India is on the cusp of making football history as they play in their first-ever FIFA global event on Friday when they take on USA at New Delhi in their campaign opener of the Under-17 World Cup. This is a sea change for the football minnows, famously referred to as the "sleeping giants" of football by former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter. From the sidelines, the country finds itself in the spotlight of world football.
However, India has not qualified for the marquee tournament on merit, being the best among teams in the world, but got their golden ticket punched by virtue of being the tournament hosts. The young Blue Tigers are certainly the rank outsiders in the tournament and even the most optimistic of the supporters wouldn't stick their neck out and say the team has a chance to get past the group stage.
A comparative look at the India team to most other sides reveals a great gulf of experience. India have only four of their squad members from outside the AIFF Academy. These players from the little-known club Minerva Punjab were hand-picked by the new coach, Louis Norton de Matos only a few months earlier. While India organised the AIFF U-15 Youth Cup over a year ago, there has not been much development in the pool of players for the larger interest of the game. It has been basically the same set of players who were under the stead of the earlier coach, Nicolai Adam. With the tumultuous sacking of the German coach, de Matos took over and brought many rejects of the earlier gaffer into the mix. While the earlier coach emphasised on attacking football, the latter stresses on possession play. Moreover, injuries to key players like striker Aman Chetri has hampered India to put up a formidable team from their scarce resources. While India goes into the World Cup with only two forwards, other sides in competition have at least four attackers to choose from.
With the change of coaches barely seven months before the start in competition, the players had to adapt to a new style of play apart from adjusting to new defined roles. Experience is where India is very poor in. To prepare for the tournament, India has relied on exposure trips with the AIFF sending the players for tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico.
Contrast this with their peers from other countries, who have had their foundation firmed up from the ages of 7-8 years with techniques in place. However, the tournament presents a great opportunity for the sleeping giants to finally wake up. It could be the first step towards a football revolution in the country.
However, India has not qualified for the marquee tournament on merit, being the best among teams in the world, but got their golden ticket punched by virtue of being the tournament hosts. The young Blue Tigers are certainly the rank outsiders in the tournament and even the most optimistic of the supporters wouldn't stick their neck out and say the team has a chance to get past the group stage.
A comparative look at the India team to most other sides reveals a great gulf of experience. India have only four of their squad members from outside the AIFF Academy. These players from the little-known club Minerva Punjab were hand-picked by the new coach, Louis Norton de Matos only a few months earlier. While India organised the AIFF U-15 Youth Cup over a year ago, there has not been much development in the pool of players for the larger interest of the game. It has been basically the same set of players who were under the stead of the earlier coach, Nicolai Adam. With the tumultuous sacking of the German coach, de Matos took over and brought many rejects of the earlier gaffer into the mix. While the earlier coach emphasised on attacking football, the latter stresses on possession play. Moreover, injuries to key players like striker Aman Chetri has hampered India to put up a formidable team from their scarce resources. While India goes into the World Cup with only two forwards, other sides in competition have at least four attackers to choose from.
With the change of coaches barely seven months before the start in competition, the players had to adapt to a new style of play apart from adjusting to new defined roles. Experience is where India is very poor in. To prepare for the tournament, India has relied on exposure trips with the AIFF sending the players for tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico.
Contrast this with their peers from other countries, who have had their foundation firmed up from the ages of 7-8 years with techniques in place. However, the tournament presents a great opportunity for the sleeping giants to finally wake up. It could be the first step towards a football revolution in the country.
