"Hamesha football hi rahta hain dimaag mein."
Manisha Kalyan is a trailblazer. In 2021 she had become the first Indian to score a goal in an AFC Champions League match. Later that year, she became the first to score against a senior Brazilian national team. Now, in 2023, she's become the first Indian to ever lift a league title in Europe.
"I'm feeling pretty happy that I'm the first Indian to win a league championship in Europe," she tells ESPN when recounting a triumphant debut season with Apollon Limassol, champions of Cyprus. She then adds a bit that highlights why she continues to grow in stature year-on-year. "I don't think 'I'm done, I've reached here, now it's over'," she says. "All the positivity that this has generated is merely giving me more of a motivation to work harder and to achieve more."
Manisha moved to Cyprus in August 2022, and was immediately thrown in at the deep end: the qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League. It was a steep learning curve from there. She struggled in those initial months, during the UCL qualifiers and the start of the domestic season... and a large part of that stemmed from the kind of system she came from.
"The main difference is the league," she says when talking about what sets the football in Cyprus apart from the game in India. "The IWL [Indian Women's League] is a very short league. But here [in Cyprus] there's a proper league. We play at least once or twice every week, and every week is therefore a new challenge. Hamesha football hi rahta hain dimaag main: it's only football that's on your mind, always."
"In India, our national team players get to in play in the [national] camps, but for the other players in the IWL, there just a couple of big tournaments [IWL and national championships]. The season's so short, a max of two months."
The difference between someone who has nothing but football on their mind year-round and one who must juggle other priorities for most of the year is stark, and Manisha's adaption period was a hard reminder of that. It's an oft-repeated complaint (from players, observers, stakeholders) and it's something that can be addressed by a Federation that seeks out improvement.
There were other issues too, of course. "The game style over here is so different from the one in India -- it's much faster. For instance, you'll get a maximum of two touches [when you receive the ball]. It's pretty fast, even the movement with the ball. It was very difficult for me at first."
Add to this the basic barrier of communication. "My English was poor," she says, "but I slowly started learning the language. Now it's much better and that makes a big difference. If your communication is poor, you're unable to play [well]."
The tactical upgrade was also a big leap; from playing two or three formations in India to five or six in Cyprus. "It's a very different system... [In India] we play in fixed positions, here I've played in 3-4 different positions," she says.
She's played her natural left wing position but also striker, right wing (inverted), and left back. The latter is now her most common starting position. Not that it's dulled her scoring instincts: "I've scored six goals and made eight or nine assists," she says with a laugh. "My coach was very clear that he wanted to use me as an attacking outlet."
You can see it clearly in a goal she shared on her Instagram page -- where she starts deep and advances with a series of one-twos before finishing with clinical precision from inside the opposition box. The intangible X-factor that set her apart is still very much alive.
What this meant, though, was more adaptation. Remaining in a line, understanding offside traps, identifying pressing triggers... all vastly different from the position she's played all her life before this.
The best and the most special goal of my career so far. Today on my birthday, I wish to score many more goals for my country and make the nation proud ⚽���� I'll keep working harder and harder for that every day ��
Thank you all for the wishes #humbled #ShePower #IndianFootball https://t.co/s1gpkfnz1v
- Manisha Kalyan (@ManishaKalyan4) November 27, 2021
"I am [attack-minded], so when I went back into the defensive line, it took me a bit of time to adapt," she says. "The important thing, though, is that I'm playing, I'm with the team, and I'm helping the team from whichever position it is."
There is pride in the fact that she commands a starting position in the team, and there's good reason. Apollon are a juggernaut: this season they won 21 of the 21 games they played, scoring 122 goals, and conceding just... eight. They've won thirteen league titles since their inception in 2007. This is a very serious football team, and Manisha Kalyan is an integral part of it. That's quite something.
This is a place where there is no room for complacency. Manisha says that the club share nutrition charts, diet plans and training programs with the players and then it's up to them if they want to follow it. "You have to do it for yourself: if you want to play, you do it. Else, you won't play." It's as simple as that. For a player who would walk in, eyes closed, into any team in India, it's been a test of her professionalism. One she's glad she's taking.
She remains in Cyprus now, undergoing rehab for a minor injury she's carrying, and won't be taking part in this season's IWL. She's contracted to Apollon till May and is exploring an extension there or another European club. It's been a struggle personally: after the excitement of the first one-two months she started missing her family, friends and [Indian] food, but she believes it's all for the best.
"You need to sacrifice something to grow. Football is everything for me so I'm ready to do these sacrifices."
And so, she's ready for whatever new challenge comes her. The same old Manisha Kalyan: just a bit more confident, a bit more comfortable, a bit more ready. Way back when convincing her parents that she wanted to be a footballer, she had told them "I'll do something in football, become someone. Let me do it."
She's someone now alright. But the best part? She ain't anywhere near done just yet.