The mindset that only taller and stronger players can compete against physically stronger teams is complete sham.
Look at ghana they don't have many tall players but their speed and stamina is just on another planet. Similar for Japan and south korea. The strategy followed by Nicolai adam of speed and great passing game was very much suitable for indian physique. Matos destroyed what was gained in last two years.
If there is any way to bring back the philosophy followed by Nicolai adam then we should work on it. It will bring far greater results.
Naïve to mark this as tipping point in Indian football
Before we mistake social outing for social churning when appreciating the recent euphoria at the Under-17 World Cup in the Capital, let us hold our breaths and hope that this is not another flash in the pan. It has happened so many times before, making it difficult for us to feel much optimism for it.
Fundamentally, the resurgent nationalism that this newbie fandom is evoking shouldn't remain localized to the marketable concept of the national team but extend itself to the domestic game because that is where football as a true sport resides.
When fans suddenly materialize, after being invisible when the game needed them most as it trudged on unattended in empty stadiums and on poor pitches for season after season, you can revel in it but cannot wish away the larger despondency.
These impressionable supporters who thronged the Jawaharlal Stadium, happy and hoarse at anything the Indian U-17 team did, would shudder when told that Indian football is basically being cut up into pieces and being sold to the highest bidder. That there always was a club structure and a national league but it is under great threat of being demolished since legitimacy is up for sale and can be bought for a price. But, hey dude, chill, since we are hosting a World Cup the future can only be bright and promising.
Imposing a footballing culture via the top-heavy idea of the national team serves only those seeking to appropriate for their nationalistic gains. When statesmanship, which is largely devoid of any positive imagination elsewhere, seeks to appropriate sport in an eco-system as fragile as India's football, it actually does more harm than it is already suffering.
A thousand - however well-trained and well-travelled - national teams will remain hollow, unsustainable models as long as the professional structure back home continues to be in tatters. If we are seeking a deeper meaning in the recent support for the Indian football team and believing this to be true, let it be known that this is India's football reality. The World Cup, however momentarily uplifting and exhilarating, is only a minor distraction. We did not host - and play - a World Cup in spite of the shambles our football is in, we merely bypassed it.
Once this hoary week-long attachment with India's World Cup team will ebb way, India's fans will return to bleeding a different kind of blue - Arsenal tattoo on your arm, United shirt on your back. There is nothing wrong in suffering for a team from another world, slick, seductive and successful, but it gets tricky when it comes to be the norm - the standards, the strappings, even its grammar and language dictating the narrative and how we view and measure our own game.
No, we are not here to take anything away from our Under-17 team. The brilliant Anwar Ali and Dheeraj Kumar are as much our heroes as an 18-year-old Shabbir Ali and Chinmoy Chatterjee were when India won the Asian Youth championships (jointly with Iran) in 1974. Or, like that fearsome Under-19 side with the Tata Football Academy boys as its nucleus, which pumped goals past regional rivals at will at the cusp of the new millennium.
Yet, to swiftly mark this as the tipping point for Indian football, where a young, expectant nation's sudden coming out for its team signifies a turned corner, would be a novice's error, as would be the lazy perception that this is a never-before phenomenon in a sports-indifferent Capital.
First, those counting the crowds - Mission XI Million or not - over the past week as a first are making the classic beginner's mistake. They must know that this has happened before in a Capital that's conveniently labelled as sports-challenged - twice, actually, in the last decade and half and with far greater numbers and heavier turnouts with minimal social media push and largely due to word of mouth. The Santosh Trophy in 2004 brought out migrant Keralites and Manipuris in huge, equal numbers. It showcasing the ethnic melting pot that Delhi. It was a spontaneous celebration of football that was carried forward three years later, when India won the revamped Nehru Cup to a packed Ambedkar Stadium. Only if the kids, inspired by the past week's experience, are rallying - football in hand - to reclaim their colony playing grounds from the RWAs and not just pestering their parents admission in the latest football school in the neighbourhood, can we hope to believe that this U-17 experience is just a short additional chapter in these fleeting stories.
Once the dust has settled and the stands fallen silent, whether a World Cup truly impacted the trajectory of the game in India and gave birth to a culture, will only be known if the crucial sub-culture of the professional aspect - the traditional clubs and the national league - will be allowed to flourish. Else, we will only be invitee fans to the true world of football, and not by right.
Gaffer tape can provide his lols in every comment doesn't matter. Truth is federation and Mato's combined destroyed this team. It would have fared much better under Nicolai. Almost 50% of players who played for 2 years are not part of this team. In a way this team consisted of players picked up in last 7months. So why is AIFF saying 2.5 years preparation I do not undrstqnd.
