Bob, we also had Rahim

I had read about Syed Abdul Rahim when I was 10. From that precocious age till now, his name continue to stirr a lot of interest among the aficionados. With his small frame, Rahim was and is by far the most successful Indian coach.

We talk about Bob Houghton's angrezi style. Rahim was simply desi. Yet he was hugely successful and churned out more glories for Indian football than any other coaches. During my conversations with his son SS Hakim and his famous students Peter Thangaraj (who passed away last year), Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee, Balaram, Yusuf Khan, Syed Nayeemuddin and others, one thing was clear to me. Unlike Bob, he was modest and down to earth and an Indian who wanted to give his best shot.

Not many would know, Rahim used to write couplets framed around football techniques. He was a qualified physical trainer and a referee. Hence, Indian team didn't require a physio during his era. His teachings were simple and to the point. No wonder he had produced a genre of footballers who became living legends.

A creditable performance by the Indian team at the London Olympics in 1948 and at the first Asian Games raised hopes among football fans that this country was on the path to fame and glory in this sport. But their hopes were dashed at the Helsinki Olympics after a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of Yugoslavia. That was when Rahim decided to beat the European teams at their own game.

He carefully studied the methods of the Europeans and modified these to suit Indian conditions and Indian players. Besides, Rahim knew exactly where the weak points lay in the national side and managed to mitigate these and build a formidable team. He put his boys to the test on a tour of USSR in 1955 and then again during a home series in 1956 before the team took part in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and came fourth. Till now that has been India's best show in the Olympics. Neville D'Souza was the top scorer in the tournament.

Rahim had an excellent understanding of the requirements of the game and the material he had in his hands by way of players and their skills. Moreover he also had the advantage of having some exceptionally skilled players in the side in those days. Many of them were from Hyderabad and he was therefore familiar with their abilities.

He was able to establish a good rapport with his players and they knew exactly what he wanted of them. The players in turn had tremendous respect for Rahim and did their job with great zeal. The Hyderabad Police team in those days was one of the best in the country and had an enviable record in domestic tournaments. With talent available in plenty in centres such as Hyderabad, Bengal, Bombay (sorry Raj Thackeray, I like to use the original) and Madras, Indian football seemed to be on firm ground and India seemed to be proceeding along the right lines. But then came the slide, which left many fans disheartened.

For the next 10 years, till Rahim died on June 11, 1963, India were one of the strongest teams in Asia. Single handedly, he raised a highly talented side that included legends like Chuni, PK, Tulsidas Balaram, Yousuf Khan, Jarnail Singh, Arun Ghosh, Thangaraj, Ram Bahadur, Kempiah, SK Azizuddin, Zaufiqar, Prasanta Sinha, Franco and many others.

The country has now slipped down the ladder and even at the Asian level, the national squad is considered a mediocre team. Indian football followers now feel saddened by this downward trend in the standard of football in the country. Perhaps what India now needs is another coach of the calibre of Rahim.

Playing football on Iraq's minefield

I guess the Indian football federation or their bosses at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) should be aware of Iraq's current situation. You don't have to be an elderly statesman to know what is Iraq today. You sit in Geneva or at Kuala Lumpur or even in Delhi, everybody is aware of Iraq's current political turmoil.

But I would like to know if AIFF or any of the AFC officials have recently been to the strife-torn nation. It's not an exotic hot sea beach of Mauritius or an expedition to Masai Mara. Iraq is all about a terror-filled nation. Killings, bombings continue to hit hard. I guess, the football officials would definitely skip even a sponsored tour to Iraq. Then why send some innoncent young footballers to Iraq particularly after the countinuous upsurge in violence in recent years. Why did they shift India's Group C matches to Iraq? Is it all about football promotion or ensuring a 'genuine' vote for the next AFC elections.

Is it a sheer lack of vision or a deliberate attempt to promote football in a country where gun-totting US security forces are a common sight? And AFC talks about playing football on a minefield. Post Saddam Hussein, suicide bombers and explosions have become too common. Iraq has become the next Aghanistan and Pakistan. Maybe, even a bit more scary and volatile. Definitely you cannot put these teams including India on the gallows because you never know which way the suicide bombers will chase you. Be it Mosul, Baghdad or even Arbil (where the AFC U-19 Championship's Group C matches will be played) violence and killings have become a regular sight in this West Asian nation.

Besides last Sunday's twin suicide bombings in Baghdad, which left at least 155 people dead, are playing on the players' minds. Arbil, the venue of the AFC event, lies 80km east of Mosul in north Iraq and it is the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and Kurdistan Regional Government. The attacks were the deadliest in Iraq in two years. No wonder, the young Indian footballers are scared.

The very fact of playing their qualifying matches in Iraq has terrified the Indian team, who are caught in a web of fear and anxiety. India have been drawn with Afghanistan, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in AFC U-19 qualifiers.
The Indian players, who are currently on a tour to Dubai, are terrified. They just don't want to travel to Iraq. It is quite risky. But it's difficult to convince the AIFF and AFC mandarins who are just too excited to promote the game in Iraq.

Has football administrators become cheap?

