The Cradle of Indian Football – Goa!

15:00 hrs, Sunday – the 23rd of December; a huge traffic chaos at Agacaim on NH -17. Not quite the time for traffic mess and moreover not in Goa, please! A roar – and the score is 1 – 0; a spectacular volley and the “Young Boys of Agacaim” take the lead. The local boys have scored and the crowd goes berserk. It’s the Semi – Final of the Invitational U – 16 tourney organized by the home team itself. The traffic on NH – 17 is moving at a Snail’s Pace. This is not siesta time; but it’s the peak of the Football Season in Goa! That’s passion for you!!!

The State of Goa, known as the Pearl of the Orient is not only famous for its beaches, its music, its people or its cuisine but for the most popular game in the World! It’s a part of every Goan’s life. Be it any time of the year or when the Sun is blazing hot, Football never stops in Goa! And this passion for Football is there to be seen by the Fraternity of Indian Football.

The history of Goan Football is one of the richest after the State of Bengal. Goa has the most number of trophies after the State of Bengal (counting the Winning and Runners – Up trophies). But with the changing times, the demographics of Indian Football have changed. Goa has slowly become the Powerhouse of Indian Football – producing players who are regulars in the Indian National Side; producing champion Clubs who have not only won laurels for the State but also have taken Indian Club Football to the highest level in the Continental Championship. Dempo SC, Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube De Goa, Salgaocar Sports Club, Vasco Sports Club, Fransa and the erstwhile Sesa Goa are the noted clubs from the State of Goa who have always bagged the limelight in Indian Football. By Far, Dempo SC is the most successful among them all; winning the I – league and recently missing a Final Berth at the AFC Cup – 2008.

Goan Football is not only driven by passion but there is something beyond, which takes the game to a new level altogether. Infrastructure – this is the word which is the basic building block of every success story. The Infrastructure that is being talked about doesn’t only mean Stadiums, Practice Grounds but other non – materialistic logistics needed to build a strong foundation. I categorize Infrastructure into 2; Masonic and non – Masonic. Goan football has the mix of both making it a perfect recipe for Success. The main Stadia’s of Fatorda and Duler are truly the best places to play football in India. Right from the ground conditions to the seating, everything is managed in a very professional way. Every village and town has its own Playing Pitch which is maintained round the year. Goa proudly boasts of having the only Astro-turf Pitch for football in the whole of South Asia. Goan Football is always blessed with the best knowledge its coaches have. Apart from this, there is no dearth of Corporate Sponsorships – the fact that all the biggies of club Football in Goa are owned by Corporate houses speaks volumes about the support, the game enjoys. And last but not the least; it’s the Government’s whole hearted support along with its passion for the game that has propelled Football in Goa to its gr8est heights.

FIFA says that the foundation to a strong football culture starts from the Grass root level. In football, having a strong Grass root means the Youth Programme has to be strong enough to supply footballers of the highest quality. Football requires dedication and discipline right from the ages of 8-10 years. Goa boasts of a very strong Youth Programme - the S.A.I (Sports Authority of Goa) and the G.F.A. (Goa Football Association) have a very good support structure with professional coaches and sports equipment. The 12 C.o.E. (Centres of Excellence) located at Arpora, Taleigao, Pilar, Chicalim, Assagao, Morjim, Chinchinim, Chandor, Raia, and Nuvem, with Duler and Fatorda form the inner hard core of the youth Programme .The big clubs of Goa maintain some of the strongest U-12, U-15, and U-17 teams in the country. The same players make it to the Senior Squad showing their true colors later on. Additionally Football Academies like S.F.A. (Sesa Football Academy) add more strength to the base of Football in Goa. G.F.A also has one of the strongest youth coach development programme.

On a given Sunday newspaper, one finds at least more than 10-15 tournaments being played at the same time. What are these tournaments??? Isn’t it crazy to imagine such a huge number on a single day!! This is Amateur Football 4 you. Each village/town club maintains an amateur team. These teams are the supply machines to the various scouts preying around for raw talent from these villages. The same talent is then nurtured and groomed by the various support structures and then you have the finished product of a professional footballer. Amateur football has been the single and the biggest reason of Goan Football’s success story. Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, Bruno Coutinho, Alvito D’Cunha, etc have all been the products of Amateur Football.

Goan Football has one of the brightest future in Indian Football. Recently, Goa was chosen as a model state for the prestigious Vision Asia programme supported by the A.F.C. Peter Kenyon, the C.E.O. of Chelsea F.C. chose Goa for the extended support the club wants to provide to Indian Football. Moreover the Indian team has chosen Goa as the permanent venue for all its national camps. With all the big clubs doing fantastically well in the National Championships, things can only move ahead and there is no looking back.

