In his prime, he used to not only block opposition raids but also dribble past the rival defence with elan and rarely missed the target; but negotiating the bureaucratic maze is altogether a different ball game for Chandeshwar Prasad.
The former India football captain and the lone surviving Arjuna awardee of Bihar, Prasad is trying hard to get his dues from the government but his plea has fallen on deaf ears.
A former liaison officer with the moribund Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC), Prasad, who took voluntary retirement in 2000, is suffering from a kidney problem for last several years and wants his salary arrears and retirement benefits amounting to about Rs 12 lakh.
''I am not asking for any undue favour. I just want the Corporation to pay my dues. I have worked for it for 22 years," Prasad, who was conferred the Arjuna award in 1971, said.
Prasad, who captained India in 1971 and was selected for the Asian All Star XI in 1969, said all he had been paid was Rs 1.27 lakh in two installments when G S Kang, the present Chief Secretary of the State, was the administrator of BSRTC.
The India stopper from 1964 to 1971, who also led Mohun Bagan from 1969 to 1971 and Mohammedan Sporting in 1973, said he had even met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last month but "nothing fruitful happened".
He was present at an investiture ceremony for sportspersons, at the imposing S K Memorial Hall in Patna on Tuesday, where the Chief Minister, along with State Sports Minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal, gave away 'Khel Samman' awards to 130 players.
The sole purpose of Prasad's presence, which largely went unnoticed, was to petition the minister to get his dues.
"The minister has promised to look into my problem. I hope he does not go back on it," said Prasad.