q. Please tell us about the clubs you have played for.
Gumpe: Started my carrier with mahindras which I feel was the most professional among any Indian club but it’s very unfortunate that such a team had to be disbanded. Then had a two year stint in Goa with Vasco Da Gama and Salgaocar SC. After that Bangalore became my 2nd home as I played there for 7 seven years, one year with ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) and 6 year with HAL. Played one season in Kolkata with Mohammedan Sporting.
Q. Playing in Lajong must be a great experience with the massive crowd support.
Gumpe: It’s amazing, football being the most popular game in the north east and when you have your own team competing with the best of Indian football, Lajong have brought the entire NE together who have joined hands and support us .
Q. Do you feel that more North Eastern Clubs should Come up to the i-League considering the interest the North Eastern people show to football?
Gumpe: Of course, if more teams from NE comes up it will definitely help the cause, this year we have four teams from shilling playing in the 2nd div. other than lajong ,we have three clubs , Royal Wahingdoh, Arhima and Langnshning FC vying for the slot and there is Nisa from Manipur, GTC from Guwahati.
Q. You were very close to play for the national team on couple of occasions. What went wrong?
Gumpe: Playing for the national team is the ultimate dream for any player, having attended the national camp on number of occasion itself gives happiness and some kind of pride that I was considered good enough to be competing among the best.
Q. Lajong brought a new look to Indian football with the Red Wave. The massive support saw them grab an extra attention. How did you feel being a part of the team playing in the i-League?
Gumpe: Yes definitely Lajong brought new look to the Indian football in terms of sponsorship deal and the massive crowd support and fan following. Even the established teams find it difficult to get sponsors and very few wants to invest in Indian football.
It feels great when you play for such a team and try to contribute with your experience.
Q. Baichung Bhutia owned United Sikkim FC has made a lot of buzz. Please share your view on that.
Gumpe: Definitely United Sikkim FC is among the top contender in this qualifying round, although the team is new they have signed some of the top players like rennedy , Manju,Kulothungan and few others and also have very good coach in Stanley Rosario.
Q. Lajong will be playing the final round of Second Division I-League. Do you see a comeback to the I-League again?
Gumpe: As for Lajong we have been really working hard this season and our aim is to get back to 1st division and we hope and believe we will achieve our goal.
Q. Lajong created history when they reached the finals of the Federation Cup in 2009-10 runner up. Could you share that experience.
Gumpe: Reaching the finals of the Federation cup was one of the historic day for the NE football, after I league we almost brought the AFC cup to NE but there is always room for improvement and we hope to achieve it someday.
Q. Recently you and your coach helped an old lady giving some donation after reaching the semi finals of the IFA Shield 2011. Can you elaborate on the incident?
Gumpe: The old lady had approached our coach telling her plight selling some home made things and selling vegetables door to door to make ends meet and take care of her ailing husband. So we decided to do our bit.
Q.Would you like to say anything to our Readers at INDIAN FOOTBALL(blog)?
Gumpe: I appreciate the sharing of your views and comments but I feel the players need your support in the stadium as well, really it’s no fun playing in the empty stand and it won’t help the cause either which the sponsors want, so let’s do our bit by making our presence felt by supporting and cheering our favourite team and make this beautiful game the most popular game in India.
Thank you Gumpe for sharing your experiences with us. And we hope that We can stand up to your expectations and thus support the Indian Football. Thank You.
1 comments:
Great job.......your efforts are really good......
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