Resurgence of Indian football & birth of a star

Have your say: Do you think that the AFC Cup win will turn around Indian football?

It was a great night for Indian football at Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi on August 13, exactly a year after India won the Nehru Cup at the same venue. It was a night that not only heralded a new beginning for Indian football, but also gave birth to a new football icon in the form of Sunil Chettri. He was the golden striker, who scored a hat-trick to give India a thumping 4-1 victory in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup over Tajikistan. The win, thus, earned India an automatic entry into the elite AFC Asian Cup after a hiatus of 24 long years.

The whole spectacle at the Ambedkar Stadium defied the notion that in India it is only cricket that rules the roost. A near capacity crowd, which braved incessant rain, flocked the stadium, cheered the men in blue all through the 90 minutes got to witness a match that will forever be imprinted in their memories. They were thoroughly entertained by an inspired Indian team led by local lad Sunil Chettri and the face of Indian football, skipper Baichung Bhutia.But it was not only the triumph, but the way the Indian team played the throughout the tournament that is heartening.

From the very outset in the final, they came out all guns blazing with 3 superb strikes within the first 25 minutes which ultimately sealed the match in their favour and devastated the morale of the opposition Tajikistan, which came into the final on a high note after humbling DPR Korea, the top ranked team of the tournament at 94. Even after leading 3-0 at half time, India did not stop attacking. There is no doubt that this victory will spiral Indian football to a new stature in the Asian football circuit.

It will surely infuse the oxygen that was dearly needed by the footballers of our nation. Indian football needed to realize the ambition of coach Bob Houghton to see the team among the bests in Asia. At the press conference, immediately after winning AFC Challenge Cup, the coach who earlier helped China win the first ever Olympic medal in football, conceded that it was one of the most satisfying wins of his coaching career.

If the triumph provided a fillip to the otherwise struggling Indian football team, it also gave the sports a new pin-up boy. Before the match, Baichung Bhutia was the lone face Indian football has had for the past one decade. By slamming a hat-trick in the all important final, Sunil hogged limelight from his captain with some spectacular solo runs and dribbling skills. Despite his short height, it’s amazing that he repeatedly snatched the ball from the opposition in the air. In the final he demonstrated that he can also surprise the opposition with his knack of finding the back of the net from no where.

Coach Houghton showered plenty of encomiums towards the upcoming luminary of Indian football. Bob described Sunil as a hardworking and honest footballer who is destined to be a star. “He will be big star”, assured the Briton. “Amazing thing about Chettri,” Bob continued, “is his resilience.” He failed to score a single goal until the dying minutes of the semi-final of the tournament. However, in the last 100 minutes or so he scored four goals which is an achievement in itself.

The coach said, “What surprises me is his never say die attitude.” In the team game like football, individual glory often pales into insignificance if the team finds it tough to get going. The contribution of the entire team is what it takes to become champs in any team game. In that aspect, the entire team, be it custodian Subrata Paul, or right winger Steven Dias or mid-fielders Renedy Singh or Mehraj, everybody in the camp has been excellent in the championship.

The success, thus, can be attributed to the team spirit. The entire team gelled together as a unit under Bob Houghton who has been instrumental ever since he took up the reins of Indian football. It’s no wonder that India clinched two big titles within one year after he became India’s coach. What he has done with this under rated team is that he instilled a sense of ambition in every footballer.

And it’s hardly surprising that a senior journalist, who has been following football for a long time, told Houghton after the final that the entire country is indebted to him.At a time when hockey has lost its old glory and cricket has become a commodity at the hands of money seeking mercenaries, it’s the resurgent Indian football which can fill the void in the hearts of a billion sports aficionados of the country.