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The year 2018 was an eventful one for Indian football fans. The previous year saw India host the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the senior team securing their spot in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. That apart, Stephen Constantine's side broke into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings for the first time in 21 years and were unbeaten in 13 consecutive matches.
While 2017 was an excellent year for Indian football, this year had a mix of the good and the bad moments. From Gourav Mukhi's age fiasco to Sunil Chhetri overtaking Lionel Messi in the list of highest active goalscorers, it was a topsy-turvy season of football.
We have divided the proceedings of 2018 into two categories. The 'Best' section focusses on all the positives developments pertaining to Indian football. On the contrary, the 'Worst' section emphasizes all the negative matters in Indian football.
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Without any further ado, here is the 'Best and Worst' of Indian football in 2018.
#6 Worst: IOA doesn't let India participate in the 2018 Asian Games
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took a bold decision by announcing that the Indian football team will not participate in the 2018 Asian Games. The governing body for Olympic sports in the country passed the judgment on the sole basis that the Blue Tigers wasn't ranked among the top eight in Asia and considered it a waste of money to bear their expenses.
AIFF President Praful Patel had written multiple letters to the authorities concerned but they decided to stick to their original perception and didn't give the team the required clearance.
#6 Best: A team from Kashmir in the I-League
Unlike the ISL, where teams from only a fixed 10 cities are allowed to participate, the I-League's doors are open for every nook and corner in India. To do so, a team from that region needs to win the I-League second division and get their stadium cleared from the I-League authorities.
Scottish-born David Robertson achieved the same with his Real Kashmir side on May 30 when they topped the final round by defeating Hindustan FC 3-2 in the last match.
As a result, football fans from the valley could watch India's top flight football live, with local players like Danish Farooq representing them. More than 10,000 people attended Real Kashmir's first home match against Churchill Brothers SC, which ended in an entertaining 0-0 draw.
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#5 Worst: Age Fraud - The Gourav Mukhi controversy
Gourav Mukhi shot into the limelight on 7th October when he scored an equalizer for Jamshedpur FC in their match against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League. However, what caused the eyebrows to raise was that he was only 16.
Some passionate Indian football fans dug the archives of AIFF official website and found out that he was found overage in a U-15 tournament in 2015. The AIFF soon inquired the matter and suspended Gourav Mukhi for six months.
ALSO READ: How old is 16-year-old Gourav Mukhi
The international media caught this controversy and, he became a subject of farce. On top of that, some reports even claimed his actual age to be around 30.
#5 Best: Women's Olympic Team Qualifies to the next round
The Indian Women's football team had never qualified to the next round of Olympic Qualifiers. Maymol Rocky and her team knew the task in hand and they didn't disappoint.
India kickstarted their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Nepal. They followed it up by drubbing Bangladesh 7-1 before succumbing 1-2 to the hosts Thailand. India finished as the runners-up of the group, picking up four points.
The next round will begin in April 2019 with the group winners will advance to the third round in 2020. If they finish in the top two there, they would make their first appearance in the Summer Olympics.
#4 Worst: India lose 2018 SAFF Championship
India won the 2015 SAFF Championships by defeating Afghanistan 2-1 in the final. With Afghanistan not in the fray, the Blue Tigers were the only team ranked below 100 in the tournament and the favourites to defend their title.
Stephen Constantine named a U-23 side for the tournament as they would gain valuable experience ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The plans worked well in the group stages as they defeated Sri Lanka and Maldives 2-0. In the semi-finals, they hammered Pakistan 3-1 before the Maldives pipped them 2-1 in the final.
India could have won their 7th SAFF Championship in Bangladesh but failed.
#4 Best: India U-20 team beats Argentina U-20s
Heading into the match, Floyd Pinto and his boys lost 2-0 to Murcia U-20 team, 3-0 to Mauritania U-20 team, and held Venezuela to a 0-0 draw. So, when they took on the U-20 team of Argentina, a lot of Indian football fans were sceptical if they could pick up a victory.
Deepak Tangri drew first blood for India in the fourth minute after nodding in Ninthoiganba Meetei's corner. India continued to blaze all their guns before Aniket Jadhav was shown the red card in the 54th minute. The ball fell to Argentina's court and, they attacked in numbers. However, India held their nerves and doubled the lead in the 68th minute thanks to a wonderfully taken Anwar Ali free-kick.
#3 Worst: Star Sports' death sentence to I-League
Like the 2017-18 season, the 2018-19 season of I-League was filled with action and scintillating football. However, things took an ugly turn when Star Sports released a press release that they would not be able to telecast the entirety of the 60 remaining I-League matches.
