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Indian won the inaugural Intercontinental Cup by beating Kenya 2-0 in the finals in Mumbai. It was a near perfect tournament for India during the international break, and the Blue Tigers have made full use of it barring the defeat to New Zealand.
India needed a series of friendlies during the International break. As the Asian Cup draws closer, the Blue Tigers need to have as much match practice as they can get, and the Intercontinental Cup provided just the platform.
Playing teams like Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei helped India assess itself with teams from different continents, before taking part in the Continental Tie in UAE.
In this piece, we take a look at 5 Things that India gained from the Intercontinental Cup keeping in mind the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
#5 Blue Pilgrims
The Blue Pilgrims actually were formed during the FIFA U17 WC that was hosted in India, to support the U17 team, who were representing the country for the first time in a FIFA event. It was the Intercontinental Cup though that showcased what a bunch of passionate fans can do to uplift the team from the stands.
The best part of the fan movement is that fans have kept aside their club rivalries at bay and united under the banner of Blue Pilgrims. The fans movement has participation from all major clubs of India, including East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC, Mumbai FC, FC Pune City, and North East United FC.
They performed the famous Viking clap after every game, irrespective of the result, and also put up a beautiful 3D Tifo during the finals. There constant chanting and singing were an added boost for the players on the pitch, and that really reflected on the pitch.
Even though Captain Sunil Chhetri shared a video on Social Media pleading fans to come to the stadium, the Blue Pilgrims though were present in the stands from day one.
If the Blue Pilgrims can maintain the support they have showcased in Mumbai, India will have no dearth of a12th man in the AFC Asian Cup in UAE.
#4 Fusion of Long Ball and Short Passing
Stephen Constantine is often criticised as a coach who plays Long Balls only and has no plan B. Well anyone who has witnessed the Intercontinental Cup will surely say that Stephen has changed a few things in the way India play on the pitch.
Aimless long balls, changed to pinpoint long balls, and instead of launching balls forward at all instances, India looked to play from the back, and use the central Midfielders, and wingers more often. The midfielders too looked to keep the ball and not play wayward passes. India also stressed the importance of mixing long balls and short passing into their game and utilised both these aspects very well depending on the situation.
Except for the New Zealand game, Stephen got his tactics spot on in all the other games.
#3 The rise of Subhasish Bose in defence
Subhasish Bose has all but finalised his spot in defence, so much so that he is the only defender that started all the games for India in the Intercontinental Cup. Before the start of the tournament very few people thought that Subhasish would start, given that players like Jerry, Lalruatthara, and Narayan Das were in the squad, but the defender from West Bengal owned the left back position, and also played the New Zealand game as a Centre Back.
His versatility is what has earned him a starting eleven spot in the national. He is capable of playing as a left back or a Centre Back, and can even double up as a winger if required.
The way he manned the left side of defence in the Intercontinental Cup is worthy of praise, and he deserves credit for the way he helped out Halicharan Narzary in the attack.
#2 Assured performance from the Holy Trinity (Jeje, Chhetri, and Udanta)
If you ask anyone in India who follows Indian football even vaguely to name the best three players in India they would name Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, and Udanta Singh as the top three players. India has relied heavily on the individual brilliance of these three players in recent times and will look to rely on them for some more time. Udanta especially, has stood up to the occasion and has been performing brilliantly for the last 12 months or so. The three of them had a big role in ensuring that India qualified for the Asian Cup, and they would have a big role to play if India is to do something respectable in the tournament.
While Sunil Chhetri is like a fine bottle of wine which just keeps getting better with age, Udanta and Jeje have matured immensely in the past few months, and it showed in their game during the intercontinental cup. Both of them were instrumental in helping Chhetri score seven goals in the tournament, something which the skipper couldn’t have managed to achieve if he didn’t have the usual suspects by his side.
The three of them have assured the nation, that come what may, if the three of them can maintain their form during the Asian Cup, then the nation would still have a slim chance to hope for the impossible.
#1 Anirudh Thapa and Pronoy Halder: A breath of fresh air, in an otherwise stale central midfield
As the Intercontinental Cup neared its inception, pundits and critics alike all got into the game of predicting how India would line up in the tournament, one thing that almost all of them predicted was that India would continue to field the duo of Rowlin Borges and Md. Rafique in midfield, and that in itself spelled doom for the team, at least in the minds of the fans, who have been frustrated at the duo (Rowlin and Rafique), for not performing up to their potential in recent games.
What the nation witnessed in the inaugural game, was that India lined up with a new central midfield partnership, one that saw the young and agile Anirudh Thapa, someone who is rated highly in the upper echelons of Indian football, partner Pronoy Halder who was making a comeback into the national team after a long injury layoff. The partnership worked wonders right from the word go, as Pronoy acted as the perfect defensive screen in midfield, something that is vital to Stephen’s plans, and Anirudh acting as the box to box midfielder, who also donned the hat of playmaker at times.
While the fans have been screaming for Thapa’s inclusion into the team for a long time now, there was an air of doubt regarding Pronoy's selection.
There were many questions asked as to why Pronoy Halder, was included into the squad given that he had just returned from an injury layoff, but Pronoy answered all his critics in style as he curled one in from 25 yards out that too from an acute angle, in the first game to silence all his critics. Pronoy’s big physical presence in the middle of the park was a big boost for India, which helped them overcome physical teams like Kenya not once but twice.
The Fans and critics have a smile on their faces as the new midfield pairing is showing a lot of promise, especially as the Asian Cup is just around the corner.
How do you feel about India's big win? Let us know in the comments below!
