India stunned Argentina in the Under-20 COTIF Cup tournament and it definitely is one of the most memorable victories for Indian Football defeating the 6 time U-20 champions and a heavy-weight team like Argentina. On a cool Sunday evening at Valencia, Spain, the Indian colts played out of their skin to snatch a deserved 2-1 victory over the Argentines despite being reduced to 10 men at the 54th minute of the game. Goals from Deepak Tangri(4') and Anwar Ali(68') saw India notch up a historic victory under coach Floyd Pinto. The Argentines on the otherhand were coached by 2006 World Cupper Lionel Scaloni and former star midfielder Pablo Aimar.
In Jordan on Sunday, an injury time goal by Bhuvenesh earned India U-16 team a stunning 1-0 victory over current Asian U-16 champion Iraq in the WAFF U-16 championship.
India produced a dominating performance as Buevenesh headed in the match-winner in the dying minutes to provide the perfect finish to a sublime build-up.
This is the first-ever victory for any Indian football team against Iraq in any format and among all age-groups.
“I would like to dedicate this win to all my fellow Indian coaches who train the boys before they join us at the AIFF Academy and eventually the National Team,” India U-16 head coach Bibiano Fernandes said.
Two memorable victories in a single day marks a historic day for Indian Football. But will this incredible achievement ring any bell on the Sports Ministry? For years the only sport promoted in the country is Cricket. The players are no less than Gods worshipped all over the nation. With billions of viewers of cricket the money pumped in unbelievable amounting to a multi-billion dollar industry. The cricket stars earn millions of dollars and fame is only comparable to the Bollywood stars in this cricket crazy country.
But the question is when will Football and athletics and other sports gain similar kind of attention?
A small fact : 212 countries are registered under FIFA, whereas only 188 countries are registered in the United Nations. Imagine India playing the football World Cup with the world watching and the National Anthem playing in the background, the new generation of Indian Football stars emerging! I hope it becomes a reality soon.
If a country like Croatia having a population of 4.3million can play the World Cup final then why can't we produce a world class team with 1.2 billion people?
The answer is simple. Lack of interest and infrastructure. Owing to the growing interest in foreign leagues such as La Liga( Spanish League), English Premier League(EPL), Bundesliga(German League), Copa Italia( Italian League) viewership has increased in the country but still hardly a handful can name 5 players of the Indian Football team.
We should take note of our football players with similar interest as we take in our cricketers. Virat Kohli and Sunil Chetri are both captains representing our Nation. Both should be given equal stature. but unfortunately that's not the case.
These victories are no easy feat as defeating a team like Argentina is a massive achievement and add to that defeating Iran, Asia's top ranked team at the moment.
The AIFF and the Sports Ministry should look after the grooming of our young, talented football players as in the near future they have the potential to represent India in the biggest sporting event on planet Earth.
Lets grow some interests other than cricket , Football in our country needs our support and we the sports lovers can give that and then perhaps the Authorities will be bound to take action and money will be invested by the industrialists.
So lets cheer for the Men In Blue, only
this time the ball is at their feet!
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| U-16(left in white) and U-20(right in blue) Indian team made us proud |
Floyd Pinto-coached side scripted a historic result against ..
Firstly let me rejoice the victory of junior Indian football team against great Argentines.The point you have raised is well-timed.The time has ripened enough to do utmost for Indian football.Obviously the onus should be shifted onto the Government .We are aware of the fact that Indian football is a neglected subject in our country despite brilliant shows displayed in Olympics,Asian games and other international challenges and some of them even with bare feet. This excellent blog hopefully should stir the conscience of the authority.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Indian football can move further ahead with such strong performances.
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