Dutch Style Of Football For India? Really?

The most coveted sport on this planet is one of those in which the weather conditions cannot stop the proceedings or delay them (unless extreme). The common image of kids playing football in slushy fields in the rains with mud all over comes to mind. This is the beauty of the game when one only plays for fun and no careers are involved in that ten minute of puddle smashing/football.

It is a given that for any nation to be good at football, both the club scene and the national teams of all ages should boast of quality football and must have proper avenues for the production of the same. The governing body of football in India brilliantly appointed Rob Baan as the technical director in a bid to instill the possession style of play in India to make the game more attractive for the fans to watch. After Rob’s arrival, there came a host of projects and the appointment of Wim Koevermans as the head coach of the National team. A charismatic man, who is on the same page as Arthur Papas (head of the junior Indian side) and Mr. Baan himself, in terms of the short passing approach to the game, Koevermans prefers his team to keep the ball at all times. There has been a lot of talk of the Indian football getting a Dutch flavour to it and a lot of people, including myself, were excited about it because it looked like there would be some pragmatism involved in the game in this country.

Wim’s first assignment with the Indian national team was this year’s Nehru Cup and brilliant team and individual performances by the Blue Tigers meant that the trophy stayed home for the 3rd time in a row. A lot of matches were played under substandard conditions. Heavy rainfall spoilt the pitch of Jawaharlal Nehru stadium(Delhi) which lacked proper drainage and a pseudo water-polo tournament took shape. There was even a hole in the middle of the pitch in a game which did not involve the host nation (Yes, a HOLE!). A bucket and a sponge were used in an attempt to wipe off excess water off the ground ( I wish I were making all this up). To be honest, the rains were a week or 2 late in the capital but organizing an international football tournament in a country which is crying out loud for this sport to be developed, could’ve been planned a little better. The world’s 3rd oldest tournament (Durand Cup) was going on simultaneously in Amdedkar Stadium and similar conditions were waiting to be witnessed. There were a lot of injured players due to a wet surface with slippery mud during the times when it did not rain. The times when it rained, the situation was identical to the Nehru Cup.

Tiki-taka football on this? Venue for India’s Fed Cup!

To add to the woes and the frustration of the Indian football fraternity, the nation’s biggest knock out club competition is facing a multitude of problems with respect to venue and telecast. Federation Cup’s winner earns the right to play in the AFC cup and the way this tournament has been treated, it is nothing short of a disgrace. Matches were scheduled to play in Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Silliguri but days after the 1st inspection by the AIFF which gave the green signal, the Ranchi matches were shifted to Jamshedpur (as a result of the the 2nd one)! The venues are far from perfect. The rains have ruined the condition of the pitch this time as well but it gets worse in this situation.

In the Pailan vs Shillong Lajong F.C game, the ball was not even rolling for a bit due to the water logging on the pitch. The game wasn’t called off and the teams were forced to play on a surface which is a potential hotbed for injuries. The game should’ve have been called off as per FIFA rules but lack of planning and certainly a sheer absence of mind by the organizers have resulted in the above mentioned problem, as well as the issues with the telecast. Last minute issues from IMG (marketing partner of AIFF) mean that only the semi final and the final will be shown on DD sports. Ten action had earlier acquired rights but the deal was scrapped with the production/broadcast problems and now the biggest knock out club tournament’s matches before the semis will not be shown. The representative from India in Asia’s second tier club competition will be handpicked from a swamp battle!

A picture from the current Federation Cup!

If one has to observe deeply, the AIFF is making it increasingly impossible for people to watch (no/little telecasts) and support good short passing and free flowing football (waterlogged pitches) by their activities, hence contradicting their statement about changing the style of play. One can only look at the groundsmen who work hard with minimum wages and the guy who was trying to absorb water with a sponge and a bucket, and admire their hard work. It is ironic that the attributes of the ones who ordered them are entirely different and have remained the same since a long time.

Appointing world class coaches and trainers will only pay dividends if we have or try to develop the facilities and the pitches to deploy their brilliant tactics on the field. It’s fun to watch those ads with joy on the faces of the wet- mud-ridden faces of the kids playing football in the rain, but is that the way our authorities should treat professional clubs in India who work hard to survive in a virtually non-feasible market? Is this the right treatment given to those who are working hard to develop this game on the pitch? This conundrum can only be solved by a super hero whose super power is – The common sense!

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Edited by Staff Editor
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