Football wizard T.M. Amidon is no more
The demise of T.M. Amidon at 83, removes from our midst another outstanding Football player and sportsman of international fame, who will be sorely missed by his wide circle of Football fans, friends and relatives.
Amidon was indeed a player endowed with great talent and skill, and displayed a high degree of sportsmanship on and off the field. His intuition and knowledge coupled with inborn Football sense and skills made him a player of sheer class. His perfect ball control and accurate shooting made him indeed a very creative player. I have never seen Amidon miss a penalty kick. He doesn’t kick the ball hard, just simply walks up and places the ball either towards the right or left post, which has beaten many top goalkeepers.
Amidon had his education at Midland College, Kandy. After leaving school he played Football for Young Wonders FC Kandy, alongside Mahinda Aluvihare. He joined the Ceylon Army in 1961, where he excelled in Football and Rugby.
My long and close association with Amidon as a player for Black Square FC and in the National team for a long period, gives me the edge over the others to say that men of Amidon’s calibre are rare in Football circles of this country today. Though he was a soldier in the Army, he was a mild-mannered person at all times, on and off the field. Always soft spoken and extremely well-mannered, not only to his family and friends, but even to his subordinates. He never had a harsh word for anyone. For this, he was loved by all.
Playing beside him not only delighted me, it also made things easy for me to score goals as a Forward. He was a craftsman and a playmaker. His individual brilliance, positive attitude and deep commitment was so high, it helped me score many goals against famous local clubs at prestigious tournaments. These attributes actually helped Amidon gain fame as one of the all-time greats of local Football.
When he played for the Ceylon Army in the 1960s at Inter-Services Football tournaments, alongside local greats such as Ananda Weerasekera, Bucker brothers, C.S. Fernando, S.P. De Silva, Dharmadasa, Rasiah and Sudikeen, I was in the opposite camp playing for the Royal Ceylon Air Force alongside players in the calibre of Terrance Gunawardena, Mahinda Aluvihare, Emmanuel Pillai, Farook Preena, Thirunayake, Duggie Fernando, Hamilton, David, Sadikeen, Vithanage, Thair and Dharmaraja. Although small in stature, he was able to beat any well built and robust opponent, with his fine Football skills and cunning body movement, which was indeed a treat to watch.
It was very unfortunate that, due to Amidon’s small stature, some past National Coaches did not consider him for the National Football Squad. However, Amidon’s first appearance in the National side was in 1967, though little late, when he was spotted and picked by National Coach Neville Abeygunawardena. I had the privilege of accompanying Amidon on that famous European tour to Iran, Israel, England and West Germany, with other great players in the calibre of M.M. Hassimdeen, Lionel Peries, Mahinda Aluvihare, P.D. Sirisena, M.A. Ameer, A. Zainulabdeen, Edward Wickramasuriya, S.M. Noor, P.H.S. Albert, S.P. De Silva, M. Hamzath to name a few. Amidon and I played in the Aga Khan Gold Cup Tournament in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in 1968, where Sri Lanka were Runners-up.
Amidon has run his race, kept his cause and believed in his faith, while spending his last few years in the mosque, remembering and thanking his Lord.
May he receive the blessings of everyone of us to enter “Jannatul Firdhous”
Subhani Hassimdeen