England’s ‘Summer of 66’ and a thought...

MOSCOW: Englishmen born in the 70s must have watched Geoff Hurst’s celebration video clips perhaps more than the Hollywood classic The Godfather.

The English striker’s controversial goal against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final at Wembley still gives them kick, but sadly doesn’t inspire their footballers anymore to emulate their team's only World Cup triumph.

England’s 1966 World Cup victory is just a piece of memory which the Englishmen flip through the pages after every four years, and they still hope their football teams will emulate Bobby Moore and company.

But those who understand the game and have followed English football post 70, would agree the ‘Summer of 66’ was a ‘fluke’ as all their past teams had struggled at the successive World Cups.

Even the Indians, who are so much influenced by ‘Made in England’, have never been a die-hard fan of their past colonial masters, who had taught them football.

Not just the Indians, everybody who even possess the slightest knowledge on their sport had never put their money on them at any of the quadrennial competition, not even when Gary Linekar and David Beckham played.

England remain a gross underachiever at the sport’s biggest stage -- like the South African cricket team.

Though Gareth Southgate’s young side showed promise against Tunisia last Monday, still there’s a long way to go in Russia.

Southgate adopted a modern formation with a three-man backline, quick-witted wingbacks and more flair in midfield. But the win against Tunisia was underlined by a set-piece model.

The Three Lions will have it easy against Panama unless there’s any shocker waiting for them.

However, the real test would be against Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard’s Belgium on June 28.

The entire world watches their league, but not their national team -- the likes of Kane, Lingard, Alli are good players, but definitely not the best.

Most coaches always felt that none of the clubs does enough grass root work as they would travel to Latin America or Africa to buy talent.

Can anyone give a count of their players in any of the European leagues? The likes of Beckham or Wayne Rooney travelled to the US post their prime, and MLS is one of the best competitions.

So, you’re left with the Kanes and Lingards who win accolades at home but the day English footballers leave their comfort zone and play in other parts of Europe, they will become better. www.khelupdates.com

Post 1986, Brazil’s football philosophy is in a confused state

MOSCOW: As the most popular football side in the world, Brazil always excite us.

Even the media admire them -- more than 200 newspaper journalists and 100 photographers are registered for tomorrow’s Brazil versus Switzerland game.

At the Rostov Arena, children have welcomed the Brazilians to the city, with their paintings spread around the city. Such is the love and affection that they’ve been enjoying since ages.

Everybody loves the Selecao, but off late Brazil doesn’t resemble the teams of 70s and 80s. The attacking flair, which won them millions of hearts across the globe, is now a thing of the past.

The team’s current style is not even a sequel of what Tele Santana had produced at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and as school children, we were thrilled to watch Socrates-Zico-Elder-Falcao indulge their love of feints, tricks and back heels.

The free-flowing approach has been replaced by a more cautious one ever since their players started playing in the gruelling European leagues.

No wonder their football philosophy is in a confused state. Just like any Hollywood classics, those golden days of Samba can’t be re-created but, at least, Brazilian coaches can draw inspiration from Santana.

The drubbing against Germany at home four years back is still fresh in our mind. Yet, everybody expect them to bounce back in the World Cup and impress their fans with subtle skills added with searing pace.

“The work we have done elevates the expectations, but also brings us peace. I’m very happy about the level of performance we have showed so far. I hope we can now reproduce this under pressure,” said Brazil coach Tite on Saturday.

Sounds all fine, but as we’ve seen, Brazil is now a shadow of their own glorious past.

The team’s talismanic forward Neymar recently underwent a surgery and returned to action couple of days ago in a pre-tournament friendly.

The Paris-Saint Germain star also scored a goal, but still we aren’t convinced till he strikes the ball hard against the Swiss.

“Neymar is still not 100 per cent, but he is very privileged physically. The level he has displayed in his sprints in high velocity has been impressive. But still he has something to gain. It should happen sooner rather than later, hopefully,” added Tite.

Back in 2013, Switzerland won 1-0 in Basel. Only four Brazilian starters from that friendly match are here in Rostov: Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Paulinho and Neymar.

We’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see if Neymar unleashes his power to avenge their five-year-old defeat.

But, good luck Selecao! www.khelupdates.com

Why African teams couldn’t become a Croatia or Iceland

MOSCOW: There’s something about the African football teams. Hugely talented, but still remain success-starved at the sports biggest platform.

