India won AFC Challenge Cup 2008

Far away from the hustle and bustle of Olympics and about a single gold medal won by an Indian, the unsung heroes of Indian football piped Tajikistan 4-1 in the final match of AFC Challenge Cup that happened in New Delhi.

The final match was shifted to Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi as the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad turned out to be a paddy field because of the continuous rains that belted in the city. As it is, the city did not deserve to hold the finals as hardly any fans turned up to the stadium to watch the tournament. Contrary to what happened in Hyderabad, the New Delhi stadium was filled with a huge number of well-wishers of Indian football, men and women as well.

There is nothing much to be written about the final match as India were already 3-0 up by 23 minutes through goals of Sunil Chhetri and Baichung Bhutia. Over all the team played with his full potential. Tajikistan too had their chances in the game, but they were too rattled to stage a come back in the match. Our defenders did quite well barring the occasional glitches that led to dangerous counter attacking by the Tajiks. The defense would have been much better, if we had Mahesh Gawli available, who is injured.

The midfielders had better day on the field and i am quite impressed by Meharajuddin Wadoo who came on as a substitute for N.P.Pradeep, who was seen quite rusty in the whole tournament. There is nothing much to talk about Steven Dias; his crosses and spot kicks were the highlight of this tournament. This man has a long way to go. I am still a bit apprehensive in praising Climax Lawrence, though he had a good game as the rest of the team members.

The forward line was quite exemplary yesterday with Chhetri pitching in with a hat-trick. Eventhough I am a Chhetri lover, I criticised him for his performance level in the group stages, but now, i think i will have to re-think on this. He did play very well, held the ball up, had good close control and scored 3 goals and this is a massive achievement for him as he is a shorty, nippy forward. Whatever you may say, Baichung undoubtedly is the trump card of India and he is so lively and remarkably flexible for his age. I hope we will have his service extended till the Asian Cup of 2011.

But I must say, the real hero in this tournament was Subrato Paul for me. He is an outstanding young goal keeper, who will grow in stature in the coming years. He is tall, brave and marvellously acrobatic in the goal. He was very influential through out the tournament and made some splendid saves through out the tournament. He seems to be a very calm and cool customer and i seriously wish that some international scouts pick him up, so that he can have a stint outside the country, which will help him massively.

By winning the AFC Challenge Cup we have sealed a berth in the 2011 Asian Cup happening in Qatar, by then we will have some more talented youngsters to choose from and they will offer serious contention for the current crop of players. Mind you, we have an U-16 team, who have blanked Asian Soccer power houses like Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

The media as always is beating drums for some Phelps & Dhonis who is of no importance to us. It took a bloody two hours for the websites of these illustrious beacons of our society to update and write a few lines about our football teams victory. Neither did i expect anything spectacular from them. There will be no victory parades in open buses, no endowments from the governments but Indian football will rally on; sad to say with a corrupt and inefficient man like Priyaranjan Das Munshi heading the ALL India Football Federation past 20 years for no reason.

India lost to Syria by 2-3 in ONGC International Soccer Tourno

In its third match, India lost to 2-3 against Syria (highest FIFA ranking among the participating teams. 

India started dominating from very first minute, hence scored match's first goal in 13th minute by Delhi's lad Sunil Chhetri (jersey number 11). The whole stadium turned aggressive then. But soon Syria levelled the score in 23rd minute by a header goal. And, by one more goal in 42nd minutes, half time scoreline became 1-2. 

Although it was very tough to cover up their lead, still our striker tried very hard but lack of communication in defence line concieved one more goal and score line became 1-3. Match became very dull then as Indian side got tired & Syrians started applying foul tactics by wasting time cuz they were assuming a two goal lead is enough to win. 

I can still remember when score line were 2-3 against us, match refree gave four minutes injury time after regular 90 minutes, Syrians started felling down as if they were hit by opponent player. And they wasted almost two minutes out of those crucial, dying much needed four minutes.

But the match's spectacular goal came in 81st minute when Indian side substituted player Ajayan Nair came up with solo effort, dribbling past three Syrian defender and aimed a hard left footer from 30 yards that took the syrian Goalie Mowssab by surprise. He made Bob houghton's decision right. The goal did bring a life back but it was too late for the Indians. 

In all, they played some fantastic soccer inthe first half through flawless ball possession in the mid-field while their forwardskept on making intermittent raids into the indian defence. It paid them big as they finally roped in the match, making them the first team to reach finals.

Now, the only & best way to take 'BADLA' is first beat Krygistan first on Sunday's match and face them (Syria) again in Finals on Wednesday & clinch the title.

Good Luck Houghton !!!

Show them Indian pace... :)

No News coverage for ONGC Cup

Its really frustated that there is no news coverage for ONGC International Cup @Delhi. Our Media's Sports section has been confined to Cricket only. On one side these 24 hours channels includes 'Sabse Tej', 'Dil me sach, jubaan pe India', 'Khabar - har keemat par' are providing pre & post cricket match analysis daily for hours with guys like Nikhil Chopra (negligible contribution to Indian cricket) & Ajay Jadeja (caught in fixing), also providing a running tab for live scores....

other side there was no single line news update for ongoing ONGC international soccer Cup whether the Indian side lost or won.

