@Rav92. It depends. What type of immigrants? Immigrants from sporting cultures will shine. Immigrants from small Caribbean islands to places like Canada, England have done great in Sports. Indian immigrants are in bigger number in those countries but barring cricket, sporting achievements are negligible. Sometimes both countries shine. Immigrants from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia were part of old French Empire and children of immigrants did well in France, Belgium. With dual nationality they have made their former countries also strong football nations.
i am really looking forward to japan vs england....skills and technique vs power. Japan has built a distinct style understanding their physical limitations. Its a nation we should borrow more coaches from. europeans wont help much in my opinion.
It's an administrative triumph that India is hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. It will be an inspiration for the youth and children to adopt and excel in the most popular sport of the world. This event is the first step in the right direction to realise India's immense potential in the sport -- but there's a long way to go.
All the boys who are participating in the tournament are born in this century and are ambitious, motivated and have an attitude to excel. Indian boys are not an exception. The Indian team has done reasonably well, but not well enough as a host country is expected to do. I have come across some articles that describe the Indian team as a "sleeping giant". There is nothing to be derived from praising mediocrity.
To appreciate a problem is the most fundamental step towards solving it. There are some pertinent questions: Why has India failed to realise its enormous potential despite having such a huge reservoir of talent? Why do we have to be satisfied with descriptions that seem more of a consolation, like a "sleeping giant"? It's time the sleeping giant wakes up and performs on the football pitch and competes amongst the best. After all, producing champions is not rocket science -- what is required is a planned, concerted effort.
There are two distinct areas where we need to work. Firstly, at the grassroots to find and hone the talent. Secondly, providing training and coaching to convert this talent into a cadre of world-class players. It's not a daunting task or an impractical idea -- the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make India a sporting superpower.
Many countries have done it in their own ways. Let me talk about the German model. I was in Europe earlier this year and learned about how Germany improved their performance in just over a decade. They had to face an embarrassment in Euro-2000 and the administrators of the sport were determined not to let this happen again.
They started at the grassroots. Germany already had the necessary infrastructure; they upgraded it and increased the depth of coaching resources. Germany has 28,400 coaches with the B licence, 5,500 with A licence and 1,070 with the pro licence -- the highest qualification.
While they honed skills, they also worked on the psychology of the players. Winning, as they say, is a habit, but a defeatist attitude could also become a habit. Winning is also a philosophy of life. The German coaches focused on developing the right attitude; what they call it is "fluid formations", stressing on the need of nimbleness, dexterity and thinking players -- instead of raw physical strength -- who can work as a team. They weren't interested in creating superstars, but a cohesive team. Nimbleness and not the strength was the new mantra that did wonders.
We organise various football camps in remote parts of the country and also a school football league (SSFL) every year where more than 60,000 children from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat compete in about 2,000 matches.
I see nimbleness is our strength and what is required is proper training to develop technical skills and tactical knowledge that can easily convert them into world-class players.
What we are doing in India is not very different from what Germany has been doing for the past decade to promote football in their country. Germany introduced a talent development programme in 2003 to identify promising youngsters, mostly aged 8 to 14 years. They are a country of just 80 million compared to India's 1.25 billion. Just by renewed focus on the youngsters made them World champions within 10 years.
Not all the players will make it to the national side but there are professional clubs and junior teams -- and there's a lot of money to be made. So, there's sufficient incentive. They have inculcated a sporting culture which has become a way of life.
After having .shortlisted grassroots talent, they need to be trained. There's a need for a dedicated academy. Germany started one such facility in Freiburg with 10 million euros (Rs 764 million) in 2001. It's not much hyped in the media, is located on the fringes of the Black Forest, has four pitches and a small stadium. Some two dozen players every year make it to Freiburg and live on the top floor of the three-storey academy building. They get intensive training while being allowed to continue their educati on. About 10 percent of them, on an average, make it to the international football circuit.
In Europe there's a long-held practice to get players on payment of a hefty amount of money from African, Brazil or Argentina. But Germany, thanks to the Freiburg facility, has realised it's cheaper to train one's own players. They now have plenty of them, which has created a healthy competition for excellence and the result is for everyone to see. Germany won the last World Cup in 2014, deci mating Brazil 7-1.
The German experience has a lesson for India. We need a dedicated academy that will work on select few youngsters and churn out world class players on an annual basis. We need our own Freiburg kind of an academy.
U-17 Football World Cup: Coming of age, but still too young
India’s performances have created a wellspring of expectation for the future, but the opening days of the Under-17 World Cup have been especially notable for the displays from the leading Asian sides. Japan destroyed Honduras 6-1, while Iraq drew with Mexico in their opening game. North Korea lost narrowly to Niger – who had beaten Nigeria, five-time champions, to qualify – and held Brazil scoreless for nearly an hour.