During an informal chat with Moustapha Hadji in Doha few years back, the Morocco legend and 1998 World Cup hero said that ‘it’s always difficult to handle a bundle of talents’.

Quite rightly so. When you’ve an entire team of excellent footballers, there’ll bound to have ego clashes in the locker room so much so that it becomes difficult for the coaches to handle each of them.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles has always been a fantastic squad since the days we’ve started watching Nwanku Kanu, Finidi George and others at the 1994 World Cup.

All five of Nigeria’s World Cup finals victories out of their 18 matches have been against European opposition.

The Super Eagles beat Bulgaria 3-0 and Greece 2-0 in 1994, Spain 3-2 and Bulgaria 1-0 in 1998, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 in 2014.

At this year’s edition, Nigeria has come with one of the youngest teams, with 18 players set to take part in a FIFA World Cup match for the first time.

Only skipper John Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Ogenyi Onazi and Kenneth Omeruo have previously played in the World Cup.

But one of the debutants, William Troost-Ekong, is relishing the chance for them to prove themselves on the world stage.

“Many of us will be playing at the World Cup for the first time, but this may work in our favour as we might surprise others. We will play without fear,” he said.

At the most, the Gernot Rohr-coached side will qualify to the next round, which they had in the last two editions. But Nigeria, like Senegal or Cameroon, have always failed to live up to our expectations.

The African players are the top exports to the world’s glamourous leagues. Even an average player earn good salary in the Middle-East, south-east and south Asian countries.
But their football setup is like any other third-world nations, where the growth is slow due to the faction rivalries, corruption and lack of professionalism. That may be some of the other reasons why they couldn’t become another Croatia or Iceland.

Africa is a relatively poor continent. There’s lack of facilities and kids do not get proper nutrition which can help in their development.

Moreover, they are not exposed to the High Performance Facilities though there are exceptions like Didier Drogba and Samuel Etoo but players like them are few in numbers who went to France early in their careers and made an impact.

In the end, all the good brains leave Africa due to wars, dictators and football is managed by people, who’re favoured by dictators and warlords. http://www.khelupdates.com

Not a happy Eid for the Saudis

MOSCOW: Around the time Russia humiliated Saudi Arabia in the opening match on Thursday evening, fans back home sighted the moon on the 29th day of the holy Ramadan month.

The new moon ended the rigorous fasting month with a new hope and beginning, but the Saudis may have spent a sleepless night following their 5-0 drubbing by the hosts at the Luzinhki Stadium.

The Green Falcons, like most other Arab teams, are mere pushovers at the football’s grand stage. Nobody expected a big win for the Saudis. A draw would’ve been a fare result for the country, where football is yet to be a part of culture.

Saudis may be the most passionate football-lovers, but it’s mostly confined to their domestic competitions where one can expect a fierce rivalry between their top clubs – Al Ahli and Al Hilal.

The league was professionalised only very recently, with their players being paid huge chunks of riyals as their wages. It’s not that they lack quality players, but they don’t move out of their plush lifestyles in Riyadh or Jeddah.

Players from South Korea, Iran and Japan ply their trade in the European leagues. But we’ve never heard of a Saudi footballer joined any lower-ranked English or Spanish clubs.

One of their legends and star in their maiden World Cup campaign in 1994, Sami Al Jaber was once loaned to Wolverhampton.

Had more players joined some European leagues, the motivation would’ve been boosted and skills polished under the experienced European coaches.

The Arabs, in fact, the Saudis, need to change their mentality. Don’t just flaunt top European brands, but do try and play the sport with or against the best teams and players.  

And, there is a piece of advice for their country’s football federation -- shed that arrogance and intolerance.

Sacking coaches is something that most Middle-East nations love to do, but Saudi Arabia is more ruthless than others.

On a football field, you’re a worker. It doesn’t matter which car you drive – Land Cruiser or Range Rover – the coach is your boss.

Give him time and respect his work. But the logic doesn’t work in the Arab world, more precisely in the region’s largest country.

Dutchman Bert van Marwijk led them through the most recent qualification campaign. He stepped down after negotiations failed on a new contract. His successor Edgardo Bauza was also fired just two months in the job after in November after unimpressive performances in five friendlies.

The Argentine was replaced by Juan Antonio Pizzi, who has led his own country to the 2016 Copa America final but it won’t be a surprise if the Chilean board the next flight to Santiago during the tournament.

The defeat has hurt Saudis’ pride badly while their infamous arrogance was cut into pieces on a football pitch.

