Legendary striker Sheikh Mohammad Aslam (L) and his contemporaries rolled back the years during an exhibition match between BFF XI and Sonali Otit Club organised to mark the 44th Victory Day at the recently-laid astro-turf at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday. PHOTO: BFF

An exhibition match between BFF XI and Sonali Otit Club to mark the 45th Victory Day of Bangladesh yesterday brought back memories of the heydays of some household names of country's football of 80s and 90s on the newly laid artificial turf at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur.

The match eventually ended in a 3-3 draw but it brought back memories of the better fray between Abahani's striker Sheikh Mohammad Aslam and Mohammedan SC's defender Kaiser Hamid, the display of last national recognized striking pair Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib and Alfaz Ahmed, 'the horse-run' of striker Ilias Hossain, the show of 'Sultan of Rahmatganj' and some demonstrations from midfielders like Satyajit Das Rupu, Nurul Haque Manik and Gaffar Chowdhury and some display under the post by Sayed Hasan Kanon and Nizam Majumder.

Aslam was the constant threat for the opponents for his 'trade-mark header and side-volley' and the hitman at the age of 56 did not disappoint a few holiday crowds.

The spectators also did not disappoint Aslam as they applauded loudly from the gallery after a goal he scored by head and a spectacular side volley that was parried by Nizam.

“I was not supposed to muster that type of side volley at the age of 56 but the artificial turf inspired me to do it today [Wednesday]. I have earned this skill with a lot of practice,” said Aslam after the match.

Kaiser Hamid, one of best defenders the country has produced, enthralled the spectators with a freekick from distance though he could not find the target.

“Aslam bhai was always a threat for the defenders and we gave him additional attention when he was in attack,” said Kaiser. “I could recall the memory of those days which were really fantastic.”

Strikers Nakib and Alfaz might have less popularity than Aslam and Kaiser but the striking pair was the architect behind the many triumphs of Mohammedan and they again paired up upfront to share three goals among them.

The friendly was also a platform for a reunion of the former footballers like Sultan, Liton, Tito, Israfil, Mossaraf Badal, Nasir, Rashid, defender Salahuddin, Montu and many others.