IFN Diaries
Dear Members,
We are starting this unique thread where we will summarize the different news regarding Indian football and our activity for a given day (we will update it quite frequently, if not everyday). If you are busy and not having much time to browse through all the forums, this will be the perfect place for you to hunt for the latest.
We will not only share links of our articles, but will share any relevant links here.
We are also give this a personal touch. Apart from just sharing the news items, we will also talk about our day to day experience of interacting with various fans, our efforts in promoting Indian football, struggles in running the website, plans etc.
We are keeping the thread locked to keep continuity.
Any suggestions can be given in <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9</a><!-- l -->" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For general comments, use <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=147"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=72&t=147</a><!-- l -->" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We are starting this unique thread where we will summarize the different news regarding Indian football and our activity for a given day (we will update it quite frequently, if not everyday). If you are busy and not having much time to browse through all the forums, this will be the perfect place for you to hunt for the latest.
We will not only share links of our articles, but will share any relevant links here.
We are also give this a personal touch. Apart from just sharing the news items, we will also talk about our day to day experience of interacting with various fans, our efforts in promoting Indian football, struggles in running the website, plans etc.
We are keeping the thread locked to keep continuity.
Any suggestions can be given in <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9</a><!-- l -->" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For general comments, use <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=147"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=72&t=147</a><!-- l -->" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Dear Diary,
Yesterday was definitely a good day for Indian Football. Even before the sunrise, the news about Ankit Sharma's contract with Spanish club, Club Deportivo San Cristobal Football Club, spread all over the internet. Although this club belongs to level 6 of Spanish football pyramid, it is known to produce good players who are then taken by top clubs. Former Real Madrid striker Raul is a product of this club (More Details about the deal). Its also a 'feel good' moment for us because Ankit was the first footballer to feature in IFN player interviews (Ankit's Interview).
Later in the day, fingers were crossed for Indian u16 team's performance in the AFC U16 championship qualifiers. And what a start the youngsters had! Riding on 5 goals by Uttam Rai, Indian u16 thrashed Krygyzstan u16 7-0. (Match Report). The IFN forum was also very active during the match when the Indian u16 team, who were previously being criticized for not-so-special performance in SAFF, pumped goals after goals in Tashkent (IFN thread).
Few squads were announced. Prayag United announced their squad for Durand Cup (Prayag United Squad). East Bengal announced their squad for the IDC Cup in Vietnam (East Bengal Squad).
Unlike most plans of high profile academies in India, which eventually are scrapped, the Steve MacMohan Football Academy looks more promising (Details). They already conducted first training sessions in Noida. They also have a nice website (SMFA website) which promises at least 4 centers in Delhi / NCR and eventually to have centers in North East and East India followed by Mumbai and Goa.
After AIFF wished to have Karim Bencherifa as Indian National Team coach, Salgaocar owner refused to release him (Details)
In Pune, Pune FC is preparing for the historical match against Blackburn Rovers on 7th October. (Tickets can be purchased online here). Blackburn Rovers management are being hugely criticized by Rovers fans. Venky's are under fire for continuing with Steve Kean, who has won only 3 EPL games out of 21.
Meanwhile in Kerala, after a disappointing federation cup, Chirag United Kerala has sacked Kunhikrishnan from the position of coach. They also have release Brazilian striker Alex. (Details)
Overall it has been a satisfying day today, which some positive news coming around. Hoping that IFN in future will have more widespread role in promoting Indian football news and discussions.
Adios,
IFN
Dear Diary,
Most of yesterday's discussions were all set on today's big match - India u16 Vs Bahrain u16 - A crunch game in the group. After India won last match 7-0, there are high expectations. Earlier, when Indian Women team won against Bahrain, everyone was talking about the revenge we took from Bahrain for the Asian Cup defeat. Now its time for the Indian boys to do the same. AIFF media team, headed by Nilanjan Dutta, has already provided us good updates. Here's match preview. Needless to say all eyes will be on Uttam Singh, whose future looks promising, all he needs is good guidance (AIFF article on Uttam Singh). So, fingers are crossed, let's see how we do today. Match discussions and updates will be given in the AFC U16 championship qualifiers thread.