I don't know why people compared Iran and Us. One match doesn't determine your weaknesses or strength. Who knows that was Iran First team or not. In Nicolai's time we lost with the same Iran in Afc u-16 championship 3-0. We lost all the matches in Granatkin cup except the match against Belarus.
We lost all the matches in Brics cup. Coming in the topic of squad change, most of the player are scouted by Adam. Suresh, Abhijit, Komal, Stalin, Jitendra, Boris, Amarjit, Aniket, Rahul KP, Lalengmawia, Meetai, Dheeraj, and Aman chettry is out due to knee injury. So except Anwar, Namit, Jeakson and Nongdamba all the playing eleven are same.
Invitational Tournament and World Cup are two different things don't mixed it. The way matos shaped up the team, I am quite happy with that.
Adam playing style looks beautiful but less effective, In the sense, he emphasized more on attack and less on defense. This approach can be a disastrous in a tournament like world cup where opponent is more strong and more pacy. You will concede dozen of goal going by this approach.
Adam was no doubt a good coach but his approach good for physically strong players. On the other hand, Matos gives importance on the defense. First defense then attack which is best according to our strength. The exact same thing Subhas Bhowmik has said on Extra Time report, that In 70's they also try to attack korea or japan(I can't remember properly) from the 1st min of the game and conceded 7 goals.
Just analyze the Ghana match we were attacked them from the very first min of the match and what happened our player got tired at the last quarter of the match and we concede 2 easy goal.
I disagree. Being defensive entire duration just makes you run after the ball much more than when you try and control the game. Playing square passes is an important attribute in football and not just throwing the ball long and expecting your 1 person to counter attack and score goals. It might help on some occassions but on most you are going to suffer. And playing 3 games in the same way against quality opponents will heck the hell out of anyone in a matter of one week. If you will check the stats you will realise Indians would have run more in Ghana players chasing them right throughout the match. That drains out a lot of energy
One more thing not playing defensively doesn't mean you go all out and attack from the first minute. It's more about a controlled game trying to keep the ball as much as one can. And it is with h this strategy using which one can slow down a game when playing against a much superior Atack like Ghana. The reason why we could not come back any time during the second half and it was all about ghana
Yah I agree with you in some point. But you have to remember, we are way below than the other countries in our group. So we can't get the ball easily. So if you can't get the ball, how do you expect, we will able to play passing football against them. Just take an example, If Bhutan coach expect to play possessional football against us through out the game, Is it possible..?
This Iran team is the same team that played in Granatkin Invitational tournament , I reckon we dominated the whole match against Iran and we lost by a goal scored against the run of th eplay.
I think the boys gave a good account of themselves and there is no need to delve in the past. We should look at the future now.
And what next after this batch? Is the next u-16 batch going to be overlooked like before or is the academy structure going to materialize?
Regional residential academies of AIFF with u-14, u- 16, u-18 squads is the need of the hour. I am sure after the hype created by u17 WC there must be some sponsors lining up at AIFF door. Let them sponsor these academies.
I have no trust in clubs except a select few who will do grassroots development programs in their club. AIFF needs to be aggressive here.
I am just hoping this WC proves to be a catalyst for youth development. Fingers crossed.
I disagree. The success of the u17 wc should indeed help with the sponsors but the clubs need to tap these sponsors and start their academy efficiently. Aiff needs to organise the u13 , u 15 and u17 leagues each with a duration of atleast 4 months with the funds and some sponsors. Any money aiff has needs to be put here imo .
Comments
Look at ghana they don't have many tall players but their speed and stamina is just on another planet. Similar for Japan and south korea.
The strategy followed by Nicolai adam of speed and great passing game was very much suitable for indian physique. Matos destroyed what was gained in last two years.
If there is any way to bring back the philosophy followed by Nicolai adam then we should work on it. It will bring far greater results.
Naïve to mark this as tipping point in Indian football
Fundamentally, the resurgent nationalism that this newbie fandom is evoking shouldn't remain localized to the marketable concept of the national team but extend itself to the domestic game because that is where football as a true sport resides.
When fans suddenly materialize, after being invisible when the game needed them most as it trudged on unattended in empty stadiums and on poor pitches for season after season, you can revel in it but cannot wish away the larger despondency.
These impressionable supporters who thronged the Jawaharlal Stadium, happy and hoarse at anything the Indian U-17 team did, would shudder when told that Indian football is basically being cut up into pieces and being sold to the highest bidder. That there always was a club structure and a national league but it is under great threat of being demolished since legitimacy is up for sale and can be bought for a price. But, hey dude, chill, since we are hosting a World Cup the future can only be bright and promising.
