Kochi, DECEMBER 19: Calcutta's Tollygunge Agragami, who have had sucessful run recently, have received a letter from All-India Football Federation (AIFF) chief Priyaranjan Das Munshi, demanding coach Amal Dutta's dismissal.Not for his coaching shortcomings but for taking a dig at the AIFF. The veteran coach's allegedly sarcastic remark on the AIFF president had stoked Munshi's fury. Dutta also called a high-ranking AIFF office-bearer a ``rubber stamp''.``Every coach in the country is AIFF's yes-man. And they have to be so, otherwise they will be sacked, will be deprived of foreign trips, World Cup tickets and other benefits. I don't want to be a party to the racket,'' fumed the 68-year-old coach.The first Indian to obtain a coaching certificate from the England Football Association, Dutta has always been at loggerheads with the AIFF. ``What has the federation done for the game ? We lose to teams like Bangladesh and are placed in the C category in the Asian Zone along with the other SAARC countries,''Dutta spat.Dutta coached India to title triumph in the SAF Games in 1987, in the '88 Nehru Cup, coached Railways to victory in the Santosh Trophy in 1960, besides coaching Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting to many victories.``World football is going ahead, while Indian football is lagging behind. The AIFF has no foresight, little infrastructure, no good coaching centres,'' lamented Dutta.Dutta will best be remembered as an innovative coach, especially for the diamond format he brought. The system, invented in Germany by Wesweiler in the early 80s, helped Munchen Munchen Bargh lift the German league championship thrice. Dutta introduced this attacking-as-well-as-attractive format in Mohun Bagan in the mid 90s.Though the system, which appears in diamond shape with three defenders, five mid-fielders and two forwards, was effective initially, it bit the dust later. Dutta said, ``Indian players do not have the physique of foreigners. The central defender plays a pivotal role in thediamond system. Defenders are attackers at the same time and vice-versa.''Dutta's next experiment was the box system, with its origin to basketball. It had five chains of two players each. All 10 players push forward, the mantra being `stead push', and immediately fall back to check counter-offences. It needed stamina of high level, qualities Indians are deprived of.Dutta stated the game will be abolished unless the crowd turn-out increases, adding the game is losing its grip even in footballing provinces like Bengal, Goa, Kerala and Karnataka. Are the AIFF mandarins listening as India labour to retain their 114th position in the latest Fifa rankings ?
