FOOT-FAULT

Even with the second division of the League in place and prize monies at a decent level, not much has happened. The clubs have survived mainly on foreign talent there are 50-60-odd foreign players plying their trade at any give time in the country, which meant that as soon as those radicals were eliminated in making a national team, the bite disappeared.

Yemen are a modest side, with modest aspirations. On their arrival in New Delhi for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, they had declared the home team favourites. They were satisfied practising on a ground not rolled, unprepared. But, after their victory, their body language changed.

Experts in the field and veteran players make the focus clear on a few fronts that create the malady: the players, the clubs, the coaches, the referees, the system.. The biggest convergence point, of course, is the importance of the clubs. 8220;It8217;s the money, honey,8221; they say.

THE PLAYERS
Indian Football Association IFA secretary Subrata Dutta has had decades of administrative experience, in dealing with sweat and soil. He has prepared a blueprint for fresh Indian talent.

8220;The All India Football Federation AIFF should concentrate on five zones in the country 8212; north, east, west, south and the north-east. Ten players in each, the under-13, under-16 and under-19 categories should be chosen and set up in academies. Pay them a stipend each, increasing with age. When they pass out of the u-19 category they can directly be accommodated in NFL teams for higher salaries,8221; he says.

The advantage of this will be in, firstly, the AIFF will be able to monitor the kids throughout, and secondly tying the players in a contract that allows them only a certain number of matches for clubs and always available for the national team. The catch is that the AIFF must pay the players while with the national team.

That8217;s the view Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra shares. 8220;Believe me, it is very difficult for a player to respect and fear the national coach and manager, however famous they may be, as much as he will his club officials,8221; Mitra says. 8220;That is because the clubs8217; ensure their future, their family8217;s future, their very existence.8221;

This core theory isn8217;t new. 8220;Such an idea was adopted in 1999, with 30-odd players,8221; says PK Banerjee, manager of the Indian squad. Those were the days of dribble wizard Krishanu De. 8220;We did get some result, and we must go at it again.8221; Banerjee, though, debunks the theory that the clubs need to have much more say. 8220;These are two different spheres.8221;

Mitra is a radical. 8220;Have the clubs in decision making panels at the AIFF, take guidance, don8217;t formulate policy on your own,8221; says Mitra. 8220;Academies have to be set up by the federation. Then give a gestation period of three-four years. Results will come.8221;

And the foreigners? 8220;Good Indian players, will be cheaper, and will keep the foreigners on the bench,8221; says Dutta.

Banerjee, though, feels India needs those foreigners. 8220;Fight with them, compete with them, get better in the process.8221;

The overall tone, though, points to the fact that if the AIFF has the money today, it must spend it wisely.

There is also this problem of small ambitions. Bhaichung Bhutia has always maintained that Indian footballers don8217;t want to risk things. 8220;They must go out and explore, put themselves against better players in top soccer playing countries and compete. I went out and benefited, others much follow suit.8221;

And what about the coaches themselves? National coach Syed Nayeemuddin has been vehemently opposed to foreign coaches. 8220;What extra have they achieved with the Indian team?8221; the Dronacharya asks. 8220;We can do an equal job, if not better.8221;

Mitra, though has a point, which Dutta echoes. 8220;The foreign element will induce respect and fear. Give the boys a good teacher and they will obey. Give them the best and they will respond. So what if he is a foreigner?8221;

THE CLUBS
Here is a question of responsibility. The clubs are the lifeblood of the national soccer scenario. They must be respected. There is more pride in East Bengal wining a mediocre meet like the ASEAN Cup, than the Indian team wining the equally mediocre SAFF Cup.
There has to be a parity. Each NFL club must follow the AIFF rule of growing and nurturing a junior team. That8217;s the nursery, feels Dutta.
THE COACHES
8220;We need many more properly qualified coaches. You are never born a good coach. You must be trained to be one,8221; says Dutta. It8217;s also a feeling of pride and ambition that can and should drive a coach. The now discredited East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick had raved and ranted for months on end about the ASEAN Cup victory, little realising that it was a rather modest achievement. The lack of ambition of the coach soon rubs off on the players.
THE REFEREES
8220;We are going in for good refereeing,8221; AIFF8217;s Alberto Colaco says. 8220;We will soon be initiating classes and clinics.8221; That is a good point. A badly-supervised match shows poor soccer. And India is a country of no more than a handful of barely credible referees.
THE SYSTEM
All the above contribute to the system that is Indian soccer. It is a weird amalgam of lethargy, lack of vision, corruption and nepotism. The other factor is sycophancy. Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi8217;s Congress ideologies rub of on the officials too easily. Soccer-talk could be more full of sport.
n class=8217;bluebold8217;>THE MONEY
Of course, money. National heroes in the 21st Century won8217;t live by bread alone. 8220;Till the national team players are compensated for salary lost, there will be no involvement,8221; says Mitra.

Here is a helping hand from the US
Micky aigner explains how NRI Neel Bhattacharjee can make a difference
Indian football does not need help. It needs 8217;serious help8217;. Last year the AIFF seemed serious about having foreigners of Indian origin NRIs take up citizenship and build a strong national team. The idea 8212; urged by then coach Stephan Constantine 8212; was fantastic, but then till date remains far from reality.

Thus, while Vikash Dhorasoo, Michael Chopra and Harpal Singh 8212; to name a few 8212; have given India some reason to cheer by donning the colours of the best clubs in Europe, a few in our Indian team would at least make us competitive before becoming a force to reckon with.

Having made his mark as a player in the US, Neel Bhattacharjee 8212; a naturalized citizen of that country 8212; has been the latest addition to the growing list of 8217;experts who trade their skills abroad8217;.

Recently appointed as the goalkeeping coach of the U-21 US women8217;s team, Neel, already four years into coaching, is doing a job in a country that takes football seriously. With football all about the legendary Mia Hamm, the US on a given day shares its might with Germany, Sweden and China in women8217;s football.

8220;Yes, I would have to say being with the U-21 US women8217;s national team is my biggest coaching assignment so far,8221; says Neel who holds a C licence, apart from having attended the inaugural USSF Goalkeeper Licence course last month of which the results are awaited. With a national goalkeeping diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association from America in tow, his job is cut-out 8212; oversee the goalkeepers in the team, give training sessions, warm players up for games and evaluate them.

The USSF monitors the coach8217;s progress. Having impressed on his first trip to England/Scotland, Jillian Ellis, the head coach for the U-21 women8217;s team, has forwarded his name to head coach of the full national team Greg Ryan.

Now, Neel8217;s ability can surely be exploited, particularly when one realized that US enjoys Top-4 status in women8217;s football. The only drawback Neel could face from critics in 8217;traditional8217; India is his association with women8217;s football. It would take hard convincing to put into force.

However, what AIFF must realize is the fact that modern day football is not all about just one head coach but a pool of specialists. India may not have the kind of budget that Japan or Saudi Arabia spends to become a big force in Asia, but with coaches in Neel 8212; who8217;s heart is for India as his mother hails from Kolkata 8212; it could well be a try to rope in foreign-Indian expertise.