After the federation cup, everyone's analyzing about the results. The main buzz points are emergence of Karim's Salgaocar as one of the most exciting squads, Imbalance in Mohun Bagan squad and the great Bengal-Goa rivalry. In our editorial section, Novy Kapadia published an article about Karim Bencherifa's man management skills and labeled him as Indian football's Arsene Wenger! (Novy Kapadia's article). Here's another article which discusses about the conclusions from federation cup.
Today is also the last qualifier game of Durand Cup, between Assam Rifles and BSF. Durand Cup will be last big tournament before I league and it will be interesting to see how the teams do in that tournament. However, the main debate remains how many of such tournaments the teams should play? Even Rover's Cup is scheduled to happen in a big way this year. Fans are discussing on the issue of teams playing too many games every year (Discussion thread.
In another good developmental news, the Western India Football Association (WIFA) has launched AIFF 'D' License Coaching Program (Article). <!-- s:handgestures-thumbup: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/handgestures/thumbup.gif" alt=":handgestures-thumbup:" title="Thumb Up" /><!-- s:handgestures-thumbup: -->
We are having some interesting experiences while promoting. Sometime back we allowed a blogger to publish an article (based on true incidents), which superficially showed a big club fans in poor light (although that's not fully correct). We are now facing the wrath of fans from that club. Whenever, we share any news in their community, we are being attacked. Well, although it is unfortunate for us, it also pleases us that there are Indian football fans who are passionately attached to their clubs <!-- s:bow-yellow: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/bow/yellow.gif" alt=":bow-yellow:" title="Yellow" /><!-- s:bow-yellow: --> , something we need more and more and for clubs of all regions. We wish in future we can convince them that we don't have any personal bias against any club and we only publish/share news items and we have no plans to defame any club of India.
So, lets finish this with a hope of another good day for Indian football.
Adios,
IFN
What an exciting day! India u16 vs Bahrain u16 - a crunch game. India trailing by 1 goal at halftime. The boys come back, more determined by ever, equalizes at 51st minute via talented youngster Raja Rawat's goal. And then we miss a penalty! But we keep on the pressure and finally we won another penalty at 72nd min, when Myron made no mistake and made it 2-1 for us, which eventually was the final score (Match Report). The game created lot of buzz among the fans (Match thread), something which is a bit uncommon in youth competitions, but after all we don't taste success that often. Winning against a team like Bahrain is no small achievement, considering the fact that at senior level they beat us 5-2 earlier this year. The mission is not over, we need to get atleast one good result to qualify (Here's the possibilities compiled by Pedro). So, now we wait for the mouth watering clash against Uzbekistan on 5th.
The 12 teams of Durand Cup have been finalized now (The teams).Without Dempo and the big two of Kolkata, Salgaocar clearly the favorites here followed by Churchill Brothers. Pune FC, Prayag United & Shillong Lajong would be no pushovers and would be the dark horses.
The mess made by AIFF on appointing Indian coach certainly have brought great deal of criticism. Former Indian international, Subhas Bhowmick described it as 'Indian football like a headless chicken'.
There have been few other news on different players. Mehtab Hossain remains humble even after his awards and achievements (Article) Pratik Shinde eventually makes to his club in US. Here's his profile page.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, another club has been established sometimes this year. Its called Navi Mumbai FC, it has plans for an academy also. Hoping that it will succeed in its mission. (Official Website of Navi Mumbai FC)
An error in AIFF website. FIFA website shows our ranking as 163 as of September 2011 (October not yet announced), while AIFF showing 149 in September and 138 in October! Hopefully the misunderstanding will be cleared soon.