Imposing a footballing culture via the top-heavy idea of the national team serves only those seeking to appropriate for their nationalistic gains. When statesmanship, which is largely devoid of any positive imagination elsewhere, seeks to appropriate sport in an eco-system as fragile as India's football, it actually does more harm than it is already suffering.
A thousand - however well-trained and well-travelled - national teams will remain hollow, unsustainable models as long as the professional structure back home continues to be in tatters. If we are seeking a deeper meaning in the recent support for the Indian football team and believing this to be true, let it be known that this is India's football reality. The World Cup, however momentarily uplifting and exhilarating, is only a minor distraction. We did not host - and play - a World Cup in spite of the shambles our football is in, we merely bypassed it.
Once this hoary week-long attachment with India's World Cup team will ebb way, India's fans will return to bleeding a different kind of blue - Arsenal tattoo on your arm, United shirt on your back. There is nothing wrong in suffering for a team from another world, slick, seductive and successful, but it gets tricky when it comes to be the norm - the standards, the strappings, even its grammar and language dictating the narrative and how we view and measure our own game.
No, we are not here to take anything away from our Under-17 team. The brilliant Anwar Ali and Dheeraj Kumar are as much our heroes as an 18-year-old Shabbir Ali and Chinmoy Chatterjee were when India won the Asian Youth championships (jointly with Iran) in 1974. Or, like that fearsome Under-19 side with the Tata Football Academy boys as its nucleus, which pumped goals past regional rivals at will at the cusp of the new millennium.
Yet, to swiftly mark this as the tipping point for Indian football, where a young, expectant nation's sudden coming out for its team signifies a turned corner, would be a novice's error, as would be the lazy perception that this is a never-before phenomenon in a sports-indifferent Capital.
First, those counting the crowds - Mission XI Million or not - over the past week as a first are making the classic beginner's mistake. They must know that this has happened before in a Capital that's conveniently labelled as sports-challenged - twice, actually, in the last decade and half and with far greater numbers and heavier turnouts with minimal social media push and largely due to word of mouth. The Santosh Trophy in 2004 brought out migrant Keralites and Manipuris in huge, equal numbers. It showcasing the ethnic melting pot that Delhi. It was a spontaneous celebration of football that was carried forward three years later, when India won the revamped Nehru Cup to a packed Ambedkar Stadium. Only if the kids, inspired by the past week's experience, are rallying - football in hand - to reclaim their colony playing grounds from the RWAs and not just pestering their parents admission in the latest football school in the neighbourhood, can we hope to believe that this U-17 experience is just a short additional chapter in these fleeting stories.
Once the dust has settled and the stands fallen silent, whether a World Cup truly impacted the trajectory of the game in India and gave birth to a culture, will only be known if the crucial sub-culture of the professional aspect - the traditional clubs and the national league - will be allowed to flourish. Else, we will only be invitee fans to the true world of football, and not by right.
We lost all the matches in Brics cup. Coming in the topic of squad change, most of the player are scouted by Adam.
Suresh, Abhijit, Komal, Stalin, Jitendra, Boris, Amarjit, Aniket, Rahul KP, Lalengmawia, Meetai, Dheeraj, and Aman chettry is out due to knee injury. So except Anwar, Namit, Jeakson and Nongdamba all the playing eleven are same.
Invitational Tournament and World Cup are two different things don't mixed it. The way matos shaped up the team, I am quite happy with that.
Adam playing style looks beautiful but less effective, In the sense, he emphasized more on attack and less on defense.
This approach can be a disastrous in a tournament like world cup where opponent is more strong and more pacy. You will concede dozen of goal going by this approach.
Adam was no doubt a good coach but his approach good for physically strong players. On the other hand, Matos gives importance on the defense. First defense then attack which is best according to our strength. The exact same thing Subhas Bhowmik has said on Extra Time report, that In 70's they also try to attack korea or japan(I can't remember properly) from the 1st min of the game and conceded 7 goals.
Just analyze the Ghana match we were attacked them from the very first min of the match and what happened our player got tired at the last quarter of the match and we concede 2 easy goal.
So this suggest matos strategy was right.
And what next after this batch? Is the next u-16 batch going to be overlooked like before or is the academy structure going to materialize?
Regional residential academies of AIFF with u-14, u- 16, u-18 squads is the need of the hour. I am sure after the hype created by u17 WC there must be some sponsors lining up at AIFF door. Let them sponsor these academies.
I have no trust in clubs except a select few who will do grassroots development programs in their club. AIFF needs to be aggressive here.
I am just hoping this WC proves to be a catalyst for youth development. Fingers crossed.
Any money aiff has needs to be put here imo .