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!!
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!!
4 comments:
I say confidently that at last the Sleeping Giant will wake up and take the whole of Asia by a storm!!
i am wondering .. if the indian football team will ever be called Sleeping Gaint .. let alone the Cricket team. As far as i know ( purely from a third-peroson's point of view who doesnt know much abt FB) it takes lot of descipline and encouragement to get the indian FB team to that position.
@ Anil
It does mate!!! and they are showing that!!! they have started implementing the AFC principles...more national camps, better facilities and less number of uneccessary domestic tournaments for the national players!!!
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