With hope of a better tomorrow
Adios,
IFN
The footballing scenario in India yesterday was a bit low, however there was one real good news. It was almost sure that this year I league would have been telecast Ten Sports, however, due to lack of any official announcement, fans were understandably stresses out. But today it was confirmed that Ten Sports indeed would be telecasting I league. This news comes as a relief to fans who had been highly vocal about lack of telecast in I league last year.
The Durand Cup had began today. Judging by the cold response from fans, whether in forum or in facebook or other social networks, Durand Cup definitely has lost its sheen. Its unfortunate because Durand Cup is world's third oldest football tournament which is still alive. There were two matches today, and the results were as predicted with Shillong Lajong winning against Indian Air Force and Prayag United winning against BSF. It is also exciting from our point of view because we are using this tournament to test out Prediction game tool, which we plan to launch in a grand way during the I league, which handsome prizes!
All eyes are being aimed towards the India u16 Vs Uzbekistan u16 match today. Uzbekistan is a fast improving footballing nation in Asia primary because of their investments on youth development. They have a fantastic squad too, it might not be very wrong to say that they have the strongest squad in our group and they are also having the home advantage. How the Blue Tiger cubs do against them would give us a good indication about our progress. Since, it was possible to find online live streaming links for matches involving Uzbekistan, we are hopeful to provide a link for the game. We will share it in the AFC u16 championship qualifiers thread.
Hoping for a great day ahead today.
Adios,
IFN
Dear Diary,
Today was a shocking day for us. Our u16 boys lost to Uzbekistan. Well, given that Uzbekistan is probably the strongest team in the group, its hardly a shock. But we lost 0-9! After defeating Kyrgyzstan 7-0 and a team like Bahrain 2-1, we never thought we can lose 0-9 to another team in the group. It sounds so unreal. Fans in the discussion thread were devastated and now everyone is wondering whether these young boys can recover from this shock to get back to their winning ways in the must win match against Tajikistan (Discussion thread). So, now we have to nervously wait for the final showdown.
Fans were so much into the 0-9 defeat that anybody was hardly interested in the Durand cup results. Pune FC playing with a second string side drew with ONGC 1-1, whereas Mohammedan SC won against Army Red 1-0. (Report). In our Durand Cup prediction game, Archak and Rudra are leading the table with equal points. Meanwhile, United Sikkim players have arrived for Durand Cup matches. They had been caught in the turmoil of Sikkim earthquake. Good to see the didn't backout, accidents happen but life goes on, and isn't this is what football is all about, you have to look ahead leaving behind the disappointments. We wish them all the best.
All was not bad for Indian football yesterday. In a good developmental move, SAI agreed to allow AIFF use Jawaharlal Nehru stadium 40 days per yr. Sports minister Ajay Maken said that this stadium will be developed as hub for Indian football in future.
In Pune, the focus has shifted to the high profile friendly between Pune FC and Blackburn Rovers to be played tomorrow. Some star players of Rovers have come here (More Info). Rover's manager Steve Kean is under immense pressure after having a poor start this season, and it is assumed that Venky's will come to some decisions regarding this issue. Rovers fans, in general, wants Kean to be sacked. Will this match against Pune FC be his last? Only time will tell.
With hopes for a better tomorrow.
Adios,
IFN
Dear Diary,
We took couple of days break, but Indian football flowing in its own fantastic rhythm. Last couple of days were very active for Indian Football enthusiasts.
Firstly, we have qualified for AFC u16 championship (Article). This comes as a big boost, clearly AIFF's youth development programs and Colin Toal's efforts are not wasted. It was good to see that even Rustam Akramov praised our boys. We hope the boys will keep up their good work in the final round and in future.
While in Durand Cup, Churchill Brothers thrashed Army Red 5-0 and Air India won 3-0 against ONGC (Report). In our Durand Cup prediction game, Archak, Shankar & Admin (!) are jointly leading.
