Indian Football: Let the change begin!

You weren’t on the right channel if you were watching Van Persie being himself (for some trophy they say) because at the same time, the Blue Tigers created history by sneaking a victory from a team rated 100 ranks higher than them. It couldn’t have been more theatrical of a finale. After a topsy-turvy 120 minutes, it came down to the wire – to the penalties where the Cameroon striker Makon Thierry hit the last of the penalty shots straight to the post gifting India it’s third consecutive Nehru Cup. Eventhough it seemed that Koevermans’ boys had to work their socks off against a second rung Cameroonian squad, the effort is worth all the praise. Coming down from a goal behind (1-2) to equalize and then hold the opposition in regular and extra time was a gargantuan of a task in itself and upon that converting all the penalties was no ordinary stuff either.

Will this win be able to bring a revolution in Indian Football? Has the ‘game begun to change’? I would say the change had already started; it now looks more pronounced with this epic event. Every sports needs that one elephantine moment of shocking glory to get the country off their chairs and start taking notice. Hardly anyone would have thought that the underdogs, Kapil’s Devils, stood a chance against the mighty West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s eventhough we had defeated them in the group stages. But we did pull it off and hence started the love affair of Indians with cricket. Without the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Alex Song et al, Cameroon’s wasn’t the best squad but who cares. The 40,000 strong crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the millions (or maybe lakhs) who watched on TV witnessed history in the making – the dawn of a new era.

Bob Houghton is gone, so is the long standing talismanic skipper Bhaichung Bhutia who announced his retirement earlier this year. We have a new coach, the Dutch Wim Koevermans. Within just 5 weeks of taking over the reins, he has definitely passed the litmus test. It’s still early days for him at the job but it will be interesting to see if he tries to apply the the Dutch style of totalvoetball (Total Football) unlike Houghton’s era where we saw long-playing balls even though he may need a more talented squad for that. As of now, he needs to work with this decently talented yet highly spirited Indian team and try to qualify for the AFC tournament.

Talking of the squad, we may be ranked 168th in the FIFA rankings but the heart with which the boys played in the final was truly world-class. Sticking to the coach’s advice has been the key to this success and skipper Sunil Chhetri was quick to recognize that after the match. He also accepted that this current team may not be the sharpest of all but they are eager learners. It’s an uphill task from now considering that the expectations will always be higher whenever they step out on the field. The younger players like Gourmangi Singh, Nirmal Chhetri, Raju Gaikwad and Robin Singh stepped up to the occasion and stalwarts like Clifford, Pereira and Subrata Paul chipped in as well. What we need now is greater exposure at the international level. With Chhetri already playing for Sporting Clube de Portugal B and several others trying out frequently for clubs abroad, things do look positive even though they may happen at a snail’s pace.

Well, it’s not about the foreign clubs per se. If we can improve our very own I- league with more corporate involvement and better infrastructure, things will certainly be better. With IMG – Reliance signing a 15 year contract with the AIFF and planning a IPL like football event next year, Indian football is seeing a paradigm shift. This event has met with brickbats from the clubs because of it being planned to be held after a grueling 8-10 months of the I-league. Eventhough they may be right in planning so, given a chance, a shorter and more glamorous event can ignite the interest of even the ones who haven’t followed the game before – just like the IPL. And if it really becomes popular, I-League will surely start getting its due importance. The only skepticism is that it may devour the whole I – league format. But we need to give it a chance for the sake of the game.

Sunday’s Nehru Cup win will always be etched in our minds as a revolutionary event. Everything is poised for Indian football now – we are winning, money is flowing in, people are taking notice. It’s the time to be patient and work towards improving the state of the game as a whole. As for now, we can celebrate the success of the Indian team’s heroics on Sunday night. In a way, it was a day of two Dutch men too, one who was achieving glory and the other…ah wait, never mind.