6th NFL - When it Rains... it Pours

The 6th edition of the NFL has thrown up lots of excitement, even more goals and left a lot more unanswered questions than all the preceding versions. With 10 rounds, and 60 matches played, the usual expected teams are emerging at the top. But there are a few surprises. And there are also some things that perhaps, will never change.

As has been the norm in India, the Television coverage has gone from erratic to chaotic. Doordarshan has become akin to a dog's tail that cannot be made straight. Despite a lot of public relations work by the top brass of the AIFF, football in India ( a.k.a. the NFL ) seems to have confirmed its pariah status ( no offence intended towards my canine friends ) with the Prasar Bharati moguls. How else could one explain their preference in televising an India A v India B cricket match and Women's cricket to the premier football tournament in the country ? Solution ? Perhaps the President of the AIFF, Mr. Priyaranjan DasMunshi should abandon the chief whip position in the parliamentary opposition and take over the reigns of PB/DD in the larger interests of all sports in India, where only cricket seems to be recognised, even though India keeps getting its hide tanned when Sachin usually disappoints the fans in Big Match situations !!! And one would have thought in today's scenario when India and Pakistan are viewing each other down the barrel of a gun, the preference should shift towards football, a sport in which India has consistently battered Pakistan and stands way above in the FIFA World Rankings. Can our Defense Minister not see how much good it will do for the morale of our troops arraigned at the border with Pakistan? And also for the civilian citizenry who will at some time or other need to pick up the bill for the defence mobilisation !

And so, back to the League Table, and after 10 games apiece, Mahindra United are threatening to do what they had promised, but failed to deliver last season ....win the League. On paper and in my book, they are the most consistent team which counts among its ranks the best defence, midfield and forward line plus a bench that would be the envy of many teams not too far down the ladder. Imports Austin Akolo and Bala Usman have joined Khalid Jamil as their top scorers with 3 goals apiece. Jules Alberto has contributed a couple of goals to their scoreline and Venkatesh and Musa Isa Eroje have chipped in with one apiece. But there are some problems they will need to overcome. True, they have won 11 of their points at home and 8 away. But 6 points from their away games have been against struggling stragglers JCT Mills and FC Kochi and the other two from far more decent opposition in the form of Salgaocar and ITI. So Mahindra have a lot more difficult away games to come and will need to rack up their performances several notches to deliver even this year.
ITI has stunned the socks off the entire football community. Essentially known as an average, underperforming team right through the eons, ITI has suddenly come alive this year and are presently occupying the 2nd position on goal difference. They have managed to spruce up their attacking and midfield lineup and have given serious notice of their intentions this season. The league for them started on a rather tame note, but suddenly, the entire country took note when they came back from a goal down to beat East Bengal in Calcutta. Their imports have provided the bulk of their goals with Mike Okoro and Kenneth Onu accounting for 4 apiece. George Ekeh and Mohammed Salissu 2 have scored two each and C.K. Jeetesh just one. ITI, however, have played 6 of their home games already and garnered 12 points from these, while picking up just 7 from their away matches. Their away record would need to be improved if they are to claim the title this year.
There is a feeling that Mohun Bagan is working quietly and efficiently to try and win the Championship this year. Last year, they were squeezed out by city rivals, East Bengal, by the narrowest of margins. Presently they occupy the third place on goals difference against the other two teams. Jose Barretto continues to be the workhorse in defence, midfield and attack for the team. And with 6 goals to his credit, he shares the top scoring record with Yakubu of Zee Churchill. Abdullatif Seriki, has been a disappointment with only two and Basudeb Mondal and James Singh have contributed just one. R.C. Prakash is yet to find his form and the opponents' net. Perhaps, the National Team selectors will take note ... perhaps not ! Mohun Bagan's style of play this year is, to say the least, stingy. They score very few goals for such a vaunted team, but when they do, they are important enough to win the game. Their defence gives little or nothing away and the importance of Barreto in the team cannot be underestimated. Will a lone Baretto be enough this season? Only time will tell.