Pune FC can be proud to say that they have hosted the first EPL club in India for a friendly and they have given a decent account of themselves. Playing with 10 men for almost 75 mins, they lost 0-3 against Blackburn Rovers (Report). Rovers manager Steve Kean was impressed by Pune FC goalie Shahinlal Meloly. Pune FC coach Derek Pareira was happy with his team's effort and clearly said that the difference between the teams were huge.
Meanwhile, India's main central defender Gourmangi Singh mentioned about his experiences of playing under Houghton and Colaco and how the next few years are so important for Indian football (Interview).
It has been decided that two friendlies Vs Malaysia will be played in Guwahati & Kolkata.
After u16's fantastic performance, all eyes are set on u19's qualifier matches. Everyone's hoping for a good show. Its a tough group, but with good results and maybe bit of luck we can make it to the final round (Discussion Thread).
Adios,
IFN
Dear Diary,
Now the focus has shifted to the appointment of Technical Director and Coach for Indian National Team, an issue which has not been very well handled by AIFF so far. Right now, AIFF is almost in the final stages of bringing Rob Baan who has been the TD of Australia before. If he comes, we will surely get a high profile TD. However, its worth reading this article, which talks about his limitations and predicts that Indian football won't get much out of him (Read the article here). Whereas, the decision on coach selection will also be taken. After Armando rejected AIFF's offer, AIFF failed to rope in Karim, then the main contenders were Sukhwinder Singh & Savio Madeira. As per the last reports we heard, it seems Savio Madeira will get the nod for having AFC ‘A’ license. However, TD's recommendation will be an important factor in the final decision (More details). Fan discussion and reaction about the selection of coach and TD.
Meanwhile, the dates for India Vs Malaysia friendlies ( 2 matches) has been decided, and they will be played in Guwahati (13th Nov.) & Kolkata (16th Nov.) (Article).
In Durand Cup semis, Lajong will play against Churchill and Pune will take on Prayag united. Both games on Wednesday.
We, are almost closing in to find a sponsor for the I league Prediction game. Hopefully, within 2-3 days we will announce the sponsor name and the exact prizes. Keeping fingers crossed.
Adios,
IFN
Dear Diary,
We have been busy with multiple things. To start with, our COSCO I League Prediction has been launched. We have been putting a lot of effort to make it a success. We have roped in COSCO (India) Limited. who are partially sponsoring the contest. We have already announced prizes worth Rs. 10,000. We hope 100s of players play the game regularly and make it a success. (Click here for details of the game).
Durand Cup is over. Yet again another trophy won by Goan club. This time it is Churchill Brothers. The match was decided by penalty shootout after none of the teams could break the deadlock in a match which saw pretty ordinary and scrappy football (Match Report). It is pretty clear that the interest in Durand Cup has gone down. Durand Cup was hardly discussed in the social network sites, mainly because the 'big two' of Kolkata didn't take part in it (An article about Durand Cup losing its importance. With end of Durand Cup, our Durand Cup prediction game also finished. We didn't advertise much about it, as it was a trial run, which seems to work fine. We had 26 users playing the game (Click here to check the final leaderboard).
One of the biggest talking point in Indian football has been Mohun Bagan official's seemingly faulty strategy of sacking coaches too soon. Steve Darby who joined Mohun Bagan on 25th July has become the shortest-serving coach in the history of Mohun Bagan, after he resigned due to problems with Mohun Bagan officials. In this period Mohun Bagan just played 3 official matches (Article). Check out others opinion and have your say regarding this issue in our discussion thread.
Meanwhile, Indian fans are excited with the number of friendly matches lined up for the national team (Schedule). The most exciting news has been Bayern Munich coming to India to play against the national team and this would be Bhaichung Bhutia's farewell match (Article)! Interestingly, we had announced the news two days back (thanks to our sources), and now the other national dailies are confirming the same. Good to see that we have gradually reached a stage where we have been able to provide some exclusive news.
Adios,
IFN