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East Bengal players and team manager Trevor Morgan (C) pose with their trophy after winning the 34th Federation Cup final football match against Dempo SC at Kanchenjungha Stadium in Siliguri, India on September 30,2012
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During his visit to India earlier this week, Brazilian World Cup winning captain, Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri – commonly known as Dunga – reckoned that India should cast its eye upon Japan and mirror the model they used, to make football a success story in the Land of the Samurai. In fact, the Japanese model has been so effective, that they have managed to transform a country that was obsessed with golf and baseball, only as far as 20 years ago, to one that is madly in love with the Beautiful Game.
2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the incredibly successful J-League. They started with a plan for the next 100 years – and set a goal of having 100 professional teams playing in Japan by 2092. Considering that they now have 38 teams (they started with 10 in 1992) playing across two divisions, and attract an average attendance of close to 20,000 for their games, one can safely say that Japan will achieve their goal with lots of time to spare.
The Japanese model should not be too tough for the Indian League(I-League) to follow. The I-League was formed in 2007, and is still in its formative years, and has plenty of room for improvement and changes for the better. The sport still struggles to attract the masses and good support when they play, and this can be mainly attributed to the fact that most of the teams are institutional ones. Japan too struggled with this model before the J-League was formed, and now the results are clear for everyone to see.
One of the main reasons that football and the J-League’s popularity shot up was the vast flow of foreign talent into the league. With the J-League’s commencement, the board also made a conscious effort in importing talent from across the globe – not only to light up the play, but also to help their players and coaches learn a great deal from them. Not only did the clubs get a fresh influx of foreign talent, but so did the National Team, with esteemed coaches taking over the job of head coach.
England legend, Gary Lineker turned up for the Nagoya Grampus Eight for the first two seasons. Pierre Littbarski played for the JEF United Ichihara Chiba, while Dragan Stojkovi? also played with the Grampus Eight.
Brazilian Givanildo Vieira de Souza played with Kawasaki Frontale, Consadole Sapporo and Tokyo Verdy in the J-League and earned himself the nickname, Hulk and later, a big money move to Zenit St. Petersburg. Managers such as Arsene Wenger, Zico, Dunga and Carles Rexach were also at the helm of club sides, which acted as an impetus for a positive interest in the league and also a tremendous increase in the quality of play.
Omiya Ardija players line up prior to the J.League match between Omiya Ardija and Albirex Niigata at Nack 5 Stadium Omiya on October 20, 2012 in Saitama, Japan
India will do well to pay heed to Dunga’s words: “One can learn from the way Japan did it. They brought in talented coaches from outside like Brazil to train them. The youngsters should also be given training and exposure outside. Now Japan have become a force to reckon with,” the former Brazilian captain and coach said during his two-day promotional trip.
India have already realized that going foreign is a good policy and the appointments of Wim Koevermans, Robb Bann and Arthur Papas are testament to that. While all this is instrumental in helping the national team improve, the board has to realize that for them to be able to tap into a rich talent pool, a successful league is required. But, the standard of the league still remains disappointingly low. A policy that allows a steady influx of foreign talent – the ones that can draw crowds as well as help the local players watch, learn and improve, should be adopted.
One may argue that Japan already had a good system and players in place for something like the J-League to take off. They were ranked 43 in the world when the J-League kicked off and now they find themselves at 23, in spite of setting their sights on the Top 10. But the truth remains that the J-League has had a serious positive impact on Japanese football. Out of the 23 senior team members called up for the National Team by Alberto Zaccheroni, 13 of them ply their trade in Europe, which shows the level of football the J-League has helped establish in the country. The League laid a set platform for the national team, who went on to become the champions of Asia in 2000, 2004 and 2011, while also making it to their first World Cup in 1998. It also helped the J-League ascertain their dominance in Asian football with strong showings in the Asian Champions League.
India has been desperate for themselves to find some kind of success story in football and they do not have to look too far away, with Japan reaping what they sowed only 20 years ago. India might not enjoy the same kind of success the Japanese did and we may not make the World Cup for some time to come yet, but adopting a better policy like what the Japanese did in 1992, can only bring better results to Indian football.
