Indian Arrows: I-League Season Review And The Road Ahead

Indian Arrows is probably one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in its history. Indian Arrows, formerly AIFF XI, was founded in 2010. Consisting of U-21 Indian players taken from different clubs and state associations, the club began with the aim of nurturing young players by providing them top class coaching, proper training facilities and nutrition so that in five years time they would form the crux of the Indian National team when they play for 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. The club was set up to provide first team playing opportunities to the younger players which they generally lacked in any other club, and thus in the process also allowing them to gel together and know each other well which can be a big advantage in future. With big dreams to show for, Indian Arrows roped in former Philippines national coach Desmond Bulpin as the manager, an Englishman who has had successful stints with teams like Tottenham Hotspurs, Queens Park Rangers, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City and is known to have an eye for talent. Here is a review of the club’s debut season.

I-league Season 2010-2011: A Review

The team, for its first season was based in New Delhi with the Ambedkar Stadium being chosen as their home ground. Indian arrows wore Blue for their home games and White for their away games. The team got a direct entry to the I-League following the disbanding of Mahindra United.

1^st Half of the season

The 2010-2011 season of I-league started in the first week of December. The first season of the much talked about Indian Arrows team certainly did not have the most auspicious of starts. In their first match, they faced Chirag United in an away match. The lack of co-ordination amongst the players was evident and the defence was at its worst. In fact, the Arrows were lucky to have escaped with a 2-1 defeat.

In their first home game, they faced a struggling ONGC team. The Arrows came from 0-1 down to score and drew their first home game with the promising Jeje Lalpekhlua getting on the scoresheet. In the following matches lay the biggest test for the Indian Arrows team, to face Indian club giants East Bengal and Salgaocar in away matches. Not much was expected from them but their own lackluster performance was also to blame for the drubbing they received from the I-league giants as the scoreline read 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. However the young Arrows team did show some character and recovered in time to win their next two home games against Air India and HAL with an identical score of 2-1 in each.

The Indian Arrows team now seemed more lethal in their attacks and the team coordinated a lot better, especially the highly criticized defensive line began to work. The AIFF finally began smiling. However, the smile did not last too long as the worst was just around the corner. In their next match the Arrows faced the Churchill Brothers in an away match. Churchill striker Odafe wrecked havoc on the young defensive line up by finding the net 5 times, all by himself. Things could have been more embarrassing had it not been for Jagroop Singh’s work between the posts, who pulled off nearly half a dozen saves. The match ended with a score line of 0-6. From then on, the team went on a free fall with 2 losses and 3 draws in their next 6 matches.

Half of the season was over and it was time for some introspection. In the 13 matches played, the Indian Arrows had 3 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses. They had conceded 27 goals in 13 matches and now stood with a goal difference of -18. Coach Desmond Bulphin was under fire for his over reliance on long ball plays and not infusing creative football into the team. The lead striker Jeje was out of form, netting just once and the whole forward line of the team was making a habit of missing sitters. It wasn’t at all an impressive display after all the criticism the AIFF faced from the State Associations and Clubs for giving a direct entry to Indian Arrows into the I-league. The entire Project was in jeopardy.

2^nd half of the season:

Indian Arrows started their 2^nd half with a home game against Chirag United. Though the match ended in a goaless draw, there were a few positives one could draw from the match. Arrows had more scoring chances (though they missed them all ), their defence looked much better organized and their lead striker Jeje was looking in good nick and was giving the Chirag defense a tough time. In their next match they faced ONGC in an away match which ended in a 1-1 draw with Jeje finally finding the net. After that came East Bengal at home, a match which also ended in a 1-1 draw with defender Raju Gaikwad putting up a spirited performance thwarting the attempts of East Bengal strikers.

The Indian Arrows’ unbeaten home streak finally came to an end in the Round XVII match which they lost 1-2 to Churchill Brothers. The next match against Air India was probably the turn around match of the season for the team. After being 0-1 down, they came up to win the match 5-2 with Jeje netting 4 times and living upto his name of India’s hottest property. Arrows continued their good form by thrashing HAL 4-0 in their next away match. However the team went into a slump into the month of April losing three matches on a streak including an embarrassing 5-2 loss to defending champions Dempo.

However the inexperienced but brave players did not lose heart and perhaps reserved their best for the last match of the season against Mohun Bagan at home. Indian arrows pumped in 4 goals in the first 25 minutes of the game. The match ended with a scoreline of 5 – 4 with Jeje scoring a hat-trick and Shilton finding the net twice. The glow on Desmond Bulpin’s face said it all. The Arrows did finish off their season in style. In the second half of the season, one could see variety in the strategies of Bulpin and better rotation of players. Indian Arrows finished their season occupying 9^th place in the League.

The Future Ahead:

The I-league was meant for Professional Clubs – - for the Big Boys. The Indian Arrows consisted mainly of U-21 players with the average age of the team being around 19. Dissent was shown, eyebrows were raised when they were entered in the fray. Many predicted relegation especially with the inexperience in the team ranks and team being without any foreign recruits. But it seems the Arrows have proved everyone wrong.

Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League certainly feels so.

“I think the biggest gain has been the Indian Arrows. When the concept was floated by Praful Patel, there was a lot of reservation even among AIFF members. But we went ahead with the plan. The performance proves it was a successful experiment.”

Jeje: Find of the Season

Indian Arrows has given us a few stars of tomorrow namely Jeje Lalpekhlua (Striker), Shilton D’Silva (MF), Raju Gaikwad (Def ), Jagroop Singh (GK) to name a few. Jeje ended up as the topscorer amongst Indian strikers in the I-league with 12 goals to his name. Players who otherwise would have been bench-warming in some other club got starting berths. As for the next season, the club will be shifting its base to Kolkata. Pailan Group will take over the ownership of the Indian Arrows from the AIFF in compliance with AFC’s club licensing guidelines. However AIFF will continue to provide the team with necessary technical supports, including the search of new players. With a proper Youth Development Policy in place and initial success, the perfect start has been made. Now all one wants is the AIFF to stick to its project. As far as the qualifying in 2018 World cup is concerned well who knows? At least the foundation has been made.