‘Players from north lack recognition’

“Even before retirement I had decided to take up coaching. As players from north India,we always felt the lack of recognition and fan-following that others used to enjoy. JCT was the only entity contributing to national football since the 1970s among the northern states,” the 38-year-old Kumar told Sportline.

“The Chandigarh Football Academy,which is funded by the government,was the perfect opportunity for me because it presented me with a chance to see players at a very young age. This team is the under-14 2006 team which lifted the Subroto Cup title three years ago.

“We are yet to make a mark at the national level but CFA has earned a name in the age-group competitions; we have fourteen players playing in the various national junior teams. This is just the beginning and I’m enjoying it,” he added.

Kumar has brought together his experience of playing at the highest level,including a one-year stint with Malaysian top-flight club Negri Sembilan,and Harinder Singh,Pawan Kumar,Deepak Devrani,Sukhwinder Singh,Ravinder Kumar are only a few who have perfected the coach’s ‘novel’ ideas.

“You can notice the difference in the style of football in north and north-east India. Players from Punjab are more dependent on aerial balls while a Manipur player likes to keep it on the ground and then stir it up. I always felt the need to mix these two styles and for this,we have at least five players from the north-east in every age category,bith during training and matches,” he said.

Kumar says spending time together is a big factor.

“The boys need to spend time together,that’s why most academies have three-four year programmes for each age category. This team’s performance has been phenomenal because they have been together for four years now,” he said.

The coach suggests the same formula for the national team. “The team I was part of was full of individual players,which doesn’t apply to the current team. I don’t know how feasible the idea is with the current club structure,but they will improve if they spend more time together,” Kumar added.