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Sportskeeda continues this series by looking back at India’s performance in the 1998 edition.
Goalkeepers: Hemanta Dora (Mohun Bagan AC), Juje Siddi (Salgaocar SC), Feroze Sheriff (State Bank of Travancore).
Defenders: Franky Barreto (East Bengal Club), Roberto Fernandes (Salgaocar SC), Jiju Jacob (Sate Bank of Travancore), K.V. Dhanesh (FC Kochin), Anit Kumar Ghosh (East Bengal Club).
Midfielders: Jo Paul Ancheri (Mohun Bagan AC), Carlton Chapman (East Bengal Club), Debjit Ghosh (Mohun Bagan AC), Shamshi Reza (Mahindra&Mahindra SC), Basudeb Mondal (East Bengal Club), Shanmugam Venkatesh (Salgaocar SC), Tushar Rakshit (East Bengal Club).
Forwards: IM Vijayan (Mohun Bagan AC - CAPTAIN), Syed Shabir Pasha (Indian Bank, Tamil Nadu), Bhaichung Bhutia (East Bengal Club), Raman Vijayan (East Bengal Club), Abdul Khalique (Bengal Mumbai FC).
Coach: Syed Nayeemuddin (Bengal); Assistant Coach: Gabriel Joseph (Kerala); Manager: Chuni Goswami (Bengal); Physiotherapist: Dipti Kumar Ghosh (Bengal).
Overview
India made their return to the Asian Games football tournament in 1998 after not being cleared by the government to participate in the 1990 and 1994 editions due to consistent poor performances at international level. Syed Nayeemuddin, India’s captain when they last won a medal in 1970 in Bangkok, was the head coach and had a talented group of players with Bangkok being the hosts again. The 1998 edition had two rounds of group stages and in the first round India were drawn alongside Japan and Nepal with the top two progressing to next round.
Nayeemuddin’s side put up a fighting display in the opener against Japan and only lost 1-0. They were favourites in the next game against neighbours Nepal but only won 1-0 thanks to a strike from Carlton Chapman early in the second period. In round 2, India were put in the same group as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and North Korea with the top two progressing to the quarters.
India’s first opponents were Turkmenistan and they went down 3-2 with goals from IM Vijayan and Tushar Rakshit not enough to get anything from the game. India didn’t have much of a chance against the likes of Uzbekistan and North Korea so it was no surprise to see them lose both games. They were beaten 2-0 in both those matches and made another early exit from the competition. The performances though were respectable and the results could have been better if the team had been given better preparation leading up to the tournament.
Novy Kapadia’s Insight
Lack of adequate match practice prevented India from doing even better at the 1998 Asian Games. National Coach Syed Nayeemuddin had been appointed in March 1997 but till November 1998 the national team got little exposure. India only played two practice matches with Uzbekistan at Delhi and had a month-long camp.
Still the team had many talented players including Bhaichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri, midfield dynamo S. Venkatesh, Tushar Rakshi, a crafty playmaker, brilliant overlapping right back Roberto Fernadez, who received a lot of praise from foreign coaches at the Asian games, Franky Baretto and Debjit Ghosh.
The team played brilliantly on a rain-soaked ground against Japan in their opening match and narrowly lost 0-1. Japan had some players who had represented their country in the 1998 World Cup and their coach Philippe Troussier complimented both Nayeem and his team for their excellent performance.
However problems started after this match. Nayeem felt that Bhaichung did not have the right studs for a slippery surface and made no efforts to buy them. The tension between the national coach and the star striker started before the Asian Games when Nayeem sacked Baichuing’s friend and dashing midfielder Somitai Shaiza for indiscipline. This tension affected the performance of the national team at the 1998 Asian games.
In the second round group stage, India matched Turkmenistan in their opening match but narrowly lost 2-3. The forwards were then lacklustre and India lost both their remaining fixtures to Uzbekistan and North Korea but played gallantly and were not outclassed.
Results:
Round 1
Group C
December 3 1998: India 0-1 Japan
December 5 1998: India 1-0 Nepal
Indian scorer: Carlton Chapman
Round 2
Group 1
December 7 1998: India 2-3 Turkmenistan
Indian scorers: IM Vijayan, Tushar Rakshit
December 9 1998: India 0-2 Uzbekistan
December 11 1998: India 0-2 North Korea
Final position: Eliminated from second round group stage
