Dagenham and Redbridge skipper, Anwar Uddin
Anwar Uddin has been a revelation at Dagenham and Redbridge FC since joining them three years ago.
In that time, they have gone from being a mid-table Conference side into one that is challenging for promotion to the football league. He was made captain of the first team earlier this season and has embraced his position with great enthusiasm.
The club has overtaken Oxford United at the top of the Conference table and have a three-point lead over their rivals.
Uddin believes he is playing for a team where the players have the hunger and drive to achieve big things.
"We have got players who have played at all levels of the game, from the top to the lower leagues," he said. "The manager has brought in players who have got a point to prove that they can play at the top level. Regardless of who we play and how big the opposition is, we have got this desire to win and we stop at nothing."
BNP area
His role of skipper may be seen as a surprise to many, as the club is located in an area where there has been support for the British National Party.
According to statistics, Barking and Dagenham is the first council in the country to have the BNP as the second-biggest party.
"In Dagenham and some places in Essex, there are people who, let's not beat around the bush, are prejudiced to certain races," Uddin said. "There are people in any area who are good and bad. Dagenham has a reputation but to be honest, they have been great with me."
Breaking down barriers
Uddin says that it is the beauty of football that breaks down barriers.
"Say you had the most racist guy you could ever meet, and he became a manager. If you said to him, we will give you the best player in the world and he is black or Asian, do you think he would say no? He would say yes because he wants success.
"That is the way it goes and that is the beautiful thing about football - it breaks boundaries, and race or colour don't matter.
"In society it does, because people do have prejudices towards certain people because of the colour of their skin. In football, the only colour you are is the colour of your shirt."
Experience
Uddin talks with great enthusiasm about how far he can take the club. It is the experience of playing at all levels of football in a span of 10 years that has seen him taste the highs and lows of being a professional footballer.
He began his career at West Ham United in 1997 as a member of the youth team which featured the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson - players who are now making waves with bigger clubs.
"It was brilliant (at West Ham). I don't think you could have asked for a better education in football," he said. "We had so much quality - being part of that every day and learning from these players, it was the best education anyone could hope for."
By the end of his time at West Ham as a professional, he had worked alongside the likes of Frank Lampard and Paolo Di Canio.
"I sampled what it is like to be at the very highest level and I know exactly what is like and it was a great experience."
Hard work pays off
The biggest lesson that Uddin learnt was that to be a top player, you had to put in the hard work.
"The most important thing I have learnt is that (the best players) haven't got there through luck and through their ability. They have all got one thing in common and that they work so hard.
People don't see the work that goes into training every week. They only see the games on a Saturday and Sunday. They don't see these guys work so hard everyday.
"Frank Lampard is the best example I could give you. At West Ham, he had a lot of critics because his father was assistant manager and they thought he was playing because of that.
"But he trained every day. When he finished with the first team, he trained with the youth team. He made me realise that if you want something bad enough, if you work and try hard, anything is possible, and now look at him. He is regarded as one of the best in the world."
Uddin left West Ham in 2002 in search of guaranteed first team football. He moved to Sheffield Wednesday but was there for only a brief time before moving to Bristol Rovers.
He was soon playing regularly as well as attracting interest from other clubs.
"I was looking for a place where I could go, get my head down and show everyone I could play and show everyone how good I am."
Injury set back
But then things changed when Uddin was struck with a serious injury in the early part of 2003, which put him out for 18 months. He tore his groin in three places and had to have an operation, which could have dented his confidence to continue as a footballer.
"It took me some time to recover from the injury and I suffered so many setbacks. Every time I came back, something would go wrong, and you just think it is never ending. When you are out for that period of time, people forget about you."
"In football, you can be a star one year and the next, people literally just forget about you."
The future
Despite all that has happened, Uddin is quite philosophical about the path he took in his career.
"In life, as in football, your paths all end up in different ways. I can look at what Joe Cole and Carrick are doing. We all took a different route, and I took a route which I do think would have been successful if I hadn't got injured at Bristol Rovers."
"I chose football and if you choose a career like this, you have to understand that as well as the positives, there can be massive negatives and being injured is one of them. I don't regret it, I don't dwell on it."
After brief spells with Hereford United and Telford United, he decided to move back to London to be close to his family in Stepney, east London. In 2004, Dagenham came in to continue his football rehabilitation, and Uddin jumped at the chance to play for a side that seemed to be going places.
"Dagenham gave me a great opportunity. The manager knew that if he could get me half-fit, I could be great for the club. That has been the case. I have contributed in turning them from a mediocre Conference side into a team that is looking to win the league."
Crowd favourite
Uddin has been a crowd favourite at Dagenham and the fans took to him instantly. He received the Player of the Season award in 2004/2005 and has built a reputation as a tough-tackling, no-nonsense defender.
"The club have been very good to me and I feel I have been good in return because I have put in some great displays and I have created a team that is capable of winning the league."
But with success comes interest and Uddin says the club and he have talked about other sides who have asked about his availability.
"It is the sort of decision I and the club will have to make and if it comes to it, obviously, it has to be beneficial for the club and myself. I am not going to leave without the club benefitting. If it's a great opportunity I can't say no, but at the same time, all I am focused on is getting Dagenham to the football league."
by Zohaib Rashid, Eastern Eye
