Our youth team's have generally done well at u14 , u16 levels....but have never been able to perform at u19 , the difference between our u16 team and u16 teams from other countries is very small... but the same team when reaches u19 level it struggles against the same opponents whom they had been very competitive at u16 level....Hope AIFF takes some strong measures to ensure it does not happen with this batch of players...so after 2 years we could hear a scoreline : AIFF 2 - Schalke 0.
Most of the players from other countries start playing in the main league or either are loaned to lower division, in India they are still at TFA, AIFF Elite Academy or local state league. Not enough competition and exposure here.
You also got the fact that these kids are managed by idiots at the higher level. Also some players, like Uttam Rai, start to believe in their hype and all of a sudden disappear.
Schalke 04 beat India U-16 1-0 in a close, but quality encounter!
The Under-16 team of German Bundesliga giants FC Schalke 04 hosted the AIFF Under-16 Regional Academy in a friendly match at their Baulandstraße ground in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday evening, which the Royal Blues won 1-0 against the Indian boys through a first half goal from Felix Rudolf.
The match kicked-off with both the teams unsure how strong their opponents really were. Physically the Indians were smaller and slimmer than their German counterparts, but after a nervy start it was an even game with very few chances for the two sides as both set of defences stood tall and when required the two goalkeepers kept their cool and their goal clean.
In the middle of the park Anirudh Thapa controlled proceedings for India, ably helped by Prosenjit Chakraborty with Nijwm Muchahary being the dangerman for India upfront as he troubled the Schalke defence with his speed and runs, but except once when he was fouled before he was through the Schalke boys always recovered not to allow him a clean look at goal.
The winner for Schalke came in the 37th minute from a set piece. A short corner was played on by Alem Koljic to Felix Rudolf, who coolly slotted home the winner. Schalke went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
What impressed was that India were not shocked by the big name rivals or falling behind and they could have had the first chance of the second session as Nijwm Muchahary nearly came through after the restart. India looked dangerous on the counter with left-back Jerry Lalrinzuala charging forward a number of times though in the middle no one could really do something with the crosses or passes.
Schalke also had a couple of efforts on goal after the break, but Dheeraj Singh stood tall in goal to clear the ball out of danger. Towards the end India gave it a final push to equalise, but it remained 1-0 for Schalke though the Indian performance received a lot of appreciation and praise from the German crowd and the few Indian supporters as many had expected a rout in favour of Schalke, but Goutam Ghosh's boys played good quality football, which with the right exposure could make some of these boys world class footballers, who in future could ply their trade in Europe.
After the match AIFF Under-16 Regional Academy coach Goutam Ghosh was a happy man, then he didn't expect his boys to be able to match one of the top German sides in the Under-16 age category, but one has to once more say that the young Indian boys matched their opponents and with a little better finishing and coolness in front of goal they could have even won the match, as even a draw would have been a fair result.
FC Schalke 04 Under-16 assistant coach Eren Yilmaz said post-match, "It was a good test against a strong opponent. We had to give it our best against India to win the game."
Not bad, not bad at all. Well done lads. I hope these boys are managed by better professionals so that their level improves as they move to the U19 and above and not the reverse, which we are witnessing for years.
I too hope they bring in new players who have talent or better ones (if they can find or if they want to) and not run with the same bunch.
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http://arunfoot.blogspot.in/2014/08/schalke-04-beat-india-u-16-1-0-in-close.html
Schalke 04 beat India U-16 1-0 in a close, but quality encounter!
The Under-16 team of German Bundesliga giants FC Schalke 04 hosted the AIFF Under-16 Regional Academy in a friendly match at their Baulandstraße ground in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday evening, which the Royal Blues won 1-0 against the Indian boys through a first half goal from Felix Rudolf.
The match kicked-off with both the teams unsure how strong their opponents really were. Physically the Indians were smaller and slimmer than their German counterparts, but after a nervy start it was an even game with very few chances for the two sides as both set of defences stood tall and when required the two goalkeepers kept their cool and their goal clean.
In the middle of the park Anirudh Thapa controlled proceedings for India, ably helped by Prosenjit Chakraborty with Nijwm Muchahary being the dangerman for India upfront as he troubled the Schalke defence with his speed and runs, but except once when he was fouled before he was through the Schalke boys always recovered not to allow him a clean look at goal.
The winner for Schalke came in the 37th minute from a set piece. A short corner was played on by Alem Koljic to Felix Rudolf, who coolly slotted home the winner. Schalke went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
What impressed was that India were not shocked by the big name rivals or falling behind and they could have had the first chance of the second session as Nijwm Muchahary nearly came through after the restart. India looked dangerous on the counter with left-back Jerry Lalrinzuala charging forward a number of times though in the middle no one could really do something with the crosses or passes.
Schalke also had a couple of efforts on goal after the break, but Dheeraj Singh stood tall in goal to clear the ball out of danger. Towards the end India gave it a final push to equalise, but it remained 1-0 for Schalke though the Indian performance received a lot of appreciation and praise from the German crowd and the few Indian supporters as many had expected a rout in favour of Schalke, but Goutam Ghosh's boys played good quality football, which with the right exposure could make some of these boys world class footballers, who in future could ply their trade in Europe.
After the match AIFF Under-16 Regional Academy coach Goutam Ghosh was a happy man, then he didn't expect his boys to be able to match one of the top German sides in the Under-16 age category, but one has to once more say that the young Indian boys matched their opponents and with a little better finishing and coolness in front of goal they could have even won the match, as even a draw would have been a fair result.
FC Schalke 04 Under-16 assistant coach Eren Yilmaz said post-match, "It was a good test against a strong opponent. We had to give it our best against India to win the game."
I will be uploading the full match video asap!