The Final that will Change Indian Soccer forever!!

8:15 pm, 13.8.2008 – its drizzling at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi. A handful of spectators are on their way to catch the last Metro back home. 2 young boys are running around the stadium with the Indian Flag which flutters in the drizzle. But it’s the 13th, 2 days before Independence Day – what is the occasion? History was created today in Indian Sport and more importantly in Indian Football!!

After a long wait of 24 years, the Boys in Blue qualify for the Asia Cup to be held in 2011 – the Euro of Asia! This is one of the most defining moments in Indian Soccer and it is the Dawn – of things to come in the future; I confidently say that the Sleeping Giant of Asian Football is waking up,and I say- they did it in style!!

4-1; that’s a staggering score line by which India beat Tajikistan, the defending Champions of the AFC Challenge Cup and thus dethroning them to become the new champions. This was itself history as India had never won a Continental Championship in the Asian level for a long time after the Asian Games. The 1964 Runners-Up of the Continental showpiece have arrived in Asia.
Coming back to the Final – referring to my last blog, I mentioned that the team had sheer spirit which orchestrated their march to the AFC Challenge Cup Final. I will add something to it today – pure technical football!!! It was a display of sheer quality in all departments, the forwards, the midfield, the defense and more importantly the performance of the Goalkeeper!! I could easily say we were watching some top flight Asian Team playing!!!

India dominated the first 22 minutes scoring 3 goals and sweeping the match away from Tajikistan. It was a dream start which I don't think even Bob Houghton ever dreamed of. It was very evident from his confused smile. 2 of them were scored by Sunil Chhetri – the protégé of Bhutia and of course the man himself Baichung. All 3 were World Class goals among which Baichung‘s was the best! It was a goal out of this world – can surely say that he has a knack of producing the most unthinkable goals anytime. The whole Tajik defense looked merely like a school team with no answer to the dangerous strike partners of India!

However the Tajik’s were not a defending champion by default-they lived up to that pedigree. Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev pulled a goal back with a 25 yard pile driver to give the Tajik’s a ray of hope. The score was 3-1 in the lemon break. It was very well expected that the Tajik’s would come back strongly and indeed they did. There were waves after waves of Tajik attacks but the Indian Defense stood firm marshaled by Subrata Paul – the “Buffon” of India (Co-incidentally his idol is Gianluigi Buffon). 74 minutes, and India sealed their place in the Asia Cup through Chhetri who as an opportunistic predator scored the 4th Goal. The score line of the evening could easily have been 6-1 if it had not been Mehrajudin Wadoo's bullet and Gourmangi’s header that hit the woodwork.

The whole tournament has brought new Stars to Indian Sport. The Boys in Blue look a much balanced team and more importantly a fearless and formidable unit. Subrata Paul is one big star in the making. This guy has his basics intact and more importantly is one flexible goalkeeper I have seen in a long time. He reminds me of Oliver Kahn-his dives are reminiscent of the Great Custodian. Then the defensive quadruple of Surkumar, Samir, Gourmangi and Anwar-not the world class defense like the Italians or the Germans but indeed the most effective and they have always answered when called upon keeping the Tajik forwards at bay. The Indian team did not have their best players at the back in the absence of Mahesh Gawli and N.S. Manju but this makeshift defense has risen to the occasion in this tournament.

I have already talked about the Midfield in the previous article of mine but I must again talk about the midfield today which was the main reason for this huge score line. All the 4 goals were scored with assists and mind it, important crosses from the midfield. Steven, Climax, Rennedy and Pradeep all lived up to the expectations that they had built. But something more interesting to note was the role of Pradeep and Climax. Pradeep played as the 3rd Striker throughout the match and Climax the stopping midfielder. Steven’s and Rennedy’ s pin point crossing time and again inflicted maximum damage to the Tajik’s. Most of the balls split the defense completely. Something more interesting to note was the wing of the Indian team. It reminded me of the South American Style of Football. Both the left and the right backs-in our case Samir Naik and Surkumar Singh always made the outside runs to support the midfield. Samir’s cross was the fuel for Baichung‘s world Class goal. Watch out for the midfielders to make their mark in Asian and may be in World Football, sooner than later.

