Indian football should learn from cricket: Bhutia

India's run

India's run-up to the Nehru Cup this year has not been the smoothest. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia talked about the injury worries and more importantly infrastructural worries that have hit him in the recent times. Here are some excerpts of the interview...

Do you think sports persons in India just need to be able to deal with infrastructural odds because there will always be some?

I guess so. While playing football for the last 17 years I have experienced lot of difficulties. It's also frustrating to see, in terms of sports in India but I guess you have to deal with it and just try and make your points, and try and see that the government or anybody involved with sports make sure that the infrastucture and development programmes are done sriously, so atleast kids get the oppurtunity to play any sport they want to. Infrastructure is big time lacking. So it's frustrating but you get used to it and any oppurtunity you get you try and get your voice heard and hope that someday somewhere somebody will listen.

You've said that the BCCI giving 25 crores to the AIFF is a good thing, but in some ways would you also say that it is a huge warning as well that there's a complete dearth of sponsors in Indian football?

It is a worrying sign. The game itself has to be marketable for the sponsors. I don't think any corporates will come and do charitable work with any sport. They would want to do something that gives them returns. We can learn from cricket which is a marketable sport. It can take time, but I hope that one day football can be a marketable thing for corporates to come in, and BCCI giving 25 crores is a positive sign because the Indian team has qualified for the Asia Cup for the first time in 25 years, so it'a big step for football and any financial angle coming can only benefit the federationn in terms of building infrastucture as well as preparing the team for 2011.

There's still no resolution is sight as far as your dispute with Mohun Bagan is concerned. Do you think that in some ways you are being victimised because of your star status?

It's very frustrating for me to miss one exhibition match and a club like Mohun Bagan takes a decision 6 month suspension without pay. I can't understand the decision they take just because I missed one friendly match and that too after the season got over. It's even more frustrating that it takes even longer for a decision to be taken and the matter to be solved. It's been 2 months and I am yet to hear from the federation. I think the federation has to be stronger, take decisions faster. This means that players lose out on 2 to 3 months of football and salaries while the decision is being taken.

Nehru cup kicks-off from August 19. What is your message for all the Indian football fans out there?

I can only expect fans in Delhi to come out and support us the way they have been doing. I hope they come in large numbers. As a player and captain of the Indian national team I can tell you that we have had a great preparation and will do our best on the ground. We want to win this championship. It's going to be difficult but I can guarantee on behalf of the team and the players that we will be giving a 110%. We just need all the fans to come and support us on the ground.

Do you follow the EPL? Which is your favourite team?

I do follow English Premier League. I don't watch it very closely, but I do watch and I like watching Arsenal.

Source;http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage.aspx?id=SPOEN20090105718

