An ill-timed
tackle, a bad fall, a twist of the knee or a snap of an ankle ' when it
comes to football, the hard and uneven surface of Gopal Maidan is no friend of players.
The venue, which has been chosen to host the ongoing U-20 I-League in the city, is giving players and coaches nightmares, thanks to rough patches that makes the ball to bounce a bit too much on the turf.
For instance, Pune FC's head of youth development Ranjan Chowdhury was not particularly impressed when he came to drop his boys off at Gopal Maidan on Tuesday
In the city for the I-League, the Pune FC mentor had expected an even
surface for the game, but what met his eyes was far from satisfactory,
something sources claimed forged a negative image of the city and its
capacity to hold big-ticket events.
Chowdhury, who had been associated with Tata Football Academy
for several years as chief coach before shifting to Pune, incidentally
was not the only one who has pointed fingers at the venue. According to
sources, the coaches of the East Bengal and ONGC team too had expressed
their reservations about the turf.
"This ground is not fit for
hosting I-league matches. The chances of my boys getting injured cannot
be ruled out," the 56-year-old Chowdhury said.
Echoing him, East Bengal coach Tarun Dey
said the ground even at first glance looked very hard and uneven.
"There are a lot of matches remaining in the tournament and I am scared
that my players might end up picking up injuries," Dey said. He added
the hard surface made the ball bounce more, which posed problems in ball
collection.
Ground staff said they leave no stone unturned to prepare the venue
for matches. However, with business fairs, political and trade union
gatherings a regular affair there, it was very difficult to keep the
ground smooth.
"We work round the year to maintain this ground but our efforts mean
nothing. The ground is in a bad shape due to non-sporting events," a
ground staff rued.
Captain Amitabh,
head of Tata Steel's sports department, said they had done all they
could to prepare for the matches at such a short notice from the All
India Football Federation.
Prodded, he defended the choice of Gopal Maidan, which had not
witnessed any big-ticket events for long before the I-League, as a
venue.
"We decided to host the tourney at Gopal Maidan because it is
centrally-located and more people can watch the games. Keenan Stadium
has been kept reserved for some upcoming events," Amitabh said.
He added that coaches should
lodge complain with the match commissioner if they were not satisfied
with the condition of the ground. "We will see what can be done after
getting some feedback from the match commissioner," Captain Amitabh
said.
Comments
Rough turf irks soccer coaches
An ill-timed tackle, a bad fall, a twist of the knee or a snap of an ankle ' when it comes to football, the hard and uneven surface of Gopal Maidan is no friend of players.
The venue, which has been chosen to host the ongoing U-20 I-League in the city, is giving players and coaches nightmares, thanks to rough patches that makes the ball to bounce a bit too much on the turf.
For instance, Pune FC's head of youth development Ranjan Chowdhury was not particularly impressed when he came to drop his boys off at Gopal Maidan on Tuesday
In the city for the I-League, the Pune FC mentor had expected an even surface for the game, but what met his eyes was far from satisfactory, something sources claimed forged a negative image of the city and its capacity to hold big-ticket events.
Chowdhury, who had been associated with Tata Football Academy for several years as chief coach before shifting to Pune, incidentally was not the only one who has pointed fingers at the venue. According to sources, the coaches of the East Bengal and ONGC team too had expressed their reservations about the turf.
"This ground is not fit for hosting I-league matches. The chances of my boys getting injured cannot be ruled out," the 56-year-old Chowdhury said.
Echoing him, East Bengal coach Tarun Dey said the ground even at first glance looked very hard and uneven. "There are a lot of matches remaining in the tournament and I am scared that my players might end up picking up injuries," Dey said. He added the hard surface made the ball bounce more, which posed problems in ball collection.
Ground staff said they leave no stone unturned to prepare the venue for matches. However, with business fairs, political and trade union gatherings a regular affair there, it was very difficult to keep the ground smooth.
"We work round the year to maintain this ground but our efforts mean nothing. The ground is in a bad shape due to non-sporting events," a ground staff rued.
Captain Amitabh, head of Tata Steel's sports department, said they had done all they could to prepare for the matches at such a short notice from the All India Football Federation.
Prodded, he defended the choice of Gopal Maidan, which had not witnessed any big-ticket events for long before the I-League, as a venue.
"We decided to host the tourney at Gopal Maidan because it is centrally-located and more people can watch the games. Keenan Stadium has been kept reserved for some upcoming events," Amitabh said.
He added that coaches should lodge complain with the match commissioner if they were not satisfied with the condition of the ground. "We will see what can be done after getting some feedback from the match commissioner," Captain Amitabh said.
Aiff adds Standing to U20 League
@shankar Before Aiff adds it I have added it on wiki.
Here it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_I-League_U20
> hadfadkar said:
> Here it is
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_I-League_U20
shankar said : from where you get all scorers name??
Refer to report.
> hadfadkar said:
> shankar said : from where you get all scorers name??
>
> Refer to report.
SESA struggling against SLFC and many of these players used to play in Goa league I think.
Waiting for TFA's performance
FULL TIME: SLFC 1 - 1 SESA FOOTBALL ACADEMY
FULL TIME: Shillong Lajong 1 - 1 SESA FA