India is in huge trouble. Other Asian nations may go ahead with usual football calendar but India wont be able to due to increasing numbers. I can also see lot of teams refusing to travel to India.
Punjab FC will be looking to play in ISL in the future, says Michael Browne
Browne has had a distinguished career and has previously served as the head coach of the Aspire Academy in Qatar and also led the national team scouting department of Qatar. Seven in the starting line-up of the Qatar team that trounced Japan 3-1 in the 2019 Asian Cup final to lift the Asian Cup trophy were graduates of the Aspire Academy. He has also worked as the academy director for Charlton Athletic in England.
Browne believes that the players with potential in India are not getting enough game time which is hindering their development. He suggests that it will be more beneficial for those to ply their trade in I-League rather than sitting on the bench in ISL.
"The best Indian young players do not get minutes. That is definitely not good for football in India. We hope to improve that. They must play consistently. Some Indian players should play in I-league and not in ISL as they are mostly benchwarmers which impedes their process of development.
"I think India's potential is huge. But there are not many good quality games. The players should get more quality games. All key positions in ISL are occupied by foreigners. The country needs to get (more) games at the right level. If we can have a longer season with higher standard of games, it will greatly help Indian football. There is also talk about the reduction of overseas players. Doing that you create more opportunities for Indian players to shine. But we should also keep in mind that the standard must not go down," concluded the UEFA Pro License holder.
Sport, interrupted: For Lozenge Didi, no football is a bitter pill to swallow
The ticker on the evening news had Jamuna Das jumping up on her bed. The Indian football domestic season, it said, would resume on August 1. Jamuna, also known as Lozenge Didi (elder sister), hasn't been to a football game in over 90 days. That match -- ATK v Bengaluru in the ISL semi-final on March 8 -- is also when she last earned her daily bread selling the hard skin sweets, or lozenges, at Kolkata football grounds.
There's barely a stadium regular or a casual fan in the city who hasn't caught sight of Jamuna in the stand aisles -- hair combed back in a neat bun, her yellow-red East Bengal jersey blending into the yellow-red tones of her sari, a cross-body bag with the club logo resting at her waist, offering fistfuls of the bright sweets to those who stop to buy. It has been her life and livelihood for three decades. Now, she finds herself struggling to hold on to one without the other.
"Khela na hole toh amra na khete peye more jaabo (If matches don't happen, we'll die without food to eat)," says Jamuna. Selling sweets has been her mainstay since her husband died last July after a long struggle with a neurological disorder. His medical condition prevented him from taking up a regular job and it fell to Jamuna to manage the household and her husband's medical expenses.
But she has had help. "Selling sweets alone wouldn't have seen me through all these years," says Jamuna. "East Bengal's support and all other clubs, players, well-wishers, even spectators, have always pitched in without even me asking." She sells a small pack of four lozenges for Rs 5 and, depending on whether it's a tepid matchup or a fiery Kolkata derby, she picks up lozenge stocks worth Rs 500-1,000 (approx. US$ 7-13).
Jamuna's lozenges are sought out even beyond the football field. Every time Leander Paes visits the city, Jamuna receives a call from him. The jhaal lozenges, or tamarind-flavoured ridged candies with a slightly spiced, sticky jelly at the core, have been his staple request. "Oh, he loves them," says Jamuna. "He'll tell me, 'Didi, mera wala lozenge bhijwa dena (please send my lozenge)' and I know what he's talking about."
Sadly, the sweets she picked up for the March 14 ISL final between ATK and Chennaiyin, held in Goa, are still in her fridge. ATK's owner Sanjiv Goenka had sent her round-trip flight tickets for the match and Jamuna had neatly packed her saris into her travel bag before it was announced that, because of Covid-19, the match would be played behind closed doors.
The ISL final was only one break to the football season; the I-League was to run until April but was also cut short, with at least six matches still to be played in Kolkata. That's a hefty hit to her income but her club has stood by her. In April, East Bengal handed her Rs 12,000 as cash support, and have also helped her with essential grocery supplies. She has also been helped by individual contributions from former Minerva Punjab club owner Ranjit Bajaj and player Nirmal Chhetri.
"Since I don't own a smartphone, some of them [players, club officials] video call on a neighbour or club member's phone to check if I'm doing OK during the lockdown," says Jamuna. "More than the money, players calling to ask how I'm doing makes me feel that I've touched their lives even if in a small way. I don't have children of my own so they're my family. I haven't heard from the Bengaluru boys in a while. Especially Sunil [Chhetri]."