It didn't surprise anyone. Not even me. That Mr Praful Patel won't be announcing the dates for the already pending interviews of those who had already applied for secretary and CEO posts. It's been three months now. Once again, Mr Alberto Colaco has been given an extension till December. While some say it has been deliberately done because of political pressure, others still hope that the dates will come out soon. Whatever the reasons may be, it was not what we all had waited to beat Delhi's evening traffic and reach on time at the IRDA Complex.
It seems that the media and the entire football fraternity has been fooled by AIFF mandarins. Why the AIFF's Executive Committee keep pushing the interview dates, I still fail to understand. Well, I guess it is all about the murky politics that is being played inside the corner rooms of Football House.
Just before the AGM and Ex Co meeting on Oct 20, important officials were given cushy assignments like foreign tours. While others have been asked to wait. It has been designed to perfection. Nothing can beat this game. Give any member a foreign tour. Make them managers of the Indian team or Delegation Head (???), they would be happy to serve you.
The power, the importance of being AIFF secretary definitely holds a lot of importance. So it was not surprising to find that Mr Colaco (who I knew as an easy going, soft spoken and an affable person when I met him first in 1998 in Goa when he was GFA secretary) will pull all the strings just to retain the post. But then Mr Colaco why don't you leave the Football House gracefully rather than hang around with people around want you to bid goodbye. Someone should tell him and make him understand that world is too small a place and AIFF is only a small portion of it. Has anyone told him that he cannot hold on to two different posts?
Now that he has been elected as SAFF secretary, it would be better (ethically) if he vacates the AIFF secretary's seat rather than take favours from the spineless Executive Committee members most of whom are already senior citizens turned Machiavelli. So just like a pilgrimage tour, these senior citizens (Ex Co members) wait for their turn. It may be not be a Haj or a visit to the Kashi and Badrinath. But definitely more colourful tours where you get to see the unseen world.
Has football administrators become cheap?

Why a cricketer should apply for football secretaryship?

A sudden spell of rain and a soggy afternoon didn't dampen my spirit from attending this one particular media conference at Mr Praful Patel’s office at Ministry of Civil Aviation. I virtually rushed upstairs to catch the ‘surprise package’ which the AIFF emergency committee members were waiting to uncork in the run up to pick the next general secretary.

But I fail to understand why there has to be so much drama to pick the best candidate for the interview? There are couple of candidates who don’t have any footballing background yet they made the cut. I have even heard of a former cricketer who wants to occupy the hot seat. Has our football set-up been reduced to kind of a joke?

After AIFF became a full-fledged organization in 1948, it had ‘veteran’ secretaries who were often blind to realities of modern football.

Ever since I had started following football in the late 70s, I have heard of Mr Ashok Ghosh (I remember watching him on the TV during the inauguration of Nehru Cup in 1982) and K Ziauddin. Just as a nation we rely on our veteran leaders, the Federation also picked on secretaries who were in their ‘retirement’ age.

After Ghosh, I came across three more secretaries (PP Lakshmanan, KN Mour) and the current incumbent Mr Alberto Colaco. Otherwise, Indian football wouldn’t have a fall after the 1970 Asian Games bronze. We lost our Asian supremacy. Today, we are struggling to keep pace with south Asian nations. We have to understand why we are falling back. Why we had to wait for 24 years to secure Asian Cup berth? Why our youth development programme is mired in over-age controversies?

So why were shuddering to recruit someone who is young, dynamic and have a vision for Indian football. Would it be detrimental to the football development if AIFF goes in for a young secretary? I don’t think so. And I’m sure most would agree with me that by having someone young, Indian football definitely won’t stumble. AIFF can only have some fresh ideas and a motivation to initiate productive work.

There are officials who want to politicize the entire process. Some even want to ‘put’ a proxy candidate. It is quite embarrassing for Indian football.

Hectic schedules and tours almost prevented me from jotting down the thoughts around Indian football. So, here I am back again to share thoughts with you all.

The past one month had been a real hectic one. From a chanced visit to Goa followed by the sudden development centering around AIFF after Mr Alberto Colaco decided to put in his papers after his eight-year reign as secretary.

Lot of people have been asking me one simple question: Who would be the next secretary? From Mr Praful Patel to coaches and even Indian players. During the course of a meeting with AIFF president early this month, even Mr Patel wanted my opinion. "It's difficult to say. But whoever comes must have passion, clarity and an honest approach," I told him.

Yes, honesty. That's what we don't apply while chalking out programmes to resuscitate Indian football. Let's take the case of the youth develpment project currently underway at Goa. 16 boys were asked to leave after they were found over-aged. How did they manage to get into the camp? Who should take the responsibility? The state associations or the AIFF secretariat? Collin Toal is upset. So is his staff. After all, a good one-year had been wasted on some over-aged players.

Is this what we call honesty? The Federation's silence on the issue is even more damaging. Mr Colaco-led Secretariat just couldn't take a tough stand against the erring States who had sent all these 'suspected' players to the camp. If conducting MRI tests on the players is expensive, then the Federation could have instructed the states to ask the 'suspected' players to arrange MRI tests on their own.

