Rewind: India’s elusive tryst with the ball
Simon Sundararaj scored a goal against Peru in the 1960 Rome Olympics – India’s last goal scorer. Six decades, 15 Olympics and 15 World Cups later, India awaits to replicate his momentous feat
Published Date – 12:53 AM, Sun – 27 November 22
By Amit Banerjee
Hyderabad: July 29, 1911, was a red letter day in the annals of Indian soccer when a barefooted Mohun Bagan team stunned the much-fancied East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 to win the coveted IFA Shield for the first time. The famed Calcutta outfit had exactly 11 players with no additional bench strength. A massive throng of 80,000 spectators witnessed this historic win. This epochal triumph received widespread coverage in the Times, Daily Mail and Manchester Guardian. Reuters reported thus: “…the scene beggared description, the Bengalees tearing off their shirts and waving them…” Coming against the backdrop of the partition of Bengal, this memorable victory resonated across the country and also stirred nationalist fervour in the Indian masses, who were trying to break free from the shackles of imperialism.
Indian soccer had its magic run from 1950 to 1964. Besides bagging the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951 and 1962, the Indian soccer team participated in four successive Olympics at London (1948), Helsinki (1952), Melbourne (1956) and Rome (1960). Its pinnacle of glory was at the Melbourne Games, where it clinched the fourth position with striker Neville D’Souza earning the unique distinction of becoming the first Asian to net a hat-trick in this mega event.
From the 50s to the 80s, Calcutta and Hyderabad were the nurseries of Indian football. While the Calcutta behemoths, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting, held sway, the Hyderabad City Police was hailed as the ‘Bayern Munich’
During this era, India also emerged as the runners-up at the prestigious Merdeka Cup – a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia – twice in 1959 and 1964. This was also the period when the Indian squad was being shepherded by Syed Abdul Rahim aka ‘Rahim Sahab’ from Hyderabad. Barring the bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok, a major success has eluded the national football team thereafter.
From the 50s to the 80s, Calcutta and Hyderabad were the nurseries of Indian football. While the Calcutta behemoths viz East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting held sway and had a huge fan following, the Hyderabad City Police continued to conquer new frontiers with their magical soccer exploits – to be hailed as the ‘Bayern Munich’ of that time. The rich legacy of Hyderabad soccer can be gauged from the fact that it contributed 6 captains and 21 footballers, who donned the India colours at the Olympics, Asian Games and other international fixtures. Goa and Kerala also emerged as serious competitors soon thereafter. However, by the turn of the century, interest in football slackened for a plethora of reasons.
Hyderabad contributed 6 captains and 21 footballers, who donned the India colours at the Olympics, Asian Games and other international fixtures
Festering Ills
Unwarranted interference in player identification, arbitrary quota-based selection procedures, insufficient match practice, paucity of quality grounds and support staff, dearth of adequate international exposure, lack of power training and technical acumen not matching up to international standards coupled with highly partisan and inefficient soccer administration have been the major stumbling blocks. The problems have been further compounded by the intense politicking and jockeying for power among the authorities. As Prodeep Ganguly, a veteran Delhi state player and national referee, puts it succinctly: “The problem with Indian football is not with the players, but with those who govern it.” At the prize distribution ceremony of the 2022 Durand Cup, spectators and TV viewers were left aghast at the unedifying spectacle of AIFF (All India Football Federation) officials virtually edging out Sunil Chhetri from the centre stage for a perfect photo-op.
Misplaced Priorities
Immediately after the election of the new AIFF chief this September, an idea has been mooted in sheer haste to play the knockout stage matches of the prestigious Santosh Trophy National Championship in Saudi Arabia in February 2023. This is being done with the ostensible aim to “…encourage State level players to dream big and also to connect the large Indian community in Saudi Arabia with Indian football and create a win-win situation for both the Indian and Saudi Federations…”, as the AIFF release would have us to believe. Even a lay observer of the game will treat this as mere piffle.
Visits of soccer legends like Maradona (2008 and 2017), Messi (2011) and Beckham (2011) generated a lot of media frenzy but did little to uplift India’s declining soccer standard
Leaving aside the unnecessary drain on the limited coffers of this august body in hosting these fixtures on foreign soil, this decision defies logic as to how it will benefit Indian soccer and its players at large, especially when our present standards are so inexorably low. The slide in the national team’s international ranking from 94 (in Feb 1996) to the present 106 (in Oct 2022) aptly sums up the troubled state of affairs in Indian football.
The presence of Cafu, the legendary Brazilian footballer for a couple of days at some football events and chat shows in Kolkata as a build-up to the World Cup did attract media attention and some adulatory sound bytes for the parent organisation, but how does it help the cause of Indian soccer, which is reportedly at its nadir? The earlier visits of soccer legends like Diego Maradona (2008 and 2017), Lionel Messi (2011) and David Beckham (2011) generated a lot of media frenzy but did not contribute in any manner whatsoever to uplift the declining soccer standard. These momentary palliatives cannot offer any long-term solution for the festering ills plaguing the game in the country.
Komaleeswaran Sankar happens to be the solitary Indian referee to have officiated in 3 matches at the 2002 World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan
Arresting the Free Fall
Till now, West Bengal, Kerala, Goa and the Northeast have been the traditional powerhouses of the sport in the country. To resuscitate the game, which has been in a free fall for the last three decades, the time has come for a reality check. For broadbasing the game, it has become direly imperative to embrace a football-centric culture by enlarging its ambit across the States and regions.