She has had other worries of late: The supercyclone Amphan that rampaged through Kolkata last month flooded Jamuna's Agarpara home and destroyed many of her belongings. Wading through knee-deep water that filled the cupboard inside her house, she made sure to lay out her valuables -- her jerseys -- on the bed, raised from the ground by slabs of bricks. "My husband always told me to keep the jerseys safe and never give them away to anyone. He used to say it's what will see me through the days I'm too old to work anymore," says Jamuna. "The evening the cyclone struck, I felt lonely for the first time. I sobbed as I pulled my trunks out of the water by myself and tried to keep them dry. After my husband's death, football had kept me busy. I even travelled outside the city for a few matches. Now, without the two things I've loved the most in my life -- my husband and East Bengal matches -- every day is a long, difficult drag."
Jamuna's East Bengal affiliation stems from her roots in Faridpur, in Bangladesh; her husband was from Dhaka. "From the time I started watching football, I knew I could love no team but East Bengal. It's part of my Bangal [Bangladeshi immigrant] identity and runs in my veins."
Unschooled and without a settled job, Jamuna took up selling sweets as a way of engaging with her biggest passion: football. Her lozenges -- in four flavours: mango, orange, pineapple and ginger -- soon became popular among match-goers at the Salt Lake Stadium along with tiny mini cups of tea. If there was a match in Kolkata -- I-League, Calcutta Football League, Santosh Trophy, anything with quick feet on the field and a ball tossed in -- Lozenge Didi would be there.
Last week, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that it had gained clearance from FIFA to run its domestic season between August 1, 2020 and May 21, 2021. It's good news but Jamuna is aware matches will be played without spectators for a long time. It means she will still be out of business and robbed of being able to watch her club play. "It would be a worse feeling than now," she says. "To know matches are happening and yet to not be in the stands will be a lot more painful."
Over the past few weeks, to compensate for the absence of live football, Jamuna has been making daily late afternoon trips to watch a bunch of young neighbourhood boys kick about in the playground near her house.
"I sit there for hours," she says. "It's the only part of the day I look forward to. It gives me hope that football will soon be back."
Jamuna's East Bengal affiliation stems from her roots in Faridpur, in Bangladesh;..."From the time I started watching football, I knew I could love no team but East Bengal. It's part of my Bangal [Bangladeshi immigrant] identity and runs in my veins."
Glad to know that...I too have my roots there, my father hailed from Faridpur
Stay well, stay safe, Lozenge Didi...football is bound to return, so too will you and your club
He was waiting for Green Card last we heard from him in USA. His US football journey was some Amateur Nigerian immigrants club in USA. All the Best in his post Footballer journey.
214 goals, 32 goals in a single I-League, Ranti Martins is a legend in Indian football history. He didn't have the charisma of a Barreto or the controversies of Odafa but those numbers don't lie.
P. S. He did score handsomely in AFC Cup matches too both with Dempo and East Bengal.
Comments
Cases will peak in Aug & Sep and they may not show interest to play Indian football teams in their countries
Punjab FC will be looking to play in ISL in the future, says Michael Browne
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Browne believes that the players with potential in India are not getting enough game time which is hindering their development. He suggests that it will be more beneficial for those to ply their trade in I-League rather than sitting on the bench in ISL.
"The best Indian young players do not get minutes. That is definitely not good for football in India. We hope to improve that. They must play consistently. Some Indian players should play in I-league and not in ISL as they are mostly benchwarmers which impedes their process of development.
"I think India's potential is huge. But there are not many good quality games. The players should get more quality games. All key positions in ISL are occupied by foreigners. The country needs to get (more) games at the right level. If we can have a longer season with higher standard of games, it will greatly help Indian football. There is also talk about the reduction of overseas players. Doing that you create more opportunities for Indian players to shine. But we should also keep in mind that the standard must not go down," concluded the UEFA Pro License holder.
https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/punjab-fc-isl-michael-browne-indian-football-i-league/1kny6omau9y4c1q1xg5l4nqs6q
Sport, interrupted: For Lozenge Didi, no football is a bitter pill to swallow
The ticker on the evening news had Jamuna Das jumping up on her bed. The Indian football domestic season, it said, would resume on August 1. Jamuna, also known as Lozenge Didi (elder sister), hasn't been to a football game in over 90 days. That match -- ATK v Bengaluru in the ISL semi-final on March 8 -- is also when she last earned her daily bread selling the hard skin sweets, or lozenges, at Kolkata football grounds.
There's barely a stadium regular or a casual fan in the city who hasn't caught sight of Jamuna in the stand aisles -- hair combed back in a neat bun, her yellow-red East Bengal jersey blending into the yellow-red tones of her sari, a cross-body bag with the club logo resting at her waist, offering fistfuls of the bright sweets to those who stop to buy. It has been her life and livelihood for three decades. Now, she finds herself struggling to hold on to one without the other.