India won by 6-0, 2-0 etc does not comes even under the criteria of news but yes zaheer khan, RP Singh caught by viral is really a BIG news for them.

The worst part is that even DD1 does follow cricket only in "Sports". For everything else there is separate channel called "DD sports". If they have made this to telecast all live games strictly on 'DD sports' then what special in the cricket only that it gets prime time on DD1. Prasar Bharti made out pillar to post efforts to telecast cricket live 2 years back for such a boring 8 hours duel on DD1, but a big NO to any other games like soccer (2 hours), tennis (1 hour) etc.

These 24 hours news channel r FOS (full of shit)

Seriously very dissapointing.

Just because of this media hype, I can proudly say "I am one among them who hates cricket a lot". It was only reason why I left play & see cricket eight years back. I was the happiest person on earth when I saw Indian Cricket Team has been kicked out from the tourno in very first round of WC 2007.

The day this cricket hype would end up in india, other sports & sportpersons will get better opportunities & media coverage.

Lets hope Good.

Aameeen !!!

India crushed Cambodia by 6-0 @17-Aug-2007

In its very first match of Nehru Cup held at here at Ambedkar Stadium Delhi, Indian side lads thrashed Cambodia by 6-0, made it a one sided match. Star strikers like Sunil chhetri, Dias, Bhutia, NP Pradeep scored goals. 

India soccer team to tour Portugal

India soccer team will tour Portugal next month and then stage an international tournament. They will play three games in Portugal, including one against a Premier League side, during an 18-day trip to help boost the team ranked 161st in the world.

This will be followed in August by the ONGC Cup in New Delhi, in which Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will join hosts India. Iran have yet to confirm their entry.


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Knowing Delhi Football...

* Delhi Football League started in 1948.

* League could not be finished on 12 occasions.

* New format for the league was formed in 1985.

* There were 12-15 grounds in the vicinity of Delhi Gate from ISBT to ITO. Now only one Dr. Ambedkar Stadium left and that too is nor under the control of DSA.

* Rashtrapati Bhavan had two grounds where matches were held regularly. But due to security reasons it was barred to the public.

* DSA has to pay Rs.2000 per day plus Rs.10,000 security if they charge for tickets during a match and Rs.500 plus security if otherwise.

* Sources of income for DSA – sponsors like Steel Authority of India, ONGC, Cosco India; department entry fee – Rs.1,000; affiliation fee – Rs.500

* DSA has around 80 affiliated teams – 22 departmental teams and 60 clubs which play in three divisions – B, A and Senior.

* DSA has selection coaching camps for nine categories – three for women U-13, U-16, senior and six for men – U-10, U-13, U-16, U-19, u-21, senior.

* Some of the famous Delhi’s player in National Football League (NFL) are : Sunil Chetri (JCT), Prashant Jaggi (HAL), Vinay Singh (Churchill), Sunil Thapar (Air India).

* Recently Delhi CM Sheila Dixit sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the flood lights at Ambedkar Stadium.

* Delhi is part of a pilot project named with Manipur, which was launched with the help of Asian Football Federation and Delhi Soccer Association. The basic aim of the programme is to improve football and bring it to a level where Delhi can really be known as a force to reckon with. Its aim is to take football to every nook and corner of Delhi through different youth programmes starting at the grass-root-level.


Compiled by Harish…
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NFL is set to become I-League

Country’s first Professional Football League to start from September 30, 2007

The National Football League (NFL), India’s premier soccer tournament, is all set to shed its rusty image. The NFL will now be called I-League. The proposed pro league, India’s first, will be inaugurated on September 30 this year and will conclude on March 8, 2008.

According to the proposal, the upcoming league will aim to have an improved quality of football and better stadiums. As per plans, it will have a nationwide format and will be distributed internationally. And importantly be played on weekends and under lights, thus improving fan response, NFL games have often been held under a scorching sun and on busy weekdays.

Talking about the NFL, after its much publicised kick-off in 1996, it lost its stature and appeal within a couple of years.

Haphazard format, irregular schedules, shoddy TV coverage and an unplanned calendar ensured that NFL lost its sheen. But it was waiting to happen as NFL’s semi professional structure gave way because of a hollow base. The idea of a proper pro league was given a fillip by FIFA chief Sepp Blatter when he visited the country last April.

The Structure :

* 10 clubs, go upto 16
* Involving more Metros
* Six floodlit stadiums

The Clubs :

* To be run as per FIFA. AFC professional guidelines
* Professionally run on and off the pitch
* Local marketing drive to create fan base
* Local media drive for daily coverage

Promotion Plans :

* 50 live games in peak time
* Live telecast in Middle East and Hong Kong
* Highlights and goals show
* Live video and audio streaming on dedicated internet site
* Airline highlights
* Mobile phone clips

Getting the cities behind the clubs :

* “I support my I-League Club”
* Giving new metro generations a club to follow
* Building on existing club brands
* Working with schools and colleges
* FIFA experts to help clubs

Going to the Game :

* Improved quality of live stadium experience
* High quality matches presentation
* New designer kits for teams and officials
* Regular times to build continuity
* Season ticket packages.
* Family ticket packages

I-League merchandising :

* Replica shirts for all ages
* Other casual wear with club branding
* Club mascot packages
* Car accessories

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