This was supposed to be the year. This was supposed to be the team. And he was supposed to be the man who led them to the promise land. For Nicolai Adam, the FIFA World Cup was supposed to the tournament that would go on to become the highlight of his already impressive CV.
But Alas! It was not to be.
For India and its footballing landscape, the year 2017 holds a lot of significance. The beautiful game is finally landing at the heart of the country of more than a billion.
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The whole nation is all set to welcome the world of football later this year when we host the FIFA U17 World Cup. The landmark event is without a doubt the biggest single footballing event the country has ever hosted. And when the Prime Minister also includes football in his address to the nation, you can very well gauge its importance.
The country of a billion has somehow failed to be captivated by the beautiful game. In these parts, cricket is what runs through the veins. But in recent years, football has taken serious strides towards carving a niche in the hearts of the common Indian sports fan. The Indian Super League has added the much-needed masala. And hot on the heels of the tournament came the FIFA U17 World Cup – something that promised to change the whole landscape of the nation.
However, true to our taste in cinemas the country and the junior national team has been able to stir up the imagination pot at the last moment. A player revolt means that Nicolai Adam is already gone packing and the team, who have been focussing on this one singular event for the last two years are headless and possibly directionless as well.
A look back
Just like in the sets of the famous Addams family, there seems to be a sense of macabre in the air of Indian football scene. Months ahead of the all-important event. There is no one to lead the young colts. But it wasn’t always this way.
When the German took over the reins of the youngsters back in early 2015, the move was lauded from all corners. And why wouldn’t it be?
Adam seemed like the perfect fit. A former International Football Development Advisor of the German Football Association (DFB), the German had already worked his magic at Azerbaijan.
After managing the U16 and U17 sides, Adam took over the U19 set up and led them to the Elite Group of UEFA. A task easier said than done.
Thus, Adam fit like a glove. A great man in search of a great challenge. And what better than to prepare the Indian U17 team for the World Cup with more than two years to get the act together.
Mr. Kushal Das, the then General Secretary, All India Football Federation, had great hopes from the appointment.
“We are pleased to have him on board. He comes with great credentials and recommendations and his experience, I hope will help us immensely to field a competitive Team for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup,” Das had said upon the appointment.
An approach that looked promising
Adam, on the media front, said all the right things and on the field seemed to be well aware what he was doing. He was well aware of the challenge ahead and had quickly realised that India's size would be both a “challenge and a chance”. The task was a huge one. India had never been tested on the world stage.
The last time, they had played on the continental stage was the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. A tournament that only showed how much behind India the rest of Asia. The refinement both in terms of tactics as well as the technique would have had to be on an empirical scale.
Whilst, it would be foolhardy for anyone in the country to expect the young Indian to match the pedigree of the much advanced footballing nations, all eyes would surely be glued to their adventures; the whole nation looking for a fight and a show of dignity.
Adam, as well as the AIFF, left no stone unturned in order to groom the group of youngsters who were all set to take on the World.
They were given all the facilities needed to train them mentally, physically as well as in training. Exposure trips combined with gruelling training sessions were put in place to tap in the potential of the youngsters. Be it South Africa, Germany, Russia or Brazil, the Indian team were a family that learnt to play together, learn together and in time hopefully win together.
Beginning of the end
The first big test that Indian faced last year was the AFC U16 Championships, which again they hosted. They had already wetted the appetite with their performances in the Qualifiers where they beat Bahrain 5-0 and Jordan 6-0. Their only loss came against Iran, although the final scoreline of 3-0 flattered to deceive.
And then came the big event in September last year. And for a week, there was hope.
Whist the young Colts failed to make it past the group stage, their showing was one of promise. Heartfelt performances against the UAE and Saudi Arabia didn’t score many points on the table. However, they certainly did tick the boxes in the parched hearts of the Indian football fanatic.
They played their hearts out as names like Boris Singh, Komal Thatal and Aniket Jadhav made the front as well as back pages. There was a reason to dream.
Four months on all that has come crashing down.
A Donald Trump-esque moment
When the news initial news about Adam’s sacking came pouring through, it was as shocking as finding Donald Trump leading the race to become the next President of the Unite States on a wintery morning.
And amidst all the confusion, no one was willing to speak. Many thought it was due to India’s abysmal showing in Russia in recent times. But the real issue lied a lot deeper.
The AIFF did make things clear with a release the very day to state that Adam had not been sacked. But as days went by, that was the only solution to a problem that nobody had foreseen. It was not before that the Ministry of Sports had got into the matter as well as the climax headed for an ugly ending
For the footballing fraternity in India, this was another facepalm. What appeared to be a single harmonious unit, was never so behind the scenes.
Indian footballing scene had never seen a revolt of this sort. A letter signed by 21 of the youngsters in the squad had been filed against Adam for unruly behaviour.
The misconducts included racial abuses and terrorising the players by physical abuse by Adam and assistant coach Etibar Nizami Ibrahimov.
The situation was so grave that the decision to part with Adam came without calling an Emergency Committee meeting.
What now?
And now India are back to square one. All the good work done (at least on the pitch) has been undone by a coach who was overzealous in his pursuit of glory. The kids have to be lauded for having the courage to come out and speak up.
In the end, it’s India’s pride at stake and what is India without its people, which include the player in the U17 camp. The brutal experiences that they had to endure are surely not one to be found in the modern era of coaching.
India needs to reform. The kids need a new direction. And above all, they need us in this hour.