It was a lesson that they learn quickly – money won’t buy you everything.

Well done, Chhetri!

This was the time when ISL was beyond anybody’s imagination, social media was non-existent and National Football League (NFL) was struggling to maintain with its charm. It was during that era, almost 15 years ago, when I saw a diminutive Sunil Chhetri in join Mohun Bagan jersey.

“Who is this Chhetri,” I asked one of my fellow writer during a NFL match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

My obvious curiosity was not because he came from my second home, but due to the fact that he wasted at least a dozen of gilt-edged chances on that muggy afternoon.

Chhetri, then a 19-year-old, scored just eight goals in three seasons at Bagan, which finished in the bottom half of the league table.

For a young footballer, Calcutta seemed to be the right choice as Delhi teams, where he played for City Club, don’t even get outstation invitations.

Calcutta wasn’t an unknown city for the Delhi boy, who had his schooling at the Fort William where his father was employed with the Indian Army’s Eastern Command.

It was difficult to ignore the temptation of playing in Calcutta, where he returned as a young footballer. But it was a difficult start as he had failed to soak the pressure of playing in front of vociferous Bagan fans.

The Delhi youngster, perhaps, succumbed to the pressure. And, after a not-so-impressive stint at Bagan, he packed off his bag to JCT Phagwara, which I felt was the turning point in his career.

Three years later when I met him at Ludhiana in January, 2007, Chhetri was a completely different player. He exuded confidence in his words and in the 18-yard-box.

From 2005 to 2007, Chhetri scored 20 goals including 12 goals in a single season when JCT finished second in the I-League and he earned the “Player of the Year” award.

The real grinding was done at Phagwara, where he played with and against the sturdy and taller Punjabi footballers.

It was an amazing transformation for someone, who had shaky start in Calcutta.

At Phagwara, he trained hard under Sukhwinder Singh as there were no other distractions in the industrial town apart from driving down to Delhi home in the weekends.

Playing alongside Baichung Bhutia in the national team was the second most important thing that boosted his career. Before settling for Chhetri, former India coach Bob Houghton had even tried Sushil Singh and Abhisek Yadav but none could match Chhetri’s consistency.

At the two Nehru Cups in Delhi, he was in blistering form followed by the AFC Challenge Cup which paved the way for the Indian side to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup here. Chhetri was the only shining star, who scored two in India’s three goals in an otherwise failed campaign.

Just like any successful sportsman, the 33-year-old has overcome failures and disappointment in his initial years with a positive attitude. And, that’s what has helped him carve a niche in Indian sports. 

Well done, Chhetri! (www.khelupdates.com)

Bhutia, did you or Houghton ever think of creating a core Team India?

With due respect to your football credentials, it’s difficult to understand your quote…‘but still, we are far lucky than what we got in 2011. Compared to the last Asia Cup (appearance), we are happy and lucky’.

I couldn’t really understand what you actually wanted to convey to your fans and followers.

You also took a critic’s role by saying that Stephen Constantine’s rotating policy is not helping Team India.

Mr Bhutia you want to don multiple mantle and that becomes difficult to understand your motives. If football was your first love and priority, you wouldn’t have joined politics.

After you had quit football, you were clueless about your future. It wasn’t difficult to gauge your political ambition – Lok Sabha and then State Assembly elections.

Your dreams crashed while representing a leading Bengal party, but again you have started to dream and launched a new political party in your own state.

Those who’ve covered football during your career would say, ‘yes, he had in him to become a team leader’. No wonder, you dominated the Indian football in the last couple of years despite carrying injury.

Instead of criticising Stephen’s rotational philosophy, you should have credited his efforts. At least, he isn’t Bob Houghton, who only listened to you on team selection and then selected a bunch of injured players for the 2011 Asian Cup in Doha.

Mr Bhutia, a team’s ability or capability to do well in a competition depends a lot on multiple factors. But the main criteria is honesty and integrity besides hard work and passion laced with a sense of responsibility. That’s what Stephen had been doing in the last three odd years.

India’s campaign at the 2011 edition was a flawed one. Not because the team lacked talent or integrity, but it had at least half a dozen of injured and unfit players including you.

Your memory may have become slightly weak. So, let me help you to turn the clock back to 2009 when the preparation was in full swing for the Doha edition.

Injury had slowed you a down in your last few years, but you still hanged around. Houghton was your PR man, who would always say 1000 good things about your importance as a player and leadership qualities (you can read his quotes on the google).

