Let’s
football
I am a Bengali.
I love football. It is good to see that we have been able to establish this
very popular sport at the all-India level by going beyond the giants of Bengal,
viz. the East Bengal, the Mohan Bagan, and the Mohammadan Sporting. My sincere
respects and gratitude go to the Ambanis and to all those who have contributed to
the success of ‘Let’s football’.
When will
India figure in the FIFA world cup?
Football is
progressing slowly. When will India be seen on the map of world football? I am
57. Can I see our players dominate in the fields of Olympic football? Like
everyone else, I also love many famous footballers; whose names should I take? Pelé, Michelle Platini, Franco Baresi, Maradona, Zizou, Kylian
Mbappé, David Beckham, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Neymar, and the list goes on and
on! Their style and deftness on the field had enamored me and the millions and
will continue to do so in the years to come. But at the end of it all, they are
all foreigners, aren’t they? Where are my players? Where are they?
‘The most [saddest]
cut of all’
In the
Olympics, Indians decide which country they will support; some support Argentina,
some go for Brazil, some for France, some from Croatia, and this is ‘the most [saddest]
cut of all.
How long will
we support another country? How long will I be a fan of non-Indian players? Why
can’t we watch our country play? Who will answer my question? I just want to
know as a football fan why is it that in a country where the majority of the population is
young, billions of them, why aren't we able to groom
at least fifty robust footballers of international standard? There is no
shortage of skilled trainers in our country! So why is it that year after year young India is denied entry into world football?
The challenge
Failure to get
entry is not the challenge, the challenge becomes acute when one accepts failure
and does nothing to be up and about. We have accepted that our role will be to support
other countries, to cheerlead other players even in the next fifty years; are
we unwilling to look introspect the reasons behind this absence?
Again, I am a
general public, I don’t have any visibility of what is going on in the green room,
but I am sure we are not doing enough to see our country gallivant in the
global map of the game we are so very fond of; we do not see any discussion on
this, we do not have any systemic thinking either keeping the painful global absence
as the problem map. Sad, very sad. Why aren’t the experts brainstorming enough
on the subject? Why? Why? Why?
Not to forget
that the FIFA world cup this year (21 November to 18 December) is the first to
be ever played in Qatar, an Arab country, and will be the second World cup to be
played entirely in Asia.
The real
issue
What is the
real issue? Funding for sure is not, crores of supporters will be more than
willing to contribute to this noble cause. If it is training, we can hire the
best of trainers to train the young legs and the minds. If it is corruption and
politics, we could have some strategies to cope with this too, can’t we?
Let’s go for
the common goal
What is your
number?
1.
Goalkeeper
2.
Right
fullback
3.
Left
fullback
4.
Center-back
5.
Sweeper
6.
Defending
/ Holding Midfielder
7.
Right
midfielder / Winger
8.
Central
midfielder
9.
Striker
10. Attacking midfielder
11. Left midfielder
[Source: click
here]
The whole
process and its effort are so engaging that if we went all out to strengthen our
weaknesses, we could see our country enter the FIFA world cup in 2026! Let’s make
this our common goal and go for it.
