The Valiant Story of Lindsay Rose of Mauritius: From Tackling Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Frustrating Indian Football Team in Hyderabad

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A certain Lindsay Rose's eyes light up when you ask him about what it was facing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Karim Benzema at the pinnacle of his career in France. The Mauritius centre-back, who played for French giants Olympique Lyonnais and captained the France U-21 team, only leaves you mesmerised with the insights he has to offer on the modern-day legends of the game.

"Karim Benzema is sublime and lethal with the ball on his feet, you give him an inch, he takes the whole yard but Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he is something else altogether. When talent meets street-smartness, you get Zlatan," says Lindsay, while recalling a duel with the Swede during a Ligue 1 match against PSG.

"Zlatan toys with your mind," laughs the France-born versatile defender, who is also comfortable playing as a right-back. "A little shove to my guts and I wondered why would he do that, by then Zlatan had already gained five yards on me and was running away with the ball. He is the epitome of what world-class football is all about. A little trick here and there and that makes all the difference you need to win the match."

It's something the Mauritian captain has carried with him ever since and often uses as a distraction to perturb the forward he is marking. Indian footballers certainly got a taste of it during the India vs Mauritius match at the Intercontinental Cup 2024 in Hyderabad, when the World No. 179 held their higher-ranked opponent for a goalless draw.

The East African island nation turned out to be the surprise package even though the team was largely built around amateur and semi-professional players. In fact, just three of their players have a full-time or professional contract, including Lindsay, who is the only Mauritian player in a European Top Division -- Three-time Greek league champions Aris Thessaloniki. While the Indian fans and fraternity are largely unaware of this, the result sent shockwaves into the nation's football ecosystem as none expected such a stubborn Mauritius defense.

Lindsay, who was born some 9,000 km away from Mauritius in northwest France to a French mother in the city of art and history called Rennes, was in the heart of their defense and the true leader. The 32-year-old captain, however, likes to keep his feet on the ground and carries an astonishing humility for someone who has played top-flight football. Lindsay, in fact, is no novice to Indian football, through his dear friend Hugo Boumous, a familiar and popular name in the country.

"I have nothing but respect for Indian football, it has the Europeans talking for the way it has ramped up with the inception of your football league (Indian Super League)," Lindsay tells myKhel during a frank conversation in Hyderabad. "My good friend Boumous played for a few years here and through his social media posts I got to know how much the (Mohun Bagan) fans adored him."

So how did that knowledge help him frustrate the Blue Tigers in front of a boisterous home crowd? That too with an inexperienced team, whose players reached the city a night before the kick-off, devoid of any practice session.

"For that you have to understand how hardworking the Mauritian players are," explains Lindsay, who was aware that India was playing their first game with a new coach. "Football alone won't earn you enough in my country. That's why most of my teammates are moonlighting; some of them are working as chauffeurs, and construction workers in the day before heading to the field to play what they love the most. In fact, we reached India late because they were not getting leaves from job any earlier. Reaching a day before the match was normal for them. That's the reality of Mauritian football."

Lindsay won't brag about this but a lot centers around him in Club M (nickname of the national team) as he is the beacon of hope for Mauritian football that struggles to gain the attention of the masses on an island that spreads over a mere 2,040 km square. With an estimated population of 12, 65,475 -- which is less than at least 28 Indian states and UTs -- the Mauritius Premier League is finding it hard to attract fans to the stadia.

It turns out that Mauritians, 67% of whom are of Indian ethnicity, have found their icons abroad, including Bollywood stars, while the indigenous talents have failed to catch their imaginations. Similar to the Indian crowd, Mauritians want to see champions. That was evident with the reception given to their maiden Paralympics medallist Yovanni Philippe, who won bronze in Paris recently and was greeted by the nation's PM at the airport.

"Just like India, it's European football icons and clubs that are popular in Mauritius," says Archad Burahee, director of Bestway Soccer, who works in close proximity with the Mauritius Football Association (MFA). "Mauritian league is neither televised nor the fans are showing up in numbers for the matches, which doesn't attract any sponsors too. Our main focus has been to bring fans back to the stadium first."

As evident from the fact that national team players moonlight, there isn't much money to make in football. The top division, consisting of 10 teams, runs for a span of eight to 10 months per season while the players in the top clubs earn around US$ 450 per month (Rs 40,000 approximately) while the footballers in smaller clubs may earn as little as Rs 10,000 per month.

"We encourage our local talents to go abroad and play football, we try to find that avenue for them too," says Archad. "For a small island nation, there's talent in the country. Having someone like Lindsay Rose helps in realising that as he brings his top-quality football and professional ethics to the team and is a leader that inspires the footballers in the country."

In fact, that very thought of inspiring generations of Mauritian footballers is something that convinced Lindsay to switch his national allegiance to his paternal side.

"It wasn't difficult for the federation to convince Lindsay to switch his allegiance," says Archad. "Nobody would have blamed him if he decided to continue to fight for Les Bleus (France national team) as someone who has been the senior's pre-selection call-ups too. But he understood his responsibility towards his roots and the difference he could make in taking Mauritius football forward."

Lindsay's international career has taken a different path all together ever since, as his main objective now is to take Mauritius football to new heights. The challenges of doing that is something ardent Indian football fans can draw parallels with from a couple of decades ago.

In the early 2000s, India's then-National Football League was not attracting the Indian crowd with the TV telecast was not in question. Indian FIFA ranking in that era slumped to as low as 160s before the revamped I-League and then ISL brought football to a stage where fans are now demanding results instead of pitying.

In comparison, the endeavours of Lindsay and Mauritius football are increasingly onerous with the size of the football market they currently have. For a heavy investment in football from private bodies, one would expect a return too, which will correlate to Mauritius football's success. And as clichéd as it may sound, Lindsay believes it's not impossible.

"Challenges are never easy, that's why they are called challenges," says Lindsay. "I knew before coming that I may not take Mauritius to the World Cup, but that won't stop me from trying. It's about baby steps with a vision to take Mauritius forward and whenever we hit a barrier, I tell myself and the team, Rome wasn't built in a day!"