2012: A year of Renaissance for the game in India

The year 2012 has been very productive for the game of Football in India. There has always been a craze for the game in India, but this craze is restricted only to a creamy layer of urban population who seem only to be interested in the happenings of the European Football Leagues. Thus, this creates a void for the development of Indian Football, which is still struggling for establishment of its fan following in its own home land.

A very important fact highlighted by ex Indian football captain and veteran Baichung Bhutia in an interview was that, the number of football leagues in India, outnumbers the number of domestic cricket leagues in the country. Thus, the game has its root in India, so the only thing it seeks is the support of the people.

The year 2012 has been a renaissance year for Indian Football. Not only many international starts landed in the Indian mainland, but also many Indians made it to the international circuit. Apart from these, we have this new Dutch coach for the National Team, Wim Kovermans, who in his very first tournament made a miracle happen, as India retained their third successive Nehru Cup beating world number 58 Cameroon comprehensively, a team that was 110 ranks ahead of us in the International chart. The Durand Cup, world’s second oldest football tournament and Asia’s oldest, completed its 125^th year of existence. But let us have a brief look at some of the major happenings of the year here.

The year 2012 would be considered a red letter year for Indian Football, as legend Baichung Bhutia bid adieu to international football. Bhutia, a soul devoted to Indian football, played his farewell match against German giants and current Champion’s League runners up, Bayern Munich.

Though India was thrashed 4-0 in the encounter, yet the presence of 35000-odd spectators in the stand made it look like an iconic farewell to the poster boy of Indian football. The contributions of Bhutia to the game can be well understood by that fact that he was the first Asian to score a goal in any European League.

To talk of the international stars landing on Indian soil, the current czar of football, Lionel Messi, gave the Indian fans a glimpse of his brilliance when he played in an International friendly between Argentina and Venezuela in Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata. Again the fans of Delhi were also not left far behind, as the star player of Chelsea, Didier Drogba showed up for an event in the capital. And with talks of Luis Figo making it to Goa by the year end, the list of stars might get even longer.

These have been the talks of International stars in India; now let us have a brief look at what Indians have done at the International level. The name that tops the list of Indians making name abroad is, of course, of Indian captain Sunil Chhetri who made it to the news headlines when he was selected for Portuguese club, Spoting Clube de Portugal.

Though, he has only played for the B team as of yet, but with a goal in the very first match for team, the Indian captain has surely caught the eye of the team selectors.

Following the legacy of Chhetri, we have Gurpreet Singh Sandhu making it to the trials of EPL side Wigan Athletic. The East Bengal and Indian Junior team goal keeper was able to impress English Goalkeeper John ‘Budgie’ Burridge, who saw him at a Team India training camp in Dubai. He believed that Gurpreet had the talent and the physique to be a premiership goalkeeper and has since been in contact. It is to note that Budgie was the man who ‘discovered’ Oman international goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, who has played for Bolton Wanderers and is now with Wigan Athletic.

Another Indian footballer in the fray is Mehtab Hossain. This East Bengal and Indian Senior Team mid field dynamo have been to the trials of English club Exeter City, which is based in Exeter, Devon, England. It is reported that Scottish striker Alan Gow, who briefly played for East Bengal, and was Mehtab’s teammate, was greatly impressed by his talent. And he arranged the trial for this promising player.

Mohtab Hossain

Thus, this year there has been many important developments in the arena of football in the country. Additionally, international clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United have launched many ventures in India, to find and nurture football talents of the country at the grass root level. Also, the European Football marketing giant, Soccerex, eyes India as a major football market, and the fact is quite clear as they had a special session on India in their annual convocation this year.

Indian Delegation Soccerex

Further, at the local level, numerous new football leagues turned up, particularly in the North Eastern part of the country. The first to initiate was the state of Nagaland, with its inagural Nagaland Premier League.

They started with a very professional approach to football which made the league an immense success, and further inspired the neighboring states, like Mizoram, who invested 1.25 core in their own Mizoram Premier League.

Again we have Bollywood king, and IPL Team owner Shahrukh Khan, taking interest in I League teams, while Pepsi initiated a change the game concept. A revolution seems to have struck the game in India.

On the media coverage of the game, though the mainstream media is yet to give importance to the game, over the last few months, many online portals have come up in support of the game. Also many international football sites have launched their Indian pages recently, which would really be helpful in giving the game a boost in the country. Football in India surely seems to have a very promising future ahead, only if circumstances remain the same or get better.