The last Asian football nation I investigated was Japan probably the most commercialised and successful nation in Asian football. Today I'm going down a few steps down in the footballing ladder to India. India is more known for its domination in cricket rather than any footballing achievements but today I had a chat with the guys at www.kolkatafootball.com about the condition of Indian domestic football.
Q. What is the top football club in India and how do they compare to their counterparts in Europe? And also when compared to other Asian teams?
A.The Indian football scenario is like any other major leagues of the world. There are 3-4 teams which are competitively equal and none of them can be singled out as a run-away winner. The teams which command respect and are fairly consistent in terms of winning are – Dempo Sports Club (4 times winner I-League from Goa) as also Kingfisher East Bengal Club and McDowell Mohun Bagan Club (Three times winner of I-League and both are from Kolkata).
It will be foolish to draw any comparison with any of their foreign counterparts of Europe or for that matter advanced Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore or the Middle East countries. The setup in India is diametrically opposite to that of Europe and the above named Asian countries. In India, there is a woeful lack of infrastructure with none of the Clubs having exclusive lease ownership of any football ground or practice facilities. None of the football clubs are privy to the share of the gate receipts on match days and have to depend on prize monies and grants from the Football Association to supplement their sponsorship income.
Q.Who would you say are the top 3 Indian players playing in the Indian Domestic league? And why? (please state their positions also)
A.Despite the mediocrity in the standard of Indian football, the following three players have performed creditably in the last few years –
i) Subrata Pal – (Goalkeeper) – Extremely agile and good goal-keeping skills he has caught the eyes of the football critics both in India and in the Asian circuit. Has been with a middle ranked side Pune FC for the last two years and has had a major influence in helping the side finish 3rd in the 14 team National League in 2009-10.
Goalkeeper Subrata Pal save three penalties against Syria in the Nehru Cup Final
ii) Mohammad Rafi – (Midfielder) – Rafi had been a consistent attacking midfielder for his Club, Mahindra United which is now defunct. His excellent football skills prompted his call-up for national duties. Slightly frail looking like Chelsea’s Yossi Benayoun, Rafi has been bogged with injuries time and again. Very often than not, Rafi does love to surge ahead from his midfield zone and score goals for his side.
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| Mohammad Rafi celebrates scoring another goal from midfield |
iii) Sunil Chettri – (Forward) – Sunil who plays for Dempo Sports Club of Goa has been a consistent performer for both club and country for the last few seasons. He tried his luck in U.S.A.’s MLS for one of the Clubs but had to come back home as he could not cope up with the pressures of being away from home for long durations.
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| Sunil Chetri in action during his spell in the MLS for the Kansas City Wizards |
Q.Who do you consider to be the greatest Indian footballer ever? And why?
A.There have been quite a few footballers who played with pride and passion during their playing careers. Sailen Manna, Jarnail Singh, Yusuf Khan, Tulsidas Balaram, P. K.Banerjee, Subimal (Chuni) Goswami are the names which off-hand come to mind. Of them perhaps the last named Chuni Goswami ranks slightly ahead because of his all-round skills and ability to score goals from impossible angles and situations. Under his captaincy India won the 1962 Asian Games in Djakarta.
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| Chuni Goswani India's greatest footballer in action |
Q. Which foreign player would you say has had the biggest influence on Indian domestic football?
A. Undoubtedly it has been Odafa Onieyeka Okolie, the Nigerian. This man has been the highest goal-scorer in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10. This is no mean achievement and he is still a major influence and could also end up with the laurel in this year’s competition as well. In this year's edition of the I-League Churchill Brothers have thus far scored 10 goals in 5 matches. Out of which Odafa alone has pumped in 9 goals.
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| Odafa Onieyeka celebrates after scoring for his club Churchill Brothers |
A.Quite a few foreign coaches have tried their luck in this country’s football in various clubs and also for the national team. Ciric Milovan, Bob Houghton, Clifford Chukuwama, Karim Bencherifa,Trevor Morgan have all contributed to the development of football in this country at various stages. Because of their short tenure it is extremely difficult to pin-point any one individual as the best.
Q. Which foreign team has had the biggest impact on domestic football in India?
A.In 1977, Kolkata football fans were honoured to see the all-time best footballer, Pele play for Cosmos Football Club against local giants Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. The packed Eden Gardens stadium with 100,000 spectators was witness to this rare spectacle in this part of the continent. The match ended inconclusively 2-2.
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| Pele the greatest player ever played in India, don't tell me you knew that |
Thereafter, a few top class club sides did turn up to play in Kolkata, the Mecca of Indian football, namely, Bochum FC and FC Bayern from Germany, but Pele’s Cosmos impacted the most.
Q. Will we be seeing India playing at a World Cup soon and how good is the Indian National Team in comparison to the other footballing nations?
A. Answering the second question first, the standard of Indian football is at Tier 3 level clubbed together with countries such as Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Understandably, it is far below the Tier 1 and Tier 2 level countries of Asia such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, the Middle East countries.
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| India's national team celebrate winning the Nehru Cup an International tournament organised by the Indian Football Federation |
As far as India’s chances of playing the World Cup in the near future, the National Football Association, AIFF has drawn up an ambitious project of seeing India give it a try either in the 2018 or 2022 edition. A bunch of footballers in the 18-19 years age bracket are currently undergoing training and match practice. At least the effort is there but what needs to be done is regular match play to hone up their skills.
Q.Has the AIFF considered scouting for British born Indians in the UK to call up for the national team?
A.Unfortunately no. The response from UK based boys of Indian parentage can best be termed as poor because of the comparatively poor opportunities to earn money playing the game here. Assuming a British born Indian does play in UK’s third level league, i.e. the 2nd division, he stands to earn much more than what he would have earned playing in a premier club in India.
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| Michael Chopra a British footballer of Indian descent |
Q. Has the popularity of football increased in recent years in India or do you still see cricket being the more dominant sport in the foreseeable future?
A. Football is an extremely popular sport in India and can match the popularity of cricket. Unfortunately, the present generation can rattle off the achievements of Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan but may falter if asked anything about clubs such as Churchill Brothers, Dempo, East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. Interest in football was mostly confined to Bengal, Goa, Mumbai and Kerala. But now parents are increasingly coaxing their wards to attend cricket camps in the hope that one day their sons could become another cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly.But it is simply impossible.
Q. Who is your favourite European team and why?
A. FC Barcelona of Spain. Once there player were Cruyff,Deco, Figo,Guardiola,Kluivert,Koeman, Laudrup,Gary Lineker, Maradona,Neeskens, Rivaldo,Romario,Ronaldinho,Ronaldo, Stoitchkov,
Zubizarreta and now Messi. Their track record and huge fans world wide is another cause of my love.
Q. Which European player is the most popular in India?
A. In India, Ten Sports, ESPN etc., do telecast the matches live for the benefit of Indian viewers. Accordingly football enthusiasts keenly watch EPL, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, Bundesliga along with the Champions league etc. Different fans have different favourite players. For MU it is perhaps Wayne Rooney, for the Chelsea followers it could be Drogba, for the Barcelona fans it is Messi, Xavi or Iniesta, for Real fans it could be Ronaldo. My favourite is Xavi Hernandez, the super midfielder of FC Barcelona.
Q. What do you think of the decision to allow Russia to host World Cup 2018 instead of England?
A. FIFA’s intention has always been to expand the spread of the game as far as possible. Their effort in allotting the 2010 FIFA World Cup to South Africa was commended by all. The erstwhile communist countries never had the honour of hosting the tournament and now Russia has been allotted the 2018 competition. FIFA’s Sepp Blatter has expressed his desire to see the competition being hosted in China and India in the foreseeable future.
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If I'm honest with you I pretty much knew nothing about Indian football before that chat. I didn't know it had such a rich history with greats like Pele even playing a part in it. Maybe we might see India in a World Cup in the future, who knows? Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading...
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