Tehran: Life for a Coach is so lonely. Any victory gets over with the final whistle; after that it’s all about recovery and planning for the next one. And it’s not just about the drawing board sheets and the team meeting. It’s more about the existing bookings, niggles, boosting up some while expecting the others perform the manner they did in the last outing.
Colm Joseph Toal, the father-figure for India’s U-19 boys doesn’t want to go back to the Turkmenistan match – it’s over. But as the Coach, he has to.
The red-card to Xavier Anto, he confesses, is hard to recover from. “We do have replacements in the side but some of the boys who played against Turkmenistan are carrying niggles,” he told www.the-aiff.com. “It was a physical battle. The format doesn’t help us either. We play three matches in five days, that too -- two against the best sides in Asia -- Iran and Uzbekistan. The boys need time to recover.”
“The format of the tournament hasn’t allowed us to have a look at Iran (Iran play their first match in the tournament against India). But knowing their footballing history, the manner in which they play from U-13 to their Senior sides, it’s obvious, they will be tough,” he continues. “The players look strong and athletic. It’s a difficult match for us.”
Speak to the boys and the exuberance of youth strikes you. ‘It’s a football match and anything can happen,’ the common sentiment goes around in circles.
The disparity in rankings in the FIFA ladder strikes you. Iran stay at 42 and are the 4th in the AFC Table at the moment. India languish at 160 and 30th in the AFC Table.
Toal smiles. “It’s not for nothing that they are ahead. They have been doing what we have now been doing for a longer period than us,” he maintains. “We were competitive in our first match. It was an important victory. The more you win, the boys feel better,” he adds.
You inform Toal that in 1974, India were joint-winners with Iran in the Asian Youth Championship, the final of which had ended 2-2. He smiles again.
Three hours later, he’s still confined inside his room – drawing lines on his sheets. His coffee had turned cold by then. Life for a coach is so lonely.
For a change, the weather has cleared up a bit – it’s bright. There’s some sunshine at last.
The kick-off is at 6.30pm (IST: 8.30pm).
November 2:
India U-19 vs Iran U-19: (IST: 8.30pm).
Pakistan U-19 vs Turkmenistan U-19 (IST: 5.30pm).
By Nilanjan Datta,