Dissection of India vs. UAE: The Loopholes and a Few Positives

Disclaimer: I know I am a bit late with the post, but a few prolonged commitments coupled with a short writer’s block, after returning from Delhi, prevented me from finishing this article on time.

India faced a much higher ranked UAE team in the World Cup 2014 Qualifier tournament. Now, going into a match as an underdog is nothing new for the 153^rd ranked team in world. But the recent results under the newly appointed coach Armando Colaco, including the surprise 2-1 win over Qatar, had given some ray of hope to the Indian faithful who turned up in large numbers to watch the match despite knowing that it would be virtually impossible for the Men in Blue to overcome a 3 goal deficit.

The Swimming Pool Turf

Under pouring rain and on a water-logged turf with no consistent behavior, the home side began strongly and created a few chances on goal. But it was the visiting team which tasted first blood as a brilliant counter attacking move caught Indian defenders off-guard and an unmarked Mohamed Al Shehhi headed the ball past Karanjeet. UAE doubled their lead through a ferocious Ali Al Wahabi shot from just inside the penalty area. Colaco made two quick changes and brought on Lalrindika Ralte and Jewel Raja Sheikh for Steven Dias and Clifford Miranda. The changes worked wonders as Jeje Lalpekhlua got one back for India in the 74^th minute when he headed a pinpoint Ralte cross past the gaping UAE goalkeeper. India pushed hard for an equalizer and eventually got level on scoresheet when defender Gouramangi Singh scored in injury time, much to the cheer of a full capacity Ambedkar Stadium. The comeback was a memorable one, but there are certain areas where Colaco’s men need to work upon.

The Loopholes:

1.Full Backs Need To Come Forward:

A defender’s job is to defend. Agreed. But the demand of modern game is that the fullbacks come forward and support the attackers whenever possible. Now, we know Indian players aren’t the strongest and UAE’s Coach Srecko Katanec rightly pointed that out in his pre-match press conference when the Slovenian said: “I am aware they would hit us hard in the first 15 minutes. But sustaining the same momentum is tough in modern football.”

Both Naik and Nabi started the game pretty well but lost their desire to come forward to attack after the first few minutes. Colaco needs to work hard on the fitness of the players. Kuch khilao pilao yaar!

2.Need To Crowd The Opposition Box:

Indian players seem to be alien to the concept of total football. The defenders preferred to stay in their own half while the central midfielders looked content with just passing the ball sideways and the forwards couldn’t care less about coming back to defend. Now it’s understandable that not every team can adapt to the concept of total football but still, the players need to crowd the box. On a few occasions, when the ball was crossed into the box or from the corners, there were not enough blue shirts to put the UAE defense under real pressure. It was only in the dying stages of the match when India went all out on attack and the likes of Gouramangi Singh flocked the opposition box. The move paid dividends as India equalized after putting the UAE defense under pressure.

3.Jeje Needs To Work Hard on His Fitness:

Jeje: caught sleeping on a few occasions

Ahh, Jeje Lalpekhula: India’s future star, the shimmering hope of Indian football, the player who announced his arrival by scoring 4 goals in 3 games. Well, the ground reality: he lacks commitment. While Chhetri was sweating it out, troubling the defenders with his off-the-ball runs, Jeje looked content to wait until the ball was passed in his direction and then pounce on it. Even Coach Colaco admitted that Jeje has talent but needs to work on a few aspects of his game. In a post match interview, Colaco said: “Jeje is a strong boy. He just needs to make some minor adjustments to his game. And he is learning fast.”

Let’s hope he does learn fast and strikes a great partnership with Chhetri upfront.

4.No Wing Play:

India didn’t use the wingers effectively. The players in the center looked reluctant to pass the ball to the wingers. And when the wingers eventually did get the ball, they themselves didn’t cross the ball into the box that often. On one occasion, in the 61^st minute, Dias did get the ball and cut inside to shoot on target. His thunder strike was however saved by the goalkeeper. The ineffective Miranda and Dias were eventually replaced with Jewel Raja and Lalrindika Ralte respectively and the duo did look threatening from the minute they came on. Ralte preferred to cross the ball and on one such instant, Jeje gladly received it and headed the ball into the back of the net.

The Indian players need to spray the ball out on wings more often and play as a team, rather than as individuals.