Star said it would telecast only 30 of the remaining matches from Dec 29.
ALSO READ: Twitter reacts to Star's I-League shocker
While Star Sports has not given any genuine explanation, the I-League owners and board members of the clubs claim that it is a blatant attempt to kill the top division of the country, fearing the immense competition it had given to the ISL.
#3 Best: India win 2018 Intercontinental Cup
After Sunil Chhetri's request to fill the stadium, the Indian football team responded by winning the 2018 Intercontinental Cup. It would later turn out to be the only silverware for the Indian football team as they failed to win the 2018 SAFF Championship.
In the final against Kenya, Sunil Chhetri gave the Blue Tigers the lead after connecting Anirudh Thapa's free-kick in the 8th minute. Anas Edathodika lobbed in a long ball for the talisman and, he controlled it. Chhetri would rocket a left-footed shot in the 29th minute to double the lead.
The scoreline would remain the same as India won the 2018 Intercontinental Cup in front of more than 15,000 fans in the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai.
#2 Worst: India's performance in the Jordan friendly
Apart from Gourav Mukhi, another subject which became a matter of farce among the Indian football community was India's logistical issues heading into their match against Jordan.
Seven members of the Indian squad, including all the strikers, were stranded in Kuwait for 32 hours after their flight got delayed. The players reached the venue less than 24 hours before kickoff along with the kits of all the players. There were rumours that the friendly would be cancelled as the Jordan Football Association had refused to shift the match to another date.
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However, the match went on and, none of the stranded players featured in the starting line-up. It ended 2-1 in Jordan's favour with the only positive outcome being debutant Nishu Kumar scoring a goal.
#2 Best: Blue Tigers hold China away from home
Dubbed as the Earth Derby, India squared off against China in the latter's picturesque Suzhou Olympic stadium. The Blue Tigers were the underdogs heading into the encounter against the 76th ranked Red Dragons.
A 3-0 or more drubbing was expected but, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's heroic goalkeeping, China's profligacy, and a bit of lady luck ensured the game ended 0-0.
#1 Worst: Sunil Chhetri's plea to fans to come to the stadium
Sunil Chhetri requesting the fans to fill up the stadium for India's matches in the Hero Intercontinental Cup became the most retweeted tweet in India. The captain had to, literally, beg the people to come and watch India's matches even if it ended up in their criticism.
This just shows how low Indian football ranks in the popularity order of the masses. Despite breaking into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings, no one in Mumbai bothered to come and watch India's international match.
After his plea, fans filled up the stadium for the Intercontinental Cup and cheered for the Blue Tigers.
#1 Best: Sunil Chhetri overtakes Lionel Messi
India's most active experienced footballer Sunil Chhetri overtook Lionel Messi in the active goalscorers' list in international matches momentarily when he scored his second goal against Kenya 2018 Intercontinental Cup final.
His two goals would separate the two sides as the final scoreline remained 2-0. The Indian living legend was only behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the list, who has scored 85 goals as of now.
Currently, they both have 65 goals to their name after Lionel Messi scored against Nigeria in their 2-1 win in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
#2 Best/ Worst: India fail to make next round of the 2019 AFC Women's U-19 Championships
India was grouped alongside Thailand, Nepal, and Pakistan in the Group B of the first round of qualifiers for the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championships. They obliterated Pakistan 18-0 in the first match with Renu pumping in five goals and Manisha and Devneta Roy bagging a hat-trick.
However, they failed to carry forward their momentum against Nepal to whom they succumbed 2-0. Despite the odds against them, they beat the higher ranked Thailand 1-0 in the last match of the group.
Thailand, Nepal, and India all ended up having 6 matches, but when goal difference between the three teams was taken into account, India finished third. Only the group winners and the second-placed team could make it through and, India got knocked out.
But, we need to applaud their spirited performance as Thailand is an extremely strong side in women's football. Their senior team even qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
#1 Best/Worst: India fail to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup
India qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup as the hosts and crashed out of the group stages of the tournament. However, no Indian team, whether senior or junior, had qualified for the tournament by going through the rigorous qualification methods.
Bibiano Fernandes and his group of U-16 boys entered the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship as the underdogs but left with their head held high. The Blue Colts finished second in their group after defeating Vietnam 1-0 and holding Iran and Indonesia to a 0-0 stalemate.
A win over South Korea would ensure their 2019 U-17 FIFA World Cup qualification, but they stumbled in the final hurdle. Jeong Sang-bin broke India's hearts in the 68th minute when he slotted the ball past the goalkeeper.
Vikram Pratap Singh and his comrades' performance is the closest India has come to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