AFC Challenge Cup’08- Team Profile: India

The History India is most frequently associated with the sport of cricket but any expedition into the nation would reveal that football is rapidly encrypting itself into the people’s DNA. Not that football is something new for the Indians. India qualified (by default, after their opponents withdrew) for the 1950 World Cup but since the players did not wear football boots, they were not allowed to participate in the competition by FIFA. Although India have since then never come even remotely close to qualifying for the football World Cup, they have established themselves as one of the giants in South Asian football. India finished in an enviable fourth pace at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and won the gold medal at the 1962 Asian Games. That was the golden period in Indian football as the national team reached the semi-finals of the next two Asian games. India also finished runners-up in the Asian Cup in 1964. The nation then agonizingly went through a barren patch but the nation managed to rise to the surface in the 1990s. India won the South Asian Football Federation Cup in 1993, 1997 and 1999 and then again in 2005 and finished runners-up in 1995 and 2008. India won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and reached the quarter-finals in the AFC Challenge Cup in 2006. India also won the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002 under Stephen Constantine. The Indian national football team is affectionately termed as the Bhangra Boys. The squad is also known as the Wonder Boys and in recent times have come to be acknowledged as the Men In Blue(because of the blue colour of their shirt). At the moment India are ranked 153 in the world. The Squad Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Subhashish Chowdhary, Arindam Bhattacharya. Defenders: Surkumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Mondal, Anwar Ali, Gouramangi Singh, Syed Nabi, Sameer Naik Midfielders: N P Pradeep, Climax Lawrence, Renedy Singh, Clifford Miranda, Krishnan Ajayan, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Bungo Singh, Steven Dias Strikers: Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Abhishek Yadav, Tarif Ahmed, Sushil Kumar Singh Key Players Subrata Pal: India boast of one of the most capable goalkeepers in the AFC Challenge Cup’08 in Subrata Pal. He is currently the number one both for India and for his club Kingfisher East Bengal. Pal is known for his sharp reflexes and aggression and was one of the best players at the Nehru Cup 2007. Deepak Kumar Mondal: Deepak Mondal is a rock in the defence for India and is one of the best in the nation. The Mohun Bagan defender is expected to be at his best for India in the competition. Mahesh Gawli: Mahesh Gawli plays as a defender and the Dempo star has to remain strong as ever in front of the Indian citadel for his team to progress far in the competition. Climax Lawrence: Dempo midfielder Climax Lawrence is one of the best medios for India and shall be in starting line-up. He is a very responsible player who can be intelligently effective. Naduparampil Pappachen Pradeep: NP Pradeep is just 25 years of age but has already established himself in the starting line-up for India. He is a talented and skillful midfielder who has performing consistently for India since his debut for the national side in 2004. Mehrajuddin Wadoo: Mehrajuddin Wadoo is a Kashmiri footballer who has developed to be one of the best in the country. He is a versatile player who can play as a defender, a striker or a midfielder but he is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder both for East Bengal and for India. P.Renedy Singh: Renedy Singh is a veteran midfielder and is a much respected and loved figure in the Indian football scenario. He plays for JCT at the moment and shall be a threat for any team from the left side of the Indian midfield. Sunil Chhetri: Sunil Chetri is the darling of several Indian football followers and has been the find of Indian footballer in the last few years. The AIFF Player of the Year 2007 striker is known for his ball control, dribbling, shooting and work ethic and has been playing for India since 2004. He has already gelled in previous international competitions for India and the AFC Challenge Cup’08 could be one more tournament in which he exhibits his skills. Abhishek Yadav: Abhishek Yadav is also going to be an important part of the India set-up for the AFC Challenge Cup. The Mumbai FC striker is the tallest Indian footballer and is expected to be a star of the tournament. Tarif Ahmed: Tarif Ahmed is a recent call-up to the Indian national football team and scored in all the friendly matches that India played in Portugal recently. He is an upcoming talent that could come in handy in the competition. Baichung Bhutia: Baiching Bhutia is acknowledged as one of the best players in India and is lauded for bring Indian football onto the international arena. The Mohun Bagan striker is the current Indian national team captain and has been playing for the country since 1997. He has featured in 55 matches and has scored 21 goals and is the nation’s most capped player as well as the highest goalscorer. India’s hopes of winning the AFC Challenge Cup’08 very much rests on his shoulders. The Coach The Indian national football team is coached by Robert Douglas Houghton. He is popularly known in India as Bob Houghton and hails from England. Bob Houghton had a pretty much decent playing career as he featured for Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion and even managed Hastings United in the Southern League when he was just 21 years of age and was still playing for the club. He then managed Maidstone United and was assistant to (sir) Bobby Robson at Ipswich Town. After coaching several club sides outside England, including Malmo, At-Ittihad and FC Zurich, and the Chinese and Uzbekistan national football team, Bob Houghton landed in India in June 2006 and was an instant hit. Bob Houghton mingled with the Indian national footballers very well and slowly but steadily seeped in the foreign ideas of coaching into the Indian scenario. He guided India to Nehru Cup triumph in August 2007 but suffered a slight disappointment when India lost to Maldives in the final of the SAFF Cup in 2008. Bob Houghton is well respected within the Indian football community and the players like him very much, insisting that Houghton is someone who understands the players very well and treats them in likewise manner too. Recent Form India lost the final of the SAFF Cup 2008 in June to Maldives 1-0 in what was quite a disappointment for a nation that is considered as a heavyweight in South Asian football. The Indian national squad then traveled to Portugal for three friendly matches with local clubs and won all those matches. They beat Gouvela Select 2-0 with goals from Climax Lawrence and Tarif Ahmed. In their next match in Portugal, India beat GD Gafanha 3-2 at Estadio da Gafanha, thanks to goals from Bengo Singh, Sunil Chetri and Tarif Ahmed. India ended their Portugal adventure on a high by thrashing Gouveia Xi 4-0 with goals from Abhishek Yadav, Sunil Chetri and Tarif Ahmed. India lifted the first Gouveia Cup instituted by Mayor Alvaro Amaro. India then played a warm-up match for the AFC Challenge Cup in Hyderabad against Malaysia. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Subhankar Mondal Goal.com

Mahilpur the 'football village' of Punjab

ANI

By Karan Kapoor
Mahilpur (Punjab), July 15 (ANI): Punjab has produced many football players of national fame. And village Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district's is known for its long association with the football.
The passion for football lives on in people even long after it was introduced in the village by Harbhajan Singh, a school principal, in 1920's.

The village boasts of producing great players of repute like Jarnail Singh, Gurdev Singh, Chaudhary Ram Kishan, and the tradition lives on in the young enthusiasts of today.
"There is a culture of football in this area. Every village has its own football ground, no other sport is given much priority be it cricket or any other game. Only football is given importance here," said Ali Jasna, Coach.

The village holds a number of annual tournaments and provides the players with an opportunity to showcase and hone their skills.
Love for the game comes naturally to the people of Mahilpur. For many, it is a family tradition passed on from generation to generation.

The young enthusiasts feel there is a lot of scope for football in India, with so many clubs opening up, which provide the players with an excellent opportunity to further their careers.
"There is good scope for football here which give good money to the players. If one pursues football with studies, it could be very beneficial," said Amandeep Singh, a budding Football Player.

There are now plans of setting up a football stadium in the village so as to provide the youth with better facilities.

The sport has become quite popular in the country and with the advent of international football clubs in India like JCT, there is a good scope for sports enthusiasts wanting to pursue football. (ANI)