Zee Churchill is the real rainmaker of the League. With 21 goals to their credit, one would have thought that they were well and away to winning the NFL. Yet they find themselves in the 4th position and a point behind the top three. They hold the League record, thus far, for the largest wins at home ( 6-0 v HAL ) and away ( 4-0 v Tollyunge ). Their hapless opponents have begun to believe that when it rains ... it pours. And no wonder, their Ghanaian striker Yakubu Yusuf scored the first hattrick of the 6th NFL against Tollygunge at Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta. He's gone on to score 3 more and remains joint top scorer in the League so far. Strike partner Abdul Ghaniyu Saleh is not far behind, having poached 5 on his own. Midfielders Roque Baretto, Somatai Shaiza and Noel Wilson have delivered a couple of goals apiece. Even defenders Inacio Alphonso, Osumanu Hussain, Rajesh Meetei and Francis Coelho have contributed one each to the teams tally. Perhaps, only Aqueel Ansari and Tejinder Singh haven't helped in the goalscoring department and it isn't as if chances have not come their way. But there is a long way to go. The Churchill defence without the injured Mahesh Gawli looks brittle at times. And that would account for the relatively high number of goals conceded by Zee Churchill despite having a very reliable goalkeeper in Edward Ansah. So one would have thought that, if at all, Zee Churchill should look to strengthen the defensive department in their squad. But no, they want to create a positive storm and towards this end are on the verge of signing a top Iranian striker. Will this do the trick? Perhaps, because most teams will find it is too late to sign a quality defender to counter the forceful attacks from the marauding Zee Churchill frontline. Therefore, maybe for the first time in six attempts, Zee Churchill could well end up with maximum prize money.
Close on Zee's heals are local rivals Salgaocar Sports Club and Arlem sponsored Vasco Sports Club ( 2 points and 3 points adrift respectively ) and both in with a chance to get into the prize money. But Salgaocar, which has the best defensive record in the League so far, will have to somehow improve their consistency. And especially in their away games, where so far they have picked up only 4 points from 5 games. Until this year, Salgaocar had the best away record of any Goan team, but somehow this bit of characteristic in their team seems to have evaporated in the current edition. One suspects that the best is yet to come from the boots of maestro Bruno Coutinho and International striker Alvito D'Cunha. Alex Ambrose too is showing more maturity in front of goal with the passage of each game. So far though, Eugene Gray and Sunday Seah have provided most of the cheer for the club with 3 goals apiece.
Arlem sponsored Vasco Sports Club on the other hand seem to have perfected the art of dishing out phenomenal football one day and uninspired drudgery the next. Fans don't know what to make of a team that picks up 4 points in away games at the dreaded Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta against giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and then fall flat against a mediocre team like JCT Mills. Perhaps, the lack of maturity is taking its toll on this fairly young squad. The departure of midfield playmaker Awazbek Khoshimov has not done an awful lot of good to their bottom line. They will need to shore up both their defense as well as the attack. But their midfield offers a lot of promise, when they can get things moving. And Coach Derrick Pereira doesn't take things lying down. We can look forward to some great matches from Vasco. But the players have to believe in themselves and their ability to match the best in the game. And at the same time not take things too easy against relatively lower placed opponents as they did against JCT. Rui Wanderley Weis has scored some exceptional goals for Vasco and currently heads their list with 5 to his credit. Satish Minz has scored two while Peter Rodrigues Agnelo Colaco and Denzil Coutinho have also made their mark.
Debutantes HAL Bangalore took the league by storm when they found themselves on top in the initial stages and their trouncing of Mohun Bagan 3-1 at Bangalore was the crowning moment of their participation so far. But after that, perhaps, it all went terribly wrong for them and their slide began and they now find themselves in the seventh position albeit on goal difference from Vasco. Their nemesis ultimately was Zee Churchill who scored an all time record 6 goals against HAL in Goa. Such a scoreline would undoubtedly have sown the seeds of self-doubt in any team. But HAL are fortunate in some ways. There will be a 20-day break in the League and their last match of the first phase will be held against local rivals ITI in Bangalore. HAL should be able to climb out of their depression if they manage to squeeze a win in that one. Raja Baliev Nurlan, with 5 goals so far and Dayanand, with a little help from Rajendra Prasad could well help them in this venture.
Incredibly, Tollygunge Agragami find themselves in 8th position and above East Bengal by a point. All this thanks to their ability to pick themselves off the floor after a record home thrashing at the hands of Zee Churchill in the 8th round. The 9th and 10th gave them some salve with wins and full points in home games against FC Kochin ( 1-0 ) and JCT Mills ( 2-1 ). These vital six points propelled them from the death zone to one of relative comfort and that too after the resignation and exit of Coach Amal Dutta. Tollygunge Agragami had until then one of the leakiest defences in the League, having conceded 13 goals in 8 games. But in Akeem Abul Alem ( 3 goals ) and soul-of -the squad Shasti Duley, who has scored two vital goals for the team himself, they may have a formula to avoid relegation ... but just by the skin of their teeth.
