NEW DELHI, NOV 19
The Indian National team has been handed a reality check of where they stand and the clamour of the team having improved by winning the twin Nehru Cups, which had second rate teams any ways, and the AFC Challenge Cup has fallen apart less than two months prior to the Asian Cup.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) approved the expensive project of keeping the national team players together hoping that the team gives a good fight at the major competition in Qatar but going by the disastrous results India have had in the friendlies, it is fair to state that the ‘improvement’ talk has been merely lip-service.
Coach Bob Houghton had mentioned in his press conference ahead of the game against Iraq stating that they always wanted to play against higher ranked teams and now that they have, the display has left a lot to be desired.
“We’ve lost three games in-a-row now, so it couldn’t be worse for us,” he added.
The Men-in-Blue are to play some club sides from UAE and even good results against those teams won’t restore the belief that this set of players can get decent results at the Asian Cup.
Meanwhile, with such a scoreline, it is hard to believe that a goalkeeper can still be praised for his performance but Subrata Paul is an exception to this rule. Such was his display against the West Asian nation that the UAE coach Srecko Katenic reserved words of praise for him.
“The Indian goalkeeper was brilliant and he made some really good saves in some very difficult situations. I think he was simply superb the way he handled things at the back on the goal line,” said Katenic.
However, the Slovenian coach didn’t rate the Indian team highly for obvious reasons and it was reflected in his post-match comments when he didn’t regard the result against the Men-in-Blue as a true reflection of his team’s potential!
“I think our performance was good. India aren’t a very strong side, so I won’t think too much about this result,” said the 47-year-old.
UAE are to participate in the Gulf Cup later this month and thereafter shall be part of the Asian Cup 2011 where they are grouped alongside defending champions Iraq, Iran and DPR Korea.
“We concentrated well and concentration is a key to winning matches. We were tired because of playing so many games recently but remained focused and didn’t let the Indians in at any stage of the match.”
“Our target is to fight and be aggressive because we will play against sides that are much better than India at the Gulf and Asian Cups. We are well-versed with the opposition we will face at these competitions and will do our homework before we take to the field,” said Katenic.
With Katenic denied the option of picking his best players by the UAE FA as most of his first choice players are in the Asian Games side while the others are involved in Al Wahda’s preparations for the Club World Cup, the team which played against India was far from full strength which is something India should feel embarrassed about given that their performance was absolutely poor.
On being queried on this issue, Katenic, like any other coach, remained diplomatic and defended the UAE FA for taking such a decision.
“This is something that the Football Association has decided and these players are the next best I could assemble in such a short time. But I can’t say they are the second-string team because these are the players that are available for the National team and I expect them to rise to the occasion.”
“There are some players who have already been playing in the National team and they get another chance, and there are some with a new opportunity and they should grab it and prove they are worthy of being in the National team,” Katenic was quoted saying.