For far too long, the powers that be have unnecessarily harped upon the ‘top-down approach’, which has failed to deliver the desired results. Any successful revival plan has to start at the grassroots level with the clarion call ‘catch them young’. Fostering a nourishing football ecosystem needs scouting and nurturing young talents, showcasing their skills at proper platforms, having a proper monetary support system for promising soccer aspirants, according top priority to picking the very best talent for the national squads, and having a vibrant and highly competitive league structure in place.
There is no magic wand or quick-fix solution to lift Indian soccer from the morass of mediocrity other than having a professionally managed administrative set-up free from the clutches of vested interests and moneybags. The AIFF must shed its obsession with hosting major FIFA-sanctioned mega-events as these do not have any sizable spin-off benefits for Indian soccer.
Legendary Mohammed Salim was the first Indian to play for a European club in 1936 — Celtic. Salim made history playing barefoot with only bandages wrapped around his feet
At a time when the chips are down for Indian soccer, it is heartening to note that Maidaan, a sports biopic on the golden era of Indian football and the legendary coach ‘Rahim Saheb’, essayed by Ajay Devgn, has already been completed. With its much-anticipated release on February 23, one fervently hopes that it helps rekindle the passion for the game among youngsters.
An Eternal Wait
Although India’s quest for its maiden World Cup qualification looks highly improbable in the coming years, what is even more disquieting is the absence of any Indian referee at the Qatar showpiece event. In the 92-year-old chequered history of the World Cup, Komaleeswaran Sankar happens to be the solitary Indian referee to have officiated in three matches at the 2002 World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan.
As the game has progressed, refereeing has become highly technology-driven with the introduction of ‘Video Assistant Referee’, ‘On-field Monitor’ and ‘Robo Linesmen’. This is one area which requires focused attention of the AIFF so that Indian soccer is not deprived of the services of match officials with requisite technical expertise.
When Simon Sundararaj scored a goal against Peru in the 1960 Rome Olympics, little did he realise that his momentous feat may never be replicated. Over six decades on, and 15 Olympics and 15 World Cups later, India is nowhere near the qualifying pedestal for a major international soccer event.
Although the number of contestants has been enlarged from 32 for the present FIFA tournament to 48 for the 2026 edition, any chance of India making it into the elite group looks bleak. Have we already written the epitaph for ‘Brand Football’ in the country or will it rise like a phoenix in the foreseeable future to prove the naysayers wrong? Only time can tell.
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup assumes special significance as in all probability, it will mark the swansong of Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez (Uruguay) and Modric.
The India Connect
Nora Fatehi, the Bollywood artiste, will perform at the closing ceremony of the tournament on December 18. Nora has already earned critical acclaim for her strong vocals and electrifying dancing steps in the FIFA World Cup 2022 anthem ‘Light The Sky…Hayya Hayya’, which is an ode to the strength, creativity and determination of women. Although of Moroccan-Canadian descent, Nora considers herself ‘Indian at heart’. Besides crooning the English lines, her mellifluous rendition of Hamein karna hai jo, ham karenge wahin, ham jaisa yahan par koi bhi nahi, chahe east or west, ham milenge yahin in the official soundtrack has brought glory to India and elevated Hindi to the global soccer stage.
India’s presence is being showcased by the replica of a traditional 11th-century wooden dhow called ‘Uru’, symbolic of its ancient trade links with Mesopotamia. The all-wooden-and-coir heritage vessel, constructed at Beypore, Kozhikode, is 27-feet long.
A massive football boot weighing 450 kg, purportedly the world’s largest, has been curated at Kozhikode and shipped to Qatar as India’s gift. Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has been designated as India’s brand ambassador at the FIFA World Cup final.
Level-playing Field
In a significant breakthrough for gender equality in football, six women (three officials and three assistant referees) are also officiating for the first time at the Qatar Men’s World Cup. As emphatically stated by Pierluigi Collina, the FIFA head of refereeing: “..it is quality that counts for and not gender.”
Costliest Ever
Touted as the most expensive World Cup event in FIFA history, the Qatar extravaganza has run up mind-boggling expenses of $220 billion, a 2,000% increase over the preceding edition at Moscow in 2018.
Another landmark initiative is the deployment of ‘Al Rihla Pro’ (the journey), the fastest and most accurate World Cup match ball to date, designed by Adidas. The incorporation of ‘Connected ball technology’ in this 20-panel shaped ball helps in achieving excellent aerodynamics to improve the accuracy, flight stability and swerve of shots.
Incidentally, for the first time ever, this showpiece event is being organised in winter.
‘Hand of God’ Ball: Goal of the Century
Just four days prior to the opening of the event, an important relic of international football history went under the hammer at Graham Budd Auctions in London. A 36-year-old Adidas ball which Maradona had punched to score his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England at the 1986 World Cup fetched a record $2.37 million. With this iconic ball, the legendary soccer star had also engineered a 68-metre sublime solo run culminating into a breathtaking goal, which was later voted as the ‘World Cup goal of the Century’ in 2002. Ironically, Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian ex-referee who officiated in this match and preserved this piece of memorabilia, has now profited from one of the biggest refereeing gaffes in the game’s history.
Lifetime Experience
Abde Ali, a Pune-based corporate strategist, is agog with excitement to witness the soccer extravaganza. Both he and his 10-year-old son are diehard Messi fans and cannot hide their excitement at the prospect of seeing the golden-footed wizard in live action.
For Anirban Mukherjee, a senior HR professional, it’ll be his second trip to a World Cup venue. He is effusive in his praise for a World Cup tie: “With no partisan crowds and spectators drawn from all over the world, it’s an entirely surreal feeling with top-notch soccer on display.”
(The author is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi)