Bob ‘Rocket Singh’ Houghton

I haven’t seen this Shimit Amin directed movie yet. But listening to the RJs and after reading the reviews I got this impression that Amin has conceptualised the story around sales and salesman. It is a film about the importance of basic goodness.

Ditto football. Whether selling computers or football. You need to have your basic elements correct.

Well, well, well.

Bob Houghton and Rocket Singh. You might be wondering if it is a wonky idea to compare a Sardarji with an Englishman. Hey, Sardarjis can be equally good salesman like any other Englishman (no racial discrimination, please). Isn’t it? The comparision in this context has been done to show just how good Houghton has been at selling Indian football. A job which could have been done by AIFF’s marketing & sales division. But then Houghton never wanted to rely on them for too long.

Convinced that football in India can be run clean, Houghton (using his British lineage) asked for what he had 'wanted'. After taking charge as head coach in 2006, the Englishman had often expressed his displeasure and disappointment with the fact that India was lacking in a good youth development programme which meant there was no credible second string to support the national side. He stressed that junior teams should be sent out for exposure so tat they young players were ready to graduate to the senior team.

On Sunday at Dhaka, India's u-23 team won the SAFF Cup which till last year was represented by the senior team. India's victory is the outcome of a process initiated by Houghton and executed by under-23 coach Sukhwinder Singh. So far, Indian football lacked a definite planning. Vague ideas, too-many-cooks-spoil-the-broth type fundas didn't help either. Houghton started realizing that there is something wrong. He became a little bold enough to devise a plan thereby allowing the junior teams to play in regional events. Houghton must have visualised this long time back. But like an astute sales executive, he sold the idea to the AIFF bosses.

Thus, the victory by the U-23 team would have made him happy as it not only vindicated him but will also allow him to experiment further before the Asian Games, SAF Games and AFC Challenge Cup. It is too early to say if the junior development programme based on the Houghton model will end up yielding rich dividends. But the SAFF triumph has given Indian football a ray of hope.