India's golden coach lauds the effort of the team

New Delhi, October 17: India football coach Bob Houghton feels the national team has taken long strides forward in the last two-and-a-half years and has been successful in sneaking into the elite group of Asian countries.
Houghton's first big assignment after taking over as India coach in June 2006 was the Asian Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia and his side lost the home and away matches heavily, but the Cape Town-based Englishman says from there to the AFC Challenge Cup triumph, the national team has improved a lot.

"We lost four Asian Cup qualifier matches including that 1-7 loss to Saudi Arabia (in Jeddah in September 2006). Since then we got better, much better. In August this year we qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup (by winning the AFC Challenge Cup)," said the coach.

The Englishman said after the 1-7 thrashing by Saudi Arabia his main concern was to keep the morale of his boys high.

"That loss was a strange game, we played very well for 40 minutes. At the end of the game my concern was that the players did not feel low. When you lose 1-7 it's horrendous feeling in professional football. I tried to put it in perspective," he said in an interview to with a TV channel.

Houghton said the Nehru Cup win in August 2007 was an important moment for Indian football and thanked the All India Football Federation for it. "It (Nehru Cup win) was an important win. That changed a lot of the perspective among the players. AIFF has been behind the good preparation in the run-up to the Nehru Cup and the AFC Challenge Cup also," said the widely travelled-coach.

Charting out his vision for Indian football's development, Houghton said the country has to do away with the amateur tradition and embarrass the professional approach by overhauling the domestic structure.

"India has a long tradition in football, the second oldest tournament in the world is here. But now we have to choose out of the two ways: whether we want to continue these traditions or do we want to move on to become an Asian Power. If we want the latter then we have to do away with the amateur tradition that has been around for a long while. We have moved in the right direction by starting the I-League which should be the dominant domestic fixture in the country with state leagues playing a secondary role. If the I-League players do not play in the state leagues, which I think will be a feature from next year, then we will have a wide base of Indian boys playing regularly," he said.

The coach said the I-League should have 16 teams competing as soon as possible to have a wide base of players playing in the top level which in turn would provide a platform for national team selection.

"At the moment the I-League is too small, we have to move to a 16-team league quickly. It is no secret that I would have wanted the two relegated teams -- Viva Kerala and Salgaocar -- to stay in the I-League. Because we are in the initial stages I don't think that is going to set a dangerous precedent."

He asked the club coaches to be considerate on the country's promising young players by giving them chance to play and felt one way of doing this is to hold I-League and state leagues simultaneously and the national league players not playing in the local leagues.

"Very promising young players do not play at all. Coaches have to ensure that young Indian players, not in the first team, are not cast aside. Otherwise you have promising U-17, U-19 boys going to a club and do not get the chance to play. If coaches do not take interest in them, the boys lose hope and they are lost. There is a whole history of this happening. The perfect example is Gouramangi Singh. He was India U-17 captain but before he was picked for the Olympic (qualifier) squad two years ago, he was not playing in the national league though he was in one club or the other. Now he is one of the best defenders in the country. So my message to the club coaches is: obviously they would want to fill their first eleven but they should also be considerate to promising young Indian players," Houghton said.

Source:ExpressIndia.com

Country before club, stresses Houghton

Kolkata

Oct. 16: Bob Houghton isn’t one to mince words and on Thursday, at an interactive session with the coaches of the city’s ‘Big Three,’ the national football coach once again took a dig at the country’s footballing calendar, where "playing for clubs is given more preference than playing for the national team."

"All our national team players are spending three-quarters of their time for their respective clubs. We definitely have had a few successes in the last year-and-a-half. Thus, for us to take giant steps forward, clubs need to come forward and lend a helping hand," he said.

"Only when there’s a break in the club schedule, players are available for national duty. This is absolutely the wrong way. They should play together at regular intervals. To have a successful national team, there should be a major cut down on minor tournaments. When you have an I-League, it’s rather sensible to scrap the Federation Cup. You can develop a successful India team only if the I-League is of a higher standard," he added.

The Briton’s concern for football aspirants in India was evident when he stopped short of expressing his shock at the 14 Tata Football Academy youngsters being recruited by Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

"For a rookie, the ideal platform is the state league. Here what happens, these youngsters are recruited by famed clubs but are made to spend a sizeable amount of time sitting in the benches. It reminds me of Joaquim Abranches, who two to three years ago, had done extremely well in the under-21 level. But after being signed up by Dempo, we hardly get to hear his name. "So, this requires the state leagues to be played alongside the I-League. In that way, we might not lose the talented ones."

Having guided India to the Nehru Cup and AFC Challenge Cup titles, Houghton has his focus firm on the World Cup 2018.

"Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup would be more than a huge task. Hence, the concentration is on four years after (2014). By then, the under-16 and under-14 guys will be of the ideal age since it’s they who are the future of Indian football."

Among the current crop in his team, Houghton feels striker Sunil Chetri and goalkeeper Subrata Paul should play elsewhere rather than confining themselves here.

"I think both Paul and Chetri should first start in a country like Portugal and then, gradually look for greater heights," he said.

Importantly, Chetri is the only player he has communicated with since his arrival in the city. "I had met him (Houghton) at the gym the other day. We just had an informal chat, general discussions to be more precise. As far as playing elsewhere is concerned, I too would like to hone my skills under improved facilities and infrastructure," Chetri told this paper.

Source:Howrah.org

Indian players more confident after I took over: Houghton

Kolkata, Oct 17 (IANS) India’s soccer coach Bob Houghton Thursday claimed that the confidence of team has gone up since he took over in 2006. He has also drawn up a two-year plan for the national team with an eye on the Asia Cup in January 2011.Houghton, who met coaches of the three big clubs - East Bengal, Mohun Bagana and Mohammedan Sporting - Thursday, said the national team needed to succeed first for Indian soccer to make a mark.

“On the other hand, the I-League has to be the premier tournament and very competitive. The two must go hand in hand.” said the coach, who is set to renew his contract next week.

Houghton said from next year, I-League would start in September with 14 teams and continue till May.

The Nehru Cup would be staged in August, with Houghton pondering over suggesting to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that Australia and Japan under-23 teams be invited for the event.

The Briton said India have got an invitation from Thailand for the King’s Cup where Denmark are likely to play. “We also have an invitation from the UAE”.

Houghton felt India should now play regularly against Asian teams ranked between seven and 20 which would help the side improve its rankings.

Houghton has also suggested that I-League matches be played in the weekends and the state league matches on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa, East Bengal coach Stanley Rozario and Mohammedan Sporting coach Sabbir Ali agreed with Hughton’s plans.

“Everybody will approve this unless he is a real traditionalist or has vested interests because this is the calendar the world follows.

Houghton said the calender needed to keep some space for the FIFA tournaments, and ensure there wss not much gap between national team camps.

Houghton has also prepared a blueprint for the Indian Olympic team keeping in mind the next edition of the quadrennial extravaganza in 2012.

“We have to strike a right and balance. We don’t want it go the IPL way. In England, 70 percent of the sponsorship money goes straight to the players. Here, it’s not possible at the moment because we don’t have that many sponsors”.

Houghton thought inviting teams like Bayern Munich to play an exhibition match would not do any good to Indian soccer.

“That sponsorship money will be better served if they build a couple grounds with synthetic grass.”

Houghton predicted that within two years, the national team could include eight to nine Punjab players and said Dempo Sports Club had a good chance to make it to the summit clash in the AFC Cup.

Source:Thaiindian.com