The inclusion of Hyderabad in Lionel Messi’s tour of India, alongside Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi, might puzzle the casual fan. After all, the city no longer holds the glitz and glamour of the current football powerhouses in the country, like Kolkata, Mumbai, Goa, or Kerala.
But turn back the clock a few years, rather a few decades, and the city’s once glorious past comes to light, when the sport thrived like a wildflower in spring. What is now fondly recalled as the golden period of Indian football had Hyderabad well and truly at the heart of it.
List of Hyderabad’s achievements
Santosh Trophy: 1956, 1957
Rovers Cup: 1950-1954 (Hyderabad Police), 1957 (Hyderabad Police), 1960 (Andhra Police), 1962 (Andhra Police & East Bengal), 1963 (Andhra Police)