But the pick of the bunch were undoubtedly Iran. Having thumped Guinea – who eliminated Cameroon in the African tournament – they then towelled Germany 4-0. The Iranians had less than 40 per cent of the possession, but were devastating on the counter. They did to Germany what the German senior side has been doing to others for nearly a decade.
But does this necessarily mean that Asian football has come of age, or are these junior tournaments red herrings? After all, who remembers West Germany’s Marcel Witeczek, who top-scored in the 1985 event, or Philip Osundu, James Will, Mohamed Kathiri and Sergio Santamaria – all winners of the Golden Ball for Best Player, whose international careers never left the runway? Will, the Scot who was once an understudy to David Seaman at Arsenal, eventually became a police constable.
The reality is that Asian and African sides usually take these competitions far more seriously, associating victories with national prestige. Brazil, for example, haven’t even sent Vinicius Junior, currently playing for Flamengo in Rio ahead of next summer’s move to Real Madrid. England’s Jaden Sancho will return to Borussia Dortmund, the club he joined after refusing to stay in the gilded cage at Manchester City, once the group stage is complete.
These kids, and presumably their advisors, recognise that club football is the pinnacle, in terms of playing standards. There will be the odd team – like Brazil 1970 and Spain 2008 – that elevates international football to a similar level, but in general, it’s impossible to think of a national side playing with the cohesion and fluency of, say, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
If Indian football is truly to renew itself, the clubs need to invest in robust youth programmes, and create pathways for the likes of Jeakson and Dheeraj. The current system, of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) academy being the feeder for the national side ensures there's no onus on the clubs to emulate their peers in Europe. As of now, only fou four of the 21-player squad are associated with an Indian club, and that too the little-known Minerva Punjab FC. As for the best in Asia, they need to follow the example of Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata and grow wings. Nakata left Japan at 21, already something of a folk hero, and did his apprenticeship at Perugia before moving to AS Roma, where he won a Scudetto.
Contrast that with the United Arab Emirates’ Omar Abdulrahman, who still plies his trade in the Gulf at the age of 26. One of the most gifted players in Asia has now spent half a career treading water instead of testing himself against th e most gifted players in Asia has now spent half a career treading water instead of testing himself against the very best. For Iraq’s brilliant Mohammed Dawood, the key is to time his move right. Move too early, like Ghana’s Nii Lamptey did in the early 1990s, and the vultures will tear you apart.
Ultimately, the best players realise that age-group tournaments are mere stepping stones. I recall being at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in March 2008, at a ceremony organised to welcome home India’s Under-19 cricketers, who had just won the World Cup in Malaysia. “What you give us is hope,” Rahul Dravid told them. “We can believe that the future of Indian cricket is bright, and I hope that you'll be part of a World Cup win someday.”
Then the cautionary note. “I just want you to remember that of the boys who won the U-19 World Cup in 2000, only one member (Yuvraj Singh) was part of the (CB Series) winning team in Brisbane today. It’s something for you to think about... This is the start of a critical phase in your lives. What you do from here on is what matters.”
Comments
German football model is a lesson for India
All the boys who are participating in the tournament are born in this century and are ambitious, motivated and have an attitude to excel. Indian boys are not an exception. The Indian team has done reasonably well, but not well enough as a host country is expected to do. I have come across some articles that describe the Indian team as a "sleeping giant". There is nothing to be derived from praising mediocrity.
To appreciate a problem is the most fundamental step towards solving it. There are some pertinent questions: Why has India failed to realise its enormous potential despite having such a huge reservoir of talent? Why do we have to be satisfied with descriptions that seem more of a consolation, like a "sleeping giant"? It's time the sleeping giant wakes up and performs on the football pitch and competes amongst the best. After all, producing champions is not rocket science -- what is required is a planned, concerted effort.
There are two distinct areas where we need to work. Firstly, at the grassroots to find and hone the talent. Secondly, providing training and coaching to convert this talent into a cadre of world-class players. It's not a daunting task or an impractical idea -- the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make India a sporting superpower.
Many countries have done it in their own ways. Let me talk about the German model. I was in Europe earlier this year and learned about how Germany improved their performance in just over a decade. They had to face an embarrassment in Euro-2000 and the administrators of the sport were determined not to let this happen again.
They started at the grassroots. Germany already had the necessary infrastructure; they upgraded it and increased the depth of coaching resources. Germany has 28,400 coaches with the B licence, 5,500 with A licence and 1,070 with the pro licence -- the highest qualification.
While they honed skills, they also worked on the psychology of the players. Winning, as they say, is a habit, but a defeatist attitude could also become a habit. Winning is also a philosophy of life. The German coaches focused on developing the right attitude; what they call it is "fluid formations", stressing on the need of nimbleness, dexterity and thinking players -- instead of raw physical strength -- who can work as a team. They weren't interested in creating superstars, but a cohesive team. Nimbleness and not the strength was the new mantra that did wonders.