What can one say about reigning National Football League Champions East Bengal Club. Alas, their cup of woes runneth over as they find themselves in ninth place. For a team that won the IFA Shield this season, this edition of the NFL smacks of a nightmare with no end in sight and one that their management and fans alike would rather forget in a hurry. In a bizarre spell of irresponsible football, the team picked up only a point in five matches and that too against lowly FC Kochin in a home tie. Since their 5th round 1-0 home win against Zee Churchill, East Bengal crashed to ITI and Vasco at home ( 1-2 and 0-1 respectively) and HAL and Salgaocar ( 1-0 and 4-0 respectively ) in their away fixtures. Coach Manoranjan B hattacharya was shown the door and Subhash Bhowmick was reinstated after the Salgaocar debacle. Perhaps the change in coaches helped them salvage a point in their last match against FC Kochin, when they were 1-2 down with fifteen minutes to run on the clock. And it's not as if East Bengal are not scoring. Omolaja Olalekan and Suley Musah have scored three apiece and Dipendu Biswas with two and Jiten Rai and IM Vijayan have made some contribution. Their problems stem from the fact that East Bengal's defence is a total farce. With India International Deepak Mondal injured, they seem unable to make any serious attempt to stop the rot. Goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee was unceremoniously given the heave-ho for a rare mistake and Hemanta Dora has not done much better. Ratan Singh on the right flank is totally unfit and wouldn't pass a cooper test, which is a test of the minimum fitness level required of a referee ! Jackson, in central defense, also seems to have resigned to his team's fate and not making the serious effort required of a foreigner to bail the squad out. Hence, east Bengal have found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Practically every time the opponents enter the East Bengal half, the threat of a goal looms large. With Jo Paul Ancheri injured, the midfield looks lethargic and unable to cope with the load of holding up the opponents attack. So a once great team, sits among humble company in the NFL. The big question for them and perhaps all football fans is whether they will find the inner karma to stick it out and survive.
FC Kochin emerged in 4th position in the previous edition. This year however, they seem to be scrapping it out at the other end. Their performances so far have been truly erratic and uninspired. Rumours abound that their foreign recruits have abandoned the team due to non-payment of dues. Indeed, the squad has been more known for this in recent years than for its much touted ' professional ' approach to the game at club level. Despite finding a sponsor in the Mallya Group, they don't seem to be able to make ends meet. But it is a team not to be underestimated as was demonstrated by valuable home draws against Zee Churchill and Mohun Bagan and a memorable 1-0 away win to HAL in Bangalore. VP Shaji with three goals seems a bright prospect for the future, but whether it will be with FC Kochin is anybody's guess, especially if the unthinkable, for them, happens this time round.
JCT Mills were the champions in the inaugural edition of the NFL. Five years later, they find themselves struggling to breathe in the rare confines of the NFL. With only one win to their credit, against Vasco in Goa, they seem to have lost their way a bit. Having said that, there is a little silver lining that could come to their consolation. For starters, of the 10 games played so far, they have played 7 away matches out of a total of 11. So with only 4 away games and 8 at home, they could begin their ascent up the league table. Their seven losses till date have been very marginal affairs but their next one in the eleventh round, at home, to Punjab Police will be the real crunch game for them. And they do have the services of Stephen Aborowei, who helped them claim the title in the first edition of the NFL. Hardip Singh Gill has delivered 5 goals for them so far and is in top form, thanks to the brilliant distribution of Stephen on the right and Hardip Sangha on the left. Besides, they have nothing left to lose. But knowing the genetic fighting qualities in the Punjabi race, the feeling about them is that it's not over until it is over.
Punjab Police, who along with HAL made their debut in the NFL, on the other hand, are learning that the NFL is a brutal competition that allows no prisoners. Apart from a brilliant 1-0 win against HAL at home, they have not managed even a draw from any of their other games. With a goal difference of - 16, they seem to have got the raw end of the stick from almost every team in the League. But they have discovered a gem in their team in the form of Praveen Kumar, who has scored all four goals for them so far. Will Praveen Kumar do enough in the remaining games to help them out of the rut. Or will they just promote him to Deputy Superintendent of Police, once the League is over ?

All said and done, this edition of the NFL is fast evolving into an action packed thriller. And not just because of the keen competition or the high quality of football. Fans have a lot to celebrate as it has produced 124 goals in 60 matches, that average just over 2 goals per game and is on par with the most exciting football competitions in the world. But the best news to have come from the NFL is that despite the best efforts of Doordarshan to stifle football in India, the NFL has at long last found a sponsor. Thank you TATA !!!!