Wim Koevermans - "Hopefully, the crowd will be here in great numbers on Sunday!"

After ten days of some exciting, and some drab football (owing to the rainy conditions), the 2012 Nehru Cup will finally have a winner on Sunday, the 2nd of September. India will clash with Cameroon for the trophy, after meeting just yesterday in their last group stage game. Both Cameroon and India tested their bench strength with Cameroon coming out as victors, one goal to nil. For coach Wim Koevermans, probably the only thing more frustrating than the missed chances in yesterday’s game would be the manner in which the first goal was conceded. The defense switched off early in the game and Cameroon capitalized on the slip up. Apart from that, it was a spirited display by India who clearly raised their game to match Cameroon.

The last game also saw the largest Indian support for any of the games in this year’s Nehru Cup so far. With a capacity of 60,00, the JLN is a hard stadium to fill up. So even though empty stands could be seen yesterday, there was a decent crowd that was cheering the team. The game saw organized support from the crowd, a phenomenon common in football matches almost all around the world but not so much in India. A section of Indian supporters, who call themselves the ‘Royal Blue Army’ were leading the way in cheering for the team and very soon the chants spread all across the stadium.

Coach Wim Koevermans knows exactly what effect the crowd’s support can have on the team. “It will be a tough game”, he said. “Hopefully, hopefully the crowd will be here in great numbers on Sunday. They can see a very interesting and exciting game!” It is now up to the people of Delhi, to come out and show their support for their team. It might just take team India over the line!