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Starting this week, the eyes of Asian football followers will turn to the AFC Asian Cup. The tournament will see the finest teams from Asia competing against each other in the United Arab Emirates.
The tournament will be a historic occasion for Indian football as the national team participates in the competition for only the fourth time in history and only the second time in the last 38 years. The 2019 event is also the first time, India directly qualified for the event.
The significance of the tournament for the sport in the country cannot be understated. It is paramount for a country like India to involve themselves against the Asian elite. To grow and rise as a team, India needs to come up against the best teams around.
Playing against them is what will help the Blue Tigers track their progress. If India one day want to play in the World Cup, it has to be one of the best in Asia. For that to happen, qualifying and participating in the Asian Cup is the bare minimum.
Moreover, it provides the team and player with the best possible platform. It is a tournament which will generate eyeballs and viewership for everyone to make a mark. The whole country's attention will be on the team and a successful outing could change the landmark of the game in the country forever.
If the men in blue can create a positive inspiration, it could inspire a generation to take up the sport. Not to forget new revenue could open up through sponsorships and other mediums for the federation and players if the players become household names. With scouts from all over the world watching, the players could learn a chance to play club football abroad too.
India's preparation good enough?
It is no rocket science to believe that coming into a tournament like this that preparation is key. One wonders whether India's lead up the competition is ideal. Since June, India have only played three matches.
Out of which, the game against Jordan was hard of any use as half the team could not reach in time due to bad weather. The other two games saw India play out 0-0 draws against China and Oman. While India play in the SAFF Cup, it is worth remembering, India sent a younger side into the competition while resting most senior players.
The results in those games were promising but the big question is are only three games enough. In comparison, India's first opponents Thailand played nine matches in the same including the AFF Championship.
Moving on hosts UAE who are also in India's group have played eight games in this time period. Even Bahrain, India's last group opponents played eight matches in the same period.
Taking a look at the finest teams in Asia paints a similar picture. South Korea have played seven international friendlies in the period. Saudi Arabia played six games while Australia participated in four matches. Despite featuring in the World Cup, these teams played more games leading up the Asia Cup than India.
Quite clearly, India is going underprepared into the tournament. Coach Stephen Constantine faces a lot of heat from fans over his tactics and team selection. It is hard to deny that some of the manager's decision is indeed hard to justify.
However, due to lack of the matches, he has barely had the opportunity to try something different. With the national team playing so few games, there was barely team to experiment new tactics or field new players.
While it is difficult to know whether the coach would have tried anything different, having more games would have allowed the team to build chemistry with each other on the pitch.
This tournament is a golden moment for Indian football. The team has come leaps and bounds in the last few years. Such is luck of the draw that the possibility of India making to the knockouts is not an impossible one.
However, the preparation leaves a lot to desire. AIFF has a lot of questions to answer on the scheduling and fixture list of the Indian team. Not having the best possible preparation for a tournament of this magnitude is unforgivable. One can just hope that the lack of games together does not come to hurt Sunil Chetri & Co.