Lastly I can’t stop from talking about the lethal Strike partnership the Indian Team has right now – the one of Baichung and Sunil Chhetri. It reminded me of Dronacharya and Arjun; the master and his student. Sunil Chhetri is definitely the protégé of Baichung and he proved it by stealing the limelight in this tournament. He scored 3 out of the 4 goals of the final; this is something very unusual with Baichung playing the match. Sunil Chhetri has transformed as a player over the last 2 years under Bob. He is never down, and is a hungry and opportunistic striker which is the need of any modern Football playing nation. It was very evident when he missed several chances in the semi finals but kept on trying and got the lone and winning goal. Sushil Kumar Singh is a fast player but needs to develop his intelligence if he has to step in as a striker and compliment Sunil in the near future.

Overall, I see a very strong Indian Side in the coming years considering the junior teams we have. By 2011, we should be well prepared and should be like a well oiled machine operated by Bob. He has single handedly catapulted Indian Football to the Elite Club of Asia in the last 2 years. He is the “Guss Hiddink” for India and he needs to stay with us till 2011.
The drizzle has slowly washed away the Dark Age of Indian Soccer and a new dawn has come. India is all set to take Asia by storm and may be the whole World. The heart and only the heart says “Indiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa India!!”

Indian Soccer @ AFC Challenge Cup

It has been just over 2 years and 2 months since "Robert Douglas Houghton" viz. Bob Houghton took over as the manager of the Indian National Soccer team and its time to sit down and contemplate the progress the Soccer team has made under this prolific man and what better platform than to take a look at the performance of the team at the ongoing AFC Challenge Cup. He took over at a time when Indian soccer was in a period which we can easily call as the “Dark Age of Indian Soccer”. But since then Soccer in India has grown by leaps and bounds and this can be easily summarized by the progress the Indian National Team is making.

It would be great injustice if I just started of by talking about the Indian Team’s performance at the ongoing AFC Challenge Cup. This is just one of the results of the “master plan” which was orchestrated by Bob. It’s been an odyssey and now we see the writing very clearly on the wall.

2 years before we were nowhere counted among the emerging football playing nations in Asia; but in less than 4 hours from now we could be in the top flight of Asian Soccer – qualifying for the Asian Cup 2011 to be held in Qatar. This is good enough to summarize what has been achieved in Indian Soccer in the last 2 years.

This “master plan” started showing its true colors exactly in the last summer when the Boys in Blue won the Nehru Cup for the first time. This was itself history and it was no small feat. They beat Syria in the final 1-0; which itself caught everybody by surprise in Asia. Syria itself is a powerhouse in Soccer in West Asia. This was the most moral boosting moment for Indian Football. There would be critics who will say that this was a scrambled win but mind it – it was not. One touch play, one – two passing, attacking the aerial balls, pin point crossing, keeping the ball possession; all this was missing in the previous teams. I must confess as a follower and fan of Indian Soccer – this took me by surprise too! But still it was long way to go before the team could really claim that they played real technical soccer.

AFC Challenge Cup – a tournament played among the emerging and developing Soccer nations in Asia; this would turnout to be the real test for Indian Soccer. It’s like a board exam – where it all matters the most. And what’s the prize; a direct Qualification to the Asia Cup to be held in 2011 – the Asian version of the Euro. India had prepared hard for this tournament – a practice tour to Portugal where they had intensive training sessions and played practice matches – of course not with the top flight clubs of Portuguese Soccer but with opponents who were decent enough.

The tournament had some tough teams featuring in it; North Korea, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Myanmar. It started on a dicey note with India being clubbed in the horror group of the tournament with Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Both central Asian nations have their unique style of play and on their day can give any team in the world a tough fight. But this came as a real moral booster for the team. Nevertheless the Indian team showed what made it different from their ancestral versions – the grit and the spirit of never giving up and fighting till the end and more importantly standing brave and fearless, be it any opponent. And this was more justified looking at the ground conditions in which the tournament was played. Its monsoon time in India and the Gachibowli was tormented by the relentless monsoons making the football pitch unplayable for technical soccer. But it was the shear new spirit which the Indian team had that propelled it to the leader of the group and then to the Finals of the AFC Challenge Cup.

This tournament also threw light on the talents of Indian Soccer and the future stars of Asian Football (I say this very confidently). Steven Dias is the next big star of Indian Soccer – I call him the “Poor man’s David Beckham”. His pin point accuracy in his crosses and free kicks have caught everyone’s eye. Then we have Climax Lawrence who is like the “Makelele” of Indian Soccer. Tremendous work-rate and plays in each and every role. With a strong midfield with Climax, Steven, N P Pradeep we have a formidable team in the making.

Overall the AFC Challenge Cup is a dawn in Indian Soccer. This will propel India to new heights and I hope they win the tournament in just less than 4 hours now and propel itself into Asian Limelight. I say confidently that at last the Sleeping Giant will wake up and take the whole of Asia by a storm!!