India's chances of making it to the second stage of the Asian World Cup qualifiers look slim, but
the team deserves to be congratulated for bringing Indian football out of the intensive care unit and showing they can match
rivals rated above them if they get the chance to express themselves.
Of course, it's just been the first step towards what seems to be a marathon journey, but it's good to see that
Bhaichung, Vijayan and Co. have brought things back on track after a severe derailment.
It couldn't have been better timed as things were looking gloomy like never before following a dismal Millennium Cup
campaign under Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov. The elimination of the under-16 and under-19 teams from the preliminary stages of
the respective Asian Championships was also an indication that Indian football was not moving in the right direction.
That's why coach Sukhwinder Singh deserves praise and an extension. Sukhi has been around for some time now, but the
federation has never given him a proper, long contract. He has been asked to take charge 15 or 20 days before each
tournament, which is anything but desirable.
The Punjab man has succeeded as far as defensive organisation is concerned and also made midfielders strike the right
combination and understanding with the deep defence. This was essential to do well in away matches and full marks to him for
doing a tight job in this department. His task now should be to create a more potent attacking combination.
Despite having Bhaichung and I. M. Vijayan upfront, the team has not threatened enough on the counterattack and lack of
thrust from the wings could be a reason behind this apart from inaccurate passing in the penultimate zone. Also, the speed
and precision required to make counterattacks more effective has been lacking. This is an area Sukhi can think of working on
after he gets a long-term contract.
Ideally, he should be appointed for two to three years with proper pay and a strong support team consisting of doctors,
physiotherapists, physical trainers and scientists. Sukhi has shown there is no need for foreign coaches for the senior
Indian team, and if the federation is too keen to hire one, it should get somebody who must ensure that Indian junior teams
do not lose against teams like Bangladesh and Pakistan!
If a foreign coach has to be hired, he must belong to the top bracket and should be given charge of the under-16 team.
Along with kudos, there is a word of caution for Bhaichung as well. No doubt he has been a key figure in the remarkable
change in attitude shown by the Indian team, but he can't just go on criticising the referee. True, he must feel dejected if
he gets a bad decision, but such prolonged outburst is uncalled for. Even players like Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and
Ariel Ortega have been thrown out of key World Cup matches and the decisions have not always been above suspicion.
The Indian skipper must realise that Fifa is going to stand by the referees in case of a controversy and he may face
unexpected consequences if his sustained outburst comes to the Fifa or the AFC's notice.
After a long time, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has done something praiseworthy by keeping the Indian team
in a good hotel in UAE between the matches against the Gulf state and Yemen instead of flying back to India. Such facilities
could not be imagined during our days and I can remember our plight on our way back from the Seoul Asian Games when we were
stranded in Hong Kong for nearly three days. In this case, Sukhi and the players have been able to concentrate on the job
and train without unnecessary pressure.
The AIFF men could have done better had they followed my advice of grooming players of the national junior team which
finished fifth in the 1996 Asian junior championship. My suggestion was to give some kind of contract to those players so
that they stayed within the AIFF fold rather than joining clubs and send them to as many tournaments as possible.
It's not that the AIFF didn't try, but the effort was not enough. Even now, the AIFF should look for promising boys and
keep the bunch for training and exposure.
This is important considering the problems those surfaced during picking the pre-World Cup team as the clubs refused to
release more than three players.
With all attention on the Indian team, the IFA has quietly introduced a lien policy for the Calcutta league whereby teams
can borrow players from states that don't have a full-fledged league. There can be few bad news than this for local players
and smaller clubs.
If such a system starts functioning, only the bigger clubs (read East Bengal and Mohun Bagan) are going to avail of it.
As it is, other clubs suffer at the hands of the foreigners these clubs hire but now, things will turn worse for them.
Such a system will further diminish the competitive aspect of the Calcutta league, which is in any case not famous for
it. Also, the promotional aspect of the smaller clubs and local players will decrease. If the lien system has to be
implemented, there should be some restriction, like two-three players per club.
by PK Banerjee
appeared in The Telegraph on May 9, 2001