India was clubbed with Australia, South Korea and Bahrain in Doha. But much before the tournament, Houghton probably knew the team had no chance to qualify beyond the group stage.

It’s not the question of who you play, but when you’ve a team full of injured and unfit players then the task becomes a little difficult. 

Houghton’s propaganda to create a ‘Team India’ for the Asian campaign in Doha never materialised. It was only a PR stunt and you had played an important role.

You struggled with a niggling knee injury and earned sympathy from the media. You wanted to quit football on a big stage. Don’t you agree, your selfish motives hadn’t done anything good to the team then?

Renedy Singh’s left foot was good, but weren’t strong enough to win the trophy as he too struggled to stay fit.

Now you’re talking about a core group. Did you or Houghton think about it seven or eight years ago?

A second team should have been in place after Houghton took over in June, 2006. However, some of the juniors and senior players who had performed well in the domestic competitions were excluded from the Doha-bound squad.

Shanmugam Venkatesh, who was also in his 30s like you, was one of the finest attacking midfielders. He did well with Pune FC, but didn’t get a chance. Striker Mohammad Rafi, who was in thick of goals, was omitted.

Do you still think an ineffective Sushil Singh deserved a place in the Asian Cup team and, that too as your replacement?

What still remained a mystery was the way Houghton handled the team as he banked on you and other unfit players.

You had wanted to end your career on a global platform. Once again, a personal ambition at the cost of Team India. You had even convinced AIFF, media and Houghton that Asian Cup was important for you.

I admire your patriotism. But Mr Bhutia was it morally correct to block a place for some, who were fit and deserved to play for the country?

At the beautiful Al Sadd Stadium on a lovely winter afternoon in Doha, you didn’t even play. From the dugout, you backed up your team-mates, who were beaten by the sheer pace of the Aussies. We lost 4-0.

If you were to cheer for your team, you could’ve travelled on your own. 

In the second match against Bahrain, you were once again at the dugout. You weren’t fit to be in the team, but nobody had the gut to say anything against you because you were a ‘leader’.

In Doha, Houghton was tight-lipped on the team’s fitness and blamed the Indian conditions for spoiling the career of Indian players. Barring goalkeeper Subrata Paul, Sunil Chhetri and Syed Rahim Nabi, most of the first XI players including you were unfit.  

Oh yes, that 15-minute ‘special appearance’ against the South Koreans on a rain-hit evening at Al Gharafa Stadium was a memorable one for you, but definitely not for Indian football. (www.khelupdates.com)

Why would you need a president & secretary to run a football club?

Mohun Bagan once epitomised tradition, fair play, dignity and virtues, but today those are missing from their iconic status as one of the leading Indian football clubs.

It can be recalled that in the 1970s when a few footballers refused to take part in a tournament, the then club secretary Dhiren Dey declared that Bagan would field its groundsmen.

That was the spirit and values the club stood for, but that seems to have vanished.

The factional politics has done more harm to its image in recent months just like it did in 2004-05.

This time the club’s Executive Committee has resigned en masse to protest against Anjan Mitra and his inefficiency. The club has lost McDowell as its sponsor, and what stands today is all about misery and false ego.

There’s no need to crib and cry over its doomed fate as Bagan and the other two – East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting – has seldom understood the importance of professionalism.
If a tournament like ISL has spread its wings, it’s because these clubs have boosted their confidence by being inactive and less ambitious.

Prashanto Banerjee, one of India's finest midfielders and who led Bagan in 1988, once told me that the difference between East Bengal and Bagan is that politics is less significant in the former club.

A player like Subroto Bhattacharya who played only for Bagan during his 17 year career, knows more about the club's politics than most people. Having coached Bagan to two National League titles and couple of other major trophies, he doesn't mince his words when it comes to politics in Bagan.

It’s not about who is right or wrong here, but there has to be an integrity and accountability when you run an institution like Bagan.

The club, like East Bengal and Mohammedan, is still not a private entity. We don’t have to compare European clubs with ours because that would be a chalk and cheese difference.

Just watch how Bengaluru FC became one of the top sides in the country. This southern club should be one of the best examples of a professional modern club.

We really don’t understand why would you need a president or secretary and cronies to run the club or you’ve to be north Calcuttan or East Bengalis or Bihari Muslims to link your identity with the respective clubs?

Bagan that once united a race to fight against foreign rule, has now been reduced to a society of people with blinkered vision and overriding political ambitions.
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