India have a lot of work to do if they have to improve the standard of their football. The recent match against Bayern Munich exposed the big divide in the level of football dished out by the European giants, in comparison to 162nd-ranked Indians. Indian football lovers are however hopeful in long-term improvement as the AIFF-FIFA academies stay on course. A total of four academies will come up in Pailan, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
Bayern Munich looked like a team from a different planet as they played India in the Audi Football Summit to commemorate Baichung Bhutia's farewell in Delhi. The German club seemed to be out for a stroll and hardly broke sweat as they toyed with the Indian national football team. The comparison of Bayern's football to ours may be a harsh yardstick to judge India's standard. But, then the embarrassment for Indian football lovers is real.
India cannot overnight change gears and improve their football. The country lacks in infrastructure to play good football, business model for clubs is absent and academies for scientific youth development are rare. The coaching staff led by Savio Medeira also cannot be blamed as they are doing their best with what is available to them. The All India Football Federation seems to be keen now to open academies across the country with the assistance from FIFA. It is a good sign!
Generally speaking, India's approach to the sport of football has not been right. The age-group tournaments are conducted in a haphazard manner just like it is some exercise that needs to be completed in a season. It gives an impression that conducting a tournament is more important than its outcome. There is complete lack of knowhow in the coaching department for age-group/youth footballers. And that is reflected in the quality of youth football. Dwelling on the senior-level football will not lead us anywhere because it is a generation that will continue to miss out on potential qualification to the World Cups, at least for the next decade. Hence, it is right that the All India Football Federation concentrates on the 10-14 year-olds as they are the ones who can take Indian football to new heights.
The appointment of Dutchman Robert Baan as the technical director is a big hope for all the football enthusiasts. Baan had previously been coach for the Australia Under-23 team and his experience of handling youth will be of great importance for India. It will, however, be an altogether different story, he will have to script. In his first exclusive interview on Indian football, Baan told the-aiff.com: "It’ll be a big difference for simple reason that Australia stay far ahead of India in terms of infrastructure, facilities, organisation and vision. They have also started with a Masterplan, a Curriculum and the National Youth Development Plan. During my time at the FFA we started with the implementation of small-sided games all over the country; a structured talent identification plan and the vision of how to play and train. The FFA also did start a National Youth League and a National Women's League along with the National Coach Education Plan.”
The blueprint may not be readymade, but the man in charge has all the experience to identify the weak points and address them with well-structured plans. Football in India is not a nation-wide activity and hence there are very big untapped areas in terms of raw talents. The academies coming up in Pailan (West Bengal), Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore should have trainees scouted from all over the country. And not just from the centres where the academies are located! This maybe a step little too late, but then it’s better late than never. This will keep hopes alive of the nation that Indian football will one day, make us proud and not embarrass us.
