From outstation student to outstanding footballer, Mumbai FC’s Eric Brown shares his tale

by Kaushal Shukla February 3, 2016

Mumbai FC have been blowing great guns so far this season and the presence of a fourth foreigner has just boosted Mumbai FC’s play. As the Asian contingent receive all the plaudits, the efforts of the fourth foreigner, Eric Brown, have not attracted the same kind of accolades from the fans. The Liberian attacking midfielder has been one of the most consistent performers in the Mumbai FC side and has played a crucial part in almost all the goals that Mumbai FC have scored this season. Brown’s work rate is second to none and that has almost added another dimension to the Mumbai FC set-up.
Brown has always contributed greatly to the teams he has represented in the I-League, but his efforts have somehow always managed to skip the media’s attention. But the tricky Liberian isn’t too bothered by the lack of limelight as he revaled that he never came to India to play football.
In a cheerful chat with Football Counter, Brown revealed that he came to India as a student and not a footballer. Studying at the Hindustan University, Brown came for acquiring a degree. But his footballing talent couldn’t be kept under wraps for too long as he made his mark, playing for Hindustan University football team, where he won them an inter-collegiate tournament by scoring in the Final. “I always wanted to be a football player, but my mom wanted me to study and take a degree. So I came to India as a student and not as a football player. But I got famous in the newspapers and media when I helped Hindustan University win an inter-collegiate tournament. I scored in the Final and thus got the opportunities for a couple of trials. The rest happened well and now I’m a professional footballer,” Brown divulged, giving away this astonishing piece of information.
Eric Brown was to further take us down the memory lane as we re-lived his football journey through his words. Eric finds it hard to recollect a time when football wasn’t a part of his daily agenda. In company with his two football loving brothers, Eric Brown revealed he was merely four or five years of age when he started playing football. “I have been playing football since I’m very small, I don’t really remember myself not playing. I used to play with my two brothers who were very good players themselves and I followed them. I am playing football since I was probably four or five.”
I started out as a left winger, but as I grew up I could play at any position. Brown was the captain of his school team back then and recalls an encounter with a top school team in his homeland. “I was the captain of my school. I remember that once we played one of the top schools from Liberia which had 3-4 players playing for the Liberian National team then. We won that game 2-0 and I scored both those goals. I will never forget that game, it is very special to me and my team-mates,” remembered a nostalgic Eric Brown as he opened up on some of his most precious childhood memories.
Brown’s footballing career began at Mumbai FC where he was a youth player, before he made an impact with ONGC, with whom he made his I-League debut. There was no looking back then for Brown as he went on to star for Prayag United and was the top scorer for them in the 2013/14 season. Brown then moved to Pune FC last season, before returning to Mumbai FC at the start of the new season.
The Liberian midfielder owes his footballing abilities to his Coach Gabriel Jones, a former Liberian National Team Captain who according to Brown gave him the confidence to be a football player. “My coach Gabriel Jones is my mentor. He was the one who gave me the confidence to play football and he still gives me advice. He is my coach for life and I owe him my football career.”
Along with Jones’ coaching, Eric Brown revealed the player he worshipped as a young kid and admitted he always tried to copy him. Brown’s idol was Argentina’s Juan Sebastian Veron who played for top English clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United back then. “Juan Sebastian Veron was my idol when I was a kid. I always tried to copy him. I would say he is my all-time favourite player,” disclosed Brown.
To conclude the chat, correspondent asked Brown to pick his favourite from Messi and Ronaldo and the Liberian midfielder had no hesitation in choosing the little Argentine over the majestic Portuguese. A left footer chose another one, and Mumbai FC would do with a bit of the Messi tricks from Eric Brown in the next games to come.