Clydebank to Calcutta
Published 25 Aug 2011 09:30
FORMER Rangers player Alan Gow has revealed his excitement about his sensational summer transfer to India.
Having plied his trade at teams around the UK, the Whitecrook 28-year-old has just signed for Kolkata (Calcutta) outfit Kingfisher East Bengal which plays in the Indian I-League.
The head-turning transfer is an unusual move for a Scottish player of Alan's calibre as he is thought to be the first UK footballer to play professionally in the country which hails cricket as its first sporting love.
Alan is only one of four foreigners in the squad which includes two Nigerians and an Australian.
The Post spoke to Alan as he sorted out visa papers in Clydebank having returned from completing his medical in India a few days earlier.
Alan said: "It just came out of the blue - the manager of the club is English and my agent Kenny spoke to someone over there and they said they were interested in me.
"He was asked if I would interested in coming over.
"I had a few options staying in Scotland and England but I thought it was time for a wee change.
"It's a great contract they've offered to me financially and it will be good to go for the season.
"I went over for a week recently and I did my medical at the weekend.
"They haven't had many Europeans or anyone from the UK over there so there was a lot of media and it was a bit of madness.
"I went to train for a few days after the medical to meet the boys and a lot of the fans came to watch.
"You stand out a mile over there - I think some of them don't understand me so I had to slow down when I was speaking."
Kingfisher play in the massive Salt Lake Stadium which has a capacity of 120,000 and is the second largest football stadium in the world. They compete in a cup competition from September to December and then play a league season after that.
Alan is keen to get back out at the end of this week when his visa papers are all sorted.
He added: "It's a big difference with the culture - everything is totally different.
"The club I'm going to is one of the big two in India.
"It used to be a British colony so there's a lot of British influence and everyone speaks English so it helps. They got us a villa in a gated community and the population is massive, everything is very busy, so they've given us a driver.
"It will be a good experience - I have just signed for a season and see how it goes.
"I hope to come back and play in Scotland or England at some point."
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