But I guess there was no coordination between the Federation and the States during all these years. May be, he didn't want a direct confrontation with the power-wielding members.

Mr Colaco did you really justify your rank and role? Why did you get into the petty politics of AIFF when you are a paid secretary? Ahhh..he wanted to reply through emails. But he simply couldn't even scribble the answers. Lest he may land into more trouble.

We all know about his faulty recruitment policy which had raised eyebrows. There were a couple of positions in AIFF which were held by those whom he thought will be an asset for Indian football. A MBA Grad who would churn out success stories for him. Interestingly, he left the AIFF job (which I am sure he had struggled) to launch his own company and used AIFF as a mere platform all the while. Your take on this Mr Colaco?

Why am I so critical about this Goan? My close friends and those who are linked with football often ask me. Well my friends, he simply doesn't have an honest approach.
Otherwise, Indian football would have looked healthy.

The rankings (men & women teams) wouldn't have dipped. The proposed Bharti-AIFF academy would have taken some shape. There's more failure than success that he can claim to have in these eight years. If that was not enough, the burly Goan was seen trying to garner some sympathy from an influential AFC big-shot, who felt that Mr Colaco's absence would further weaken Indian football. Huh. The AFC official must be joking, otherwise Indian football would have taken a giant leap during these eight years.

So, say good-bye to AIFF, Mr Colaco. Indian football now desperately is in need for some young and dynamic personality.

Bob where is the reserve bench?

One wonders if Bob Houghton is really serious about Indian football's development. Three years at the helm, the Englishman has once again reposed faith on his 'old bunch'. The recent probables announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) doesn't seem to convince us about his seriousness. The same old faces have been chosen. Bob had since been talking about finding some new talent. He had told us several times in the past that only after watching I-Leagues and Fed Cups he would be able to scan the latest talent in Indian football. But those seemed to be just hollow talks as the Englishman had reposed faith on the same group.
Is there anything which is stopping the Indian coach from giving opportunities to some of the players who did well in I-League? Is there any agenda against these players who simply struggle to get a call for the national camp?
We still don't know. But there has been rumour about a possible coterie inside the Indian team and Bob is under its influence. Mohammad Rafi the left-winger who probably scored more goals for his side than any of his strikers still finds himself out of favour. Rafi is tall and revels in an attacking blend of football. Then has Bob thought about S Venkatesh, who has impressed with his all-round performance for Pune FC in the I-League II.
Mohun Bagan left-back Nallappan Mohanraj and JCT central midfielder Jagpreet Singh have been picked, who have been to camps in the past. But where are the rest? Is Bob the only person who is in the selection panel?
Well, we don't know. We are still groping in the dark. We aren't sure if India would be able to break the jinx at 2011 Asian Cup. Let's face the fact that we are still unable to organise our team. Bob's high-profile Goal Project 2011 has already bit the dust with the Federation saying it is "impossible" to carry out a mega project. So come June, the Indian team will assemble in Delhi for another grinding session and, not so surprising, with the same old faces.

Churchill deserved to win I-League

Watching intently the Mohun Bagan-Mahindra United match at Ambedkar Stadium on a sudorific Thursday, I was figuring out why Bagan shouldn't win this year's I-League. A huge posse of mediamen along with club officials took the flight out of Kolkata probably hoping to witness another Bagan's triumph and occupied the vantage positions in the crammed media box much before the scheduled time. But before everybody including the teams could settle down the babumoshais were calling up their sources in distant Margao in Goa where Churchill Brothers were up against a feeble Mohammedan Sporting.

A journalist sitting next to me, whispered, "Churchill had scored." A couple of minutes later, the Goans hammered yet another. A minute later, I could read their body language. It conveyed a crude message. Bagan's boat won't cruise further. Even if they had won against Mahindra, who however dumped their famed rivals 2-1, Churchill's outright win had settled the issue on points. Bagan will have to wait another season. For the record, a Goan team has prevailed over a Kolkata club for the third successive year.

Going into the final round I-League matches, there were lot of permutations and combinations. What if Mohammedan beat Churchill in Goa? What if Bagan win against Mahindra? But in the end, none of these calculations proved correct as winners were decided by goals rather than calculations and both Churchill and Mahindra went back home with full points.

In my previous article, I had mentioned about a certain arrogance in Churchill (I mean the team). Surprisingly, it stems from their boss, Alemao, a confident and ambitious general who in the past had vowed to make his family football team the India champions. Last year, they had almost finished winners. But Churchill finished on same number of points with Dempo, who pipped their Goan rival on a better goal difference.

On Thursday, the 6-2 demolition of Mohammedan convinced Churchill's superior dominance both in the match as well as in the entire event. If Alemao is their source of inspiration, Odafa Okolie charted out his team's success in the middle with his 26-goal bursts in 22 matches. A roughly 1.5 goal per match. An incredible achievement. The figure also explained how the tall and temperamental Odafa single-handedly annihilated the rival defence. Arrogance, brute power and a nose for goals combined to make Odafa the most famous striker after Chima Okorie and Ramirez Barretto, who now seems to have been completely overshadowed by the Nigerian.