"Khela na hole toh amra na khete peye more jaabo (If matches don't happen, we'll die without food to eat)," says Jamuna. Selling sweets has been her mainstay since her husband died last July after a long struggle with a neurological disorder. His medical condition prevented him from taking up a regular job and it fell to Jamuna to manage the household and her husband's medical expenses.
But she has had help. "Selling sweets alone wouldn't have seen me through all these years," says Jamuna. "East Bengal's support and all other clubs, players, well-wishers, even spectators, have always pitched in without even me asking." She sells a small pack of four lozenges for Rs 5 and, depending on whether it's a tepid matchup or a fiery Kolkata derby, she picks up lozenge stocks worth Rs 500-1,000 (approx. US$ 7-13).
Jamuna's lozenges are sought out even beyond the football field. Every time Leander Paes visits the city, Jamuna receives a call from him. The jhaal lozenges, or tamarind-flavoured ridged candies with a slightly spiced, sticky jelly at the core, have been his staple request. "Oh, he loves them," says Jamuna. "He'll tell me, 'Didi, mera wala lozenge bhijwa dena (please send my lozenge)' and I know what he's talking about."
The ISL final was only one break to the football season; the I-League was to run until April but was also cut short, with at least six matches still to be played in Kolkata. That's a hefty hit to her income but her club has stood by her. In April, East Bengal handed her Rs 12,000 as cash support, and have also helped her with essential grocery supplies. She has also been helped by individual contributions from former Minerva Punjab club owner Ranjit Bajaj and player Nirmal Chhetri.
"Since I don't own a smartphone, some of them [players, club officials] video call on a neighbour or club member's phone to check if I'm doing OK during the lockdown," says Jamuna. "More than the money, players calling to ask how I'm doing makes me feel that I've touched their lives even if in a small way. I don't have children of my own so they're my family. I haven't heard from the Bengaluru boys in a while. Especially Sunil [Chhetri]."
She has had other worries of late: The supercyclone Amphan that rampaged through Kolkata last month flooded Jamuna's Agarpara home and destroyed many of her belongings. Wading through knee-deep water that filled the cupboard inside her house, she made sure to lay out her valuables -- her jerseys -- on the bed, raised from the ground by slabs of bricks. "My husband always told me to keep the jerseys safe and never give them away to anyone. He used to say it's what will see me through the days I'm too old to work anymore," says Jamuna. "The evening the cyclone struck, I felt lonely for the first time. I sobbed as I pulled my trunks out of the water by myself and tried to keep them dry. After my husband's death, football had kept me busy. I even travelled outside the city for a few matches. Now, without the two things I've loved the most in my life -- my husband and East Bengal matches -- every day is a long, difficult drag."
Jamuna's East Bengal affiliation stems from her roots in Faridpur, in Bangladesh; her husband was from Dhaka. "From the time I started watching football, I knew I could love no team but East Bengal. It's part of my Bangal [Bangladeshi immigrant] identity and runs in my veins."
Unschooled and without a settled job, Jamuna took up selling sweets as a way of engaging with her biggest passion: football. Her lozenges -- in four flavours: mango, orange, pineapple and ginger -- soon became popular among match-goers at the Salt Lake Stadium along with tiny mini cups of tea. If there was a match in Kolkata -- I-League, Calcutta Football League, Santosh Trophy, anything with quick feet on the field and a ball tossed in -- Lozenge Didi would be there.
........................................................................................................................................................................................
Over the past few weeks, to compensate for the absence of live football, Jamuna has been making daily late afternoon trips to watch a bunch of young neighbourhood boys kick about in the playground near her house.
"I sit there for hours," she says. "It's the only part of the day I look forward to. It gives me hope that football will soon be back."
https://www.espn.in/football/india/story/4111102/sport-interrupted-for-kolkatas-lozenge-didino-football-is-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow
Jamuna's East Bengal affiliation stems from her roots in Faridpur, in Bangladesh;..."From the time I started watching football, I knew I could love no team but East Bengal. It's part of my Bangal [Bangladeshi immigrant] identity and runs in my veins."
Glad to know that...I too have my roots there, my father hailed from Faridpur
Stay well, stay safe, Lozenge Didi...football is bound to return, so too will you and your club
Reports: Former Dempo and East Bengal legend Ranti Martins hangs up his boots
Best of luck, Ranti! Thanks for the memories!!
P. S. He did score handsomely in AFC Cup matches too both with Dempo and East Bengal.