Football News

Visit of the FIFA president Sepp Blatter was one such initiative that took the country by storm, not to mention the international football fraternity. His sole mission was to encourage Indian businesses to invest in the game and to spread the message that football can be a great investment venture.

The appointment of Bob Houghton as the national team’s coach in 2006 was an inspired move by the AIFF. The former Fulham midfielder came in with bags of international coaching experience as well as technical and tactical prowess which no Indian coach could have brought. He immediately instilled a sense of responsibility and solidity into the side.

Bob failed in convincing Michael Chopra who currently plays for Sunderland F.C in the English Premier League to join the Indian national team but he did manage to increase the average height of the team, which still falls short by a couple of inches of international standards.

The Englishman's next endeavor was to convince the AIFF to reinstate the Nehru cup after a 10 year long hiatus. The 2007 edition of the cup feature big football playing countries(Uruguay,Hungary,Poland or Russia) like the previous editions of the cup had, this time the highest ranked team invited was Syria at 112.)

Before the Nehru cup the AIFF arranged some practice matches in Portugal which turned out to be a good practice trip for the players. Although the matches were played against second and third division club sides it was ideal preparation for the team to win their maiden Nehru cup.

When India beat Syria in the final (1-0) thanks to a N.P Pradeep goal, the whole country saw the rebirth of Indian football much like the rebirth of the Nehru cup. Although the tournament didn’t get a lot of international media coverage it made the whole country stand up and take notice of the achievements of the team. Baichung Bhutia, the Indian captain, was quick to praise his team mates and the work done by Houghton.

The win marked a kind of renaissance in Indian football and calls for further improvement were echoed by the whole team. The improvement in Indian football can be seen, but there is still a long and arduous road ahead, the lack of infrastructure is proving to be a major stumbling block.

From the lack of international standard stadiums to the lack of quality coaches, Indian football has been plagued with these problems since time immemorial. Having said that, things are slowly changing for the better.

Source: //Goal.com

You could see the kids head to the football ground, with the symbols of Real Madrid or Manchester United gleaming proudly on their jerseys, a glitter in every eye, wanting to emulate their foreign idols. That’s right, FOREIGN idols.

In 2007, Indian Football has not just cricket, Formula 1 or even hockey to contend with; it has the European football leagues to overcome.

Don’t even bother walking into a sports shop to ask for a Mohun Bagan T-shirt. “ We don’t have any of those, but why not try our range of Spanish , English, Italian, German or even MLS t-shirts?”, is the answer you will get. The domestic league? It's a joke. Some of the teams simply play to exist in the league. Most of them end up spending most of their money hiring Brazilian players and African players to bail them out of their misery.

In 2006-2007 the 29 foreign players in the league scored as many as 133 of the 243 goals scored, ;eaving the 254 Indians to manage 110 strikes between them. Our only ray of sunshine? Sunil Chetri, who top scored among the Indians with 12 goals.

The practice grounds, football arenas, television broadcasts are all a huge mess. I couldn’t help watch in dismay, when Jose Mourinho moaned about the pathetic state of the pitch at Stamford Bridge a few years back. That pitch would be heaven to our Indian professionals!

Want to catch a match between the heavyweights East Bengal and Mohun Bagan? Tough luck my friend! It’s not anyone’s fault here. The number of spectators is low since the standard of the game in our country is pitiable. One would rather watch TV and be wowed by a classy Maradona-like goal by Messi or an unbelievable free-kick from Gerrard.

On the other hand, fewer the spectators, lesser the revenue which means lesser the wages and lesser the standards of the sport. It happens to be a symbiotic relationship. It’s just that neither side’s contributing much to each other. People too are reluctant to follow a career in professional football. They prefer cricket, especially now that wages in the game are increasing

We need a Sunil Chetri or a Bhaichung Bhutia to get a few big advertising deals in order to prove that money exists in football. Maybe then reluctant Indian parents will let their children pursue a career in this otherwise impoverished field.

Perhaps the I-League will bring us something new and exciting. But with the same old clubs and the same old faces on the pitch, one can’t help but think this is just a cosmetic makeover. I’ll still be keeping my fingers crossed though.

Source: //goal.com

According to Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva says India would do well to aim at qualifying for the 2014 World Cup instead of focus 2010 edition of the quadrennial mega event.

"It is very important to spot talented youngsters now so that they will be prepared when the next cycle of World Cup qualification comes around," he said.

"The Federation and everybody else connected with football game should look at the bigger picture and have a macro vision, not a micro one," Pereira, who coached the famous Vasco da Gama club to national title in the 1970s, said.

India take on Lebanon on October 8 and 28 in the first round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa, but Pereira said it was imperative that India planned ahead for the 2014.

Talent has to be spotted at a young age and groomed properly for the desired end, he said. "Players such as Bhaichung (Bhutia) and S Venkatesh won't be around by that time, so there is need to look for their replacements," Pereira, who has had coaching stints as far afield as Europe, Middle East and South-east Asia, said.