We organise various football camps in remote parts of the country and also a school football league (SSFL) every year where more than 60,000 children from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat compete in about 2,000 matches.
I see nimbleness is our strength and what is required is proper training to develop technical skills and tactical knowledge that can easily convert them into world-class players.
What we are doing in India is not very different from what Germany has been doing for the past decade to promote football in their country. Germany introduced a talent development programme in 2003 to identify promising youngsters, mostly aged 8 to 14 years. They are a country of just 80 million compared to India's 1.25 billion. Just by renewed focus on the youngsters made them World champions within 10 years.
Not all the players will make it to the national side but there are professional clubs and junior teams -- and there's a lot of money to be made. So, there's sufficient incentive. They have inculcated a sporting culture which has become a way of life.
After having .shortlisted grassroots talent, they need to be trained. There's a need for a dedicated academy. Germany started one such facility in Freiburg with 10 million euros (Rs 764 million) in 2001. It's not much hyped in the media, is located on the fringes of the Black Forest, has four pitches and a small stadium. Some two dozen players every year make it to Freiburg and live on the top floor of the three-storey academy building. They get intensive training while being allowed to continue their educati on. About 10 percent of them, on an average, make it to the international football circuit.
In Europe there's a long-held practice to get players on payment of a hefty amount of money from African, Brazil or Argentina. But Germany, thanks to the Freiburg facility, has realised it's cheaper to train one's own players. They now have plenty of them, which has created a healthy competition for excellence and the result is for everyone to see. Germany won the last World Cup in 2014, deci mating Brazil 7-1.
The German experience has a lesson for India. We need a dedicated academy that will work on select few youngsters and churn out world class players on an annual basis. We need our own Freiburg kind of an academy.
Winning is a habit -- and complacency a disease.
U-17 Football World Cup: Coming of age, but still too young
But the pick of the bunch were undoubtedly Iran. Having thumped Guinea – who eliminated Cameroon in the African tournament – they then towelled Germany 4-0. The Iranians had less than 40 per cent of the possession, but were devastating on the counter. They did to Germany what the German senior side has been doing to others for nearly a decade.
But does this necessarily mean that Asian football has come of age, or are these junior tournaments red herrings? After all, who remembers West Germany’s Marcel Witeczek, who top-scored in the 1985 event, or Philip Osundu, James Will, Mohamed Kathiri and Sergio Santamaria – all winners of the Golden Ball for Best Player, whose international careers never left the runway? Will, the Scot who was once an understudy to David Seaman at Arsenal, eventually became a police constable.
The reality is that Asian and African sides usually take these competitions far more seriously, associating victories with national prestige. Brazil, for example, haven’t even sent Vinicius Junior, currently playing for Flamengo in Rio ahead of next summer’s move to Real Madrid. England’s Jaden Sancho will return to Borussia Dortmund, the club he joined after refusing to stay in the gilded cage at Manchester City, once the group stage is complete.
These kids, and presumably their advisors, recognise that club football is the pinnacle, in terms of playing standards. There will be the odd team – like Brazil 1970 and Spain 2008 – that elevates international football to a similar level, but in general, it’s impossible to think of a national side playing with the cohesion and fluency of, say, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
If Indian football is truly to renew itself, the clubs need to invest in robust youth programmes, and create pathways for the likes of Jeakson and Dheeraj. The current system, of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) academy being the feeder for the national side ensures there's no onus on the clubs to emulate their peers in Europe. As of now, only fou four of the 21-player squad are associated with an Indian club, and that too the little-known Minerva Punjab FC. As for the best in Asia, they need to follow the example of Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata and grow wings. Nakata left Japan at 21, already something of a folk hero, and did his apprenticeship at Perugia before moving to AS Roma, where he won a Scudetto.
Contrast that with the United Arab Emirates’ Omar Abdulrahman, who still plies his trade in the Gulf at the age of 26. One of the most gifted players in Asia has now spent half a career treading water instead of testing himself against th e most gifted players in Asia has now spent half a career treading water instead of testing himself against the very best. For Iraq’s brilliant Mohammed Dawood, the key is to time his move right. Move too early, like Ghana’s Nii Lamptey did in the early 1990s, and the vultures will tear you apart.
Ultimately, the best players realise that age-group tournaments are mere stepping stones. I recall being at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in March 2008, at a ceremony organised to welcome home India’s Under-19 cricketers, who had just won the World Cup in Malaysia. “What you give us is hope,” Rahul Dravid told them. “We can believe that the future of Indian cricket is bright, and I hope that you'll be part of a World Cup win someday.”
Then the cautionary note. “I just want you to remember that of the boys who won the U-19 World Cup in 2000, only one member (Yuvraj Singh) was part of the (CB Series) winning team in Brisbane today. It’s something for you to think about... This is the start of a critical phase in your lives. What you do from here on is what matters.”