Indian National Team: India Needs Strong I-League - Bob Houghton

When you know your target, it is not easy to keep your eyes off it even if it is quite a bit far off. Something similar happened on the eve of the Indian team's departure for their two month training tour of Portugal. Coach Bob Houghton sure had a lot on his mind but the buck kept stopping again and again on why the Indian footballers were making this preparatory trip - the Asia Cup in January.  

India have been placed in the toughest possible group for that tournament alongwith Australia, South Korea and Bahrain. The first two have just finished participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and are the top two ranked teams in Asia, while Bahrain are also amongst top ten as well. It is quite possible that these three teams are looking at their Indian opponents as easy meat, for whom this is nothing less than a Group of Death. Houghton though is not in the mood to give up without a fight.  

"We can easily say, oh well we are in a very tough group and keep going on the way we do, or we can try and fight, and give our best whatever be the result. That is precisely what we are going to do and thanks to the AIFF, we have been able to get together this preparatory camp in Portugal. It is a very systematic way of preparing for a big tournament as our aim is to keep the players together as a unit for as long as possible for the Asia Cup. It will surely help them during the tournament. The same idea will be implemented at the junior levels as well, keeping players together for as long as possible and it will pave the way for a better future hopefully. Asia Cup and the World Cup are two tournaments any team wants to be a part of and we have qualified for the fomer which is a good start. We intend to pave the way for qualifying for a World Cup for which the basic still is to have a very strong national league." 

With talk turning towards the big tournament, the mood again returned to the 'targets' India will be facing in their Asia Cup campaign. "It is interesting to watch your oppenents in a big tournament such as the World Cup", said Houghton. "I watched Australia play twice and South Korea once in Africa. Australia will change quite a bit by January, so I don't think it was of any benefit watching them now. Many of their players are on the verge of retirement, more so because they play in the English Premier League. So there is bound to be a clash of interests and quite a changed team might face us in January. In that sense watching Korea could prove useful as their coach has been in charge for a long time now and not much has changed for them in terms of playing strategy. Overall the Asian countries have done quite well in the World Cup, probably with the exception of North Korea but their big achievement was that they could qualify in the first place. That is something Indian football can take heart from!" 

Of the 30 players seclected for the tri, 28 have accompanied Houghton to Portugal. The two missing are Gouramangi Singh and Sunil Chhetri. While Gouramangi will be joining the squad enroute to Portugal, Chhetri is busy playing in the USA and will only join with the Indian team later in the year after the MLS season nears its end. That should be enough practice for the young striker as facilities in Kansas will not derpive him of the experience his mates will have training in Europe. "It is sad that we have to go out of the country in search of better facilities to prepare for a tournament of such magnitude. Along with young talent development and strong domestic leagues, decent facilities are another requisite for making a World Cup qualification bid", feels the Indian coach.  

The other thing football coaches are talking about round the world, beyond World Cup matches and qualification rules, is the heated subject of using technology in modern-day football. Let’s face it, there have been a couple of real howlers made in this tournament and it doesn’t make FIFA looks so good, besides costing teams highly. Just like the Capellos and Maradonas out there, the Indian coach has his point of view to offer as well and why not? Are the stakes any less for Indian football?

“There is no arguing with goal-line technology, is there? I mean it is a given, there should be no debate on that. It doesn’t interfere with game play or wastes any time and people straight away know whether the goal was scored or not. It is the introduction of off-side rule technology that is of some concern. Imagine if Tevez is offside, you stop the game all right. But what if he is not, do you give him a goal? That’s highly debatable but there should be no delay in getting the goal line technology in”, said Houghton.

Soon it was time to leave and prepare for the long camp ahead. ‘Just one question’ came the voice and it asked: “will you be honouring your contract with the AIFF till 2013 for sure?” To which Bob Houghton replied: “It is a very improbable thing to say. Fabio Capello signed a contract extension right before the World Cup and post their exit, has almost lost his job. That’s two months and that is how quickly your luck can change in this game. We coaches should never look beyond the next big tournament.”

As if it wasn’t already, the Asia Cup in January has become an even bigger challenge for Indian football!

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