5.Climax Lawrence:

In a 2 men central midfield partnership, Mehtab Hossain was clearly the better performer on the day. Climax looked out-of-sorts from the moment the game began. The player misplaced his passes and preferred passing the ball sideways.

However, being a true optimist, I managed to find glimpses of sheer brilliance that give hope of a better future of Indian football.

1.Indian Defending:

They conceded five goals over two legs. Despite that, the India defending looked top notch except on a few occasions where Raju’s lack of experience was on display. Not the strongest duo in terms of physicality, Gouramangi and Raju forged a great partnership at the back.

Raju Gaikwad: Putting the right foot forward

In the first leg, India conceded just one goal from open play despite playing for around 65 minutes with 9 men. In the second leg too, both UAE goals were a result of miscommunication between the defenders. For the first goal, the central duo was out of their position and Mohamed Al Shehhi found himself unmarked between the two defenders and made no mistake in heading the ball into the goal. For the second goal, Nabi was found out of position and Miranda had committed himself into a challenge. And once the ball was passed to Al Wahabi, there was no way Miranda could recover himself and return back to defend.

Raju Gaikwad, the Rory Delap of India, defies his age and looked mature with his no-nonsense style of defending. Raju made a few excellent interceptions, including the one I particularly remember in the 45^th minute, just before half time. Al Wahidi was set free by a through ball but before the player could manage to get the ball in his stride, came the diving Raju to take the ball away from the attacker. That level of concentration, just before the half time whistle was about to go, was commendable.

2.Sunil Chhetri:

The Mohun Bagan striker played his heart out over the two legs. Even though Chhetri failed to register his name on the score sheet, the player consistently troubled the UAE defenders with his blistering pace and hunger. His professional attitude in the away leg inspired the rest of the team. When Paul was sent off, Chhetri gathered the team and delivered a small pep talk that rejuvenated the team. Chhetri attacked and defended with equal prowess throughout the match as India conceded just one more goal after the two soft penalties. In the second leg too, Chhetri looked lively and came close to scoring minutes before the final whistle was blown. His shot went wide of the goal post and the player looked visibly discontent with himself. While the rest of the team gathered on the pitch and acknowledged the gathering, Chhetri sulked in the dugout. Salute to his commitment…!

3.Karanjit Singh:

Despite heavy rains, Karanjit was out before everyone else at half time to practice

The surprise package; Karanjit was forced into the team after Subrata Pal got a red card (grill me all you want, but in my opinion, it was a fair call from the referee) and boy, did he grab the opportunity with his arms wide open. His performance in the away leg earned praise from everyone including Coach Armando Colaco.

Karanjit’s work ethic in the home tie was visible to each one of the 20,000 present in the Ambedkar Stadium. In the match, he was the first one to come out of the dressing room during the half time and practiced with coach despite heavy rain. He made a few important saves, including the one from a free kick in the second leg, and will surely compete with Subrata for a post between the posts in near future.

4.Mehtab Hossain:

The poor form of Climax Lawrence brought the best out of the East Bengal midfielder. The midfielder stood up to the task and dominated the game from the midfield on his own. He sprayed the ball for Chhetri and Jeje and on one occasion, a delightful through ball in the 28^th minute nearly set Chhetri free on goal. The UAE goalkeeper had to come running from his post to hold the ball. Mehtab, who went through a torrid phase from 2006-08 (where he accepts that he had thoughts of giving up football altogether), looked like a player who had a point to prove.

5.Fans:

Heavy rains, traffic jam, a long queue at the entrance gate and the ticket counter. Well, none of the factors stopped the fans who came out in numbers to cheer for their national team. The 2 goals were enough to bring the shirt off and as @tzar31 said in his article, we witnessed 20,000 Sourav Ganguly(s) in the stadium. The cheers “India!India!”, “Bharat Mata Ki…JAI!”, “1,2,3,4! We want one more!” were reserved for the Indian players while the chants of “Cheater! Cheater!”, “F*** You!F*** You” were sung for the “diving” UAE players and especially their goalkeeper, who looked content with wasting time from the very first minute.

Even the UAE coach applauded the crowd. “In UAE, we hardly get any crowd in a match. But here, the crowd inspired Team India to play to their potential. It’s a positive sign no doubt.”