FOOT-FAULT

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;

THE REVELATION That8217;s what comes out in the discussion. Many of the 8220;injuries8221; that the players talked about while moving out of the national squad weren8217;t really there. Who is going to risk life and limb for nothing? 8212; Anjan Mitra. 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.