On a ball
After languishing on the sidelines, Indian football has seen a revival under coach Bob Houghton, with the national team entering three finals and winning two of them — the Nehru Cup and the Asian Cup, writes M. S. Unnikrishnan

The AFC Challenge Cup victory in Delhi last year was Baichung Bhutia’s fourth international title win as captain. The LG Cup win in Vietnam (2003), the SAFF Cup victory in Karachi (2005) and the Nehru Cup (1997) were his other major triumphs Photos: Mukesh Aggarwal

A country that won two Asian Games gold medals (1951, New Delhi; 1962, Jakarta) and a semi-final berth in the Melbourne Olympics (1956), India is still searching to find that elusive "neverland" which had once looked within the realm of their dream.

The Indian soccer team had also qualified for the Olympics in 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960, but since then it has not made the cut. And over the years, the fortunes of Indian football have slumped so low that the country is now ranked 156th among 208-odd football-playing countries across the globe.

This is an ironical fact as football has a mass following in the country, though it is concentrated only in a few states — Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and the North East.

Punjab has had a great soccer tradition, but now only the JCT and its football academy keep the game afloat in the state Photo: Malkiat Singh

In fact, out of the 12 club teams, which played in the prestigious I-League last year, just one was from outside this soccer belt — the JCT, Punjab.

Punjab has had a great soccer tradition, but now the JCT are the sole flag-bearers of this once mighty soccer power. Now only the JCT and the JCT Football Academy keep the game afloat in the state.

Ironically, the game has a well-structured setup, but the vanishing playfields and dwindling sponsorships have been its bane.

Lack of sponsorship has been a major impediment in the growth of the game, but thanks to the efforts by All India Football Federation (AIFF), which has been fighting against odds for the game’s survival, soccer is again seeing a revival.

The Indian soccer team with the trophy after winning the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup at Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi, in 2008

After the appointment of Englishman Bob Houghton in 1997 as the chief national coach, the game has made a dramatic turnaround. The Indian team won the Nehru International Soccer Cup for the first time in 1997, and has also entered the finals of the 2011 Asian Cup Championship to be held in Doha (Qatar). India have also qualified for the Asian Cup (for the third time) after a gap of 24 years.

The AIFF has launched a "2011 Goal Project" for the well-rounded preparation of a 25-player team, at an approximate cost of Rs 40 crore. The Central Government is expected to provide most of the money needed. The Central package will include the salaries of the players, keeping them free of club contracts, with adequate compensation to the clubs thus affected.

The players will be provided intensive training and international exposure. The Union Sports Minister, Dr Manohar Singh Gill, had said recently that he would accord priority to the development of the game in the country, so as to elevate its standard to international levels.

Bob Houghton has turned out to be the most successful Indian soccer coach

Corporate houses like the Tatas, Coca-Cola, Philips, the ONGC, too, have been lending a helping hand over the years. But even this has not solved the financial crisis as the AIFF is still looking for funds. It has even approached the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) for a Rs 10-crore grant. AIFF’s acting president Praful Patel says he will tap all available sources to raise funds for football.

The Tatas were the first to set up a soccer academy at Jamshedpur, which functions efficiently even now, churning out quality young talented players by the dozens.

Yet, there is a big vacuum, which can be filled only if more corporate houses come out with unstinted support.

In fact, many big business houses like Dempo, Salgaocar, United Breweries etc are already supporting major I-League clubs.

Hit by the crunch, old football clubs like Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, who had clung to their hoary tradition as a last straw, too, had to give in and seek the sponsorship of Vijaya Mallaya’s liquor company as a survival ploy. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for them to be in the business of football for long.

The AIFF, under the stewardship of the now ailing former president Priyaranjan Das Munshi and a no-nonsense secretary Alberto Colaco, has tried hard to give the game a shot in the arm. The appointment of Bob Houghton as chief coach was intended to take Indian football to a higher plane.

The AIFF and the government spared no expenses to send a 34-member squad for a 45-day training-cum-exposure trip to Dubai and Barcelona ahead of the second edition of the Nehru Cup, to be held at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi, from August 19 to 31. (It will be the 14th edition of the Nehru Cup overall, as the championship was discontinued in 1995, when Bhutia made his international debut as a substitute against Thailand, but was revived in 1997). The hosts have much at stake as the defending champions that they are not taking any chances.

India conquered Syria with a magnificent goal by N.P. Pradeep, to script their name on the trophy for the first time in 1997.

The biennial Nehru Cup is the one and the only prestigious soccer tournament hosted by the country, with an attractive total cash prize of $ 100,000.

The exposure trip to Barcelona was quite beneficial as the team trained at the famed Nou Camp FC, played four practice matches, won two and drew two. The victory over Spanish third division champions Santobia was particularly elevating.

"Overall, it was a great pre-season tour, which is always great. The camp mostly focussed on practice and fitness, which is very important. Everyone got a match to play, and that’s most important," Bhutia said about the trip to Barcelona.

"Such exposure trips help the team to gel well, not only on field, but also off-field, since the players come from various parts of the country, and they need to get an even level of fitness," added Bhutia.

On the flip side, the flare-up of a four-month-old foot injury suffered by star striker Sunil Chettri, who scored the goal against Santobia, was a setback. Houghton would now have to look for his replacement so as to provide a partner to Bhutia for the attack.

Coach Bob Houghton’s emphasis on physical fitness and skill development is earning the Indian team the desired rewards, as under this coach, India have entered three finals and won two of them — the Nehru Cup and the Asian Cup. India lost the SAFF Championship to Maldives 1-4 in Colombo.

With Houghton’s advent, Bhutia also flowered as a player and captain. The AFC Challenge Cup victory in Delhi last year was Bhutia’s fourth international title win as captain. The LG Cup win in Vietnam (2003), the SAFF Cup victory in Karachi (2005) and the Nehru Cup (1997) were his other major triumphs.

Sixty-year-old Houghton has turned out to be the most successful Indian soccer coach, after the late S.A. Rahim, who won two Asian Games golds for the country.

The AFC Challenge Cup final was shifted to Delhi after heavy rains washed off the match in Hyderabad, where the preliminary rounds were played. And once again, Delhi proved a lucky venue for Bhutia’s boys as they drubbed Tajikistan with an authoritative 4-1 victory. The highlight was three spectacular goals by Sunil Chettri and a daring display under the bar by Subrata Pal.

Elsewhere, the Salgaocar Under-15 became the first Indian team to qualify for the finals of the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup, though it was another matter that the colts suffered huge defeats in the five matches of the final round, conceding 23 goals.

In the recent past, India’s victories have been against developing and emerging category countries. Now the aim is to reach the next level of Asian football, and to be accepted among the 14 developed nations as the game’s giant in the continent.