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Nehru Cup: Are India Under Pressure?
As India prepare to take on Lebanon in the opening game of the Nehru Cup on Wednesday, Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal asks whether India are under pressure to play well and win the competition.....
19-Aug-2009 12:00:55 PM
Ask India coach Bob Houghton and he will say, “I don’t think there is
any kind of pressure on me or the players. When we prepare for the game
we don’t allow pressure to mount on us. But then anything can happen on
a given day and all we can do is give our best and play our best on a
given day.”
That's the usual stuff most coaches would say anyway to fend off pressure from the players and psychologically keep them intact and strong.
Yet there's no hiding from the fact that India are, indeed, under pressure to not only perform well in the Nehru Cup but to win the tournament as well.
And here's why.
First off, the teams in the competition are not of a very high standard. Of the five nations, only Syria are in the top 100 in FIFA rankings while Lebanon are 148, Sri Lanka are 156 and Kyrgyzstan are 160. India are ranked 156th in the world.
Will Lebanon Be A Hard Nut To Crack?
But there's no doubt that the Indian national team would be assumed to beat Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan as a difference of eight or nine ranks doesn't mean much under the current circumstances. Only Syria would be taken as a stronger force and perhaps losing to a top 100 team wouldn't be shameful act, although India did get the better of Syria in the final of the Nehru Cup two years ago.
Then there's the fact that India have just spent quite a lot of money and returned from a month-long tour of Barcelona where they used the training facilities and infrastructure of Spanish and European champions FC Barcelona.
Although this is not the first time that the Indian national team has trained abroad for a while before a major international competition, doubts remain on the long-term feasibility of this plan: perhaps constructing India's very own infrastructure would be more useful.
Can India Win The Nehru Cup This Year Too?
In any case, India's failure in the Nehru Cup would raise doubts on whether spending quite a lot of money and gong abroad for training actually helps the national side as much as it is supposed to.
Then there's the small matter of winning three international titles in three years. India won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and a Nehru Cup triumph this year would be as much delightful as encouraging.
Football in India is gaining massive popularity these days but it's mostly in the European football sector. For Indian football to replace or at least compete with foreign football in terms of popularity and following in the long run, the Indian national team needs to demonstrate its ability and it is competitions like the Nehru Cup that the 'Bhangra Boys' should excel in.
Will Sunil Chettri Be Missed?
Winning the Nehru Cup might not imply that India are ready to play in the World Cup and neither would it really show the progress of the team - beating the likes of Lebanon and Sri Lanka should be a walk in the park for any team.
But winning the Nehru Cup would give the Indian football following public something to cheer about and a reason to dream.
'And if you dream big, big things happen.'
Subhankar Mondal
That's the usual stuff most coaches would say anyway to fend off pressure from the players and psychologically keep them intact and strong.
Yet there's no hiding from the fact that India are, indeed, under pressure to not only perform well in the Nehru Cup but to win the tournament as well.
And here's why.
First off, the teams in the competition are not of a very high standard. Of the five nations, only Syria are in the top 100 in FIFA rankings while Lebanon are 148, Sri Lanka are 156 and Kyrgyzstan are 160. India are ranked 156th in the world.
Will Lebanon Be A Hard Nut To Crack?
But there's no doubt that the Indian national team would be assumed to beat Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan as a difference of eight or nine ranks doesn't mean much under the current circumstances. Only Syria would be taken as a stronger force and perhaps losing to a top 100 team wouldn't be shameful act, although India did get the better of Syria in the final of the Nehru Cup two years ago.
Then there's the fact that India have just spent quite a lot of money and returned from a month-long tour of Barcelona where they used the training facilities and infrastructure of Spanish and European champions FC Barcelona.
Although this is not the first time that the Indian national team has trained abroad for a while before a major international competition, doubts remain on the long-term feasibility of this plan: perhaps constructing India's very own infrastructure would be more useful.
Can India Win The Nehru Cup This Year Too?
In any case, India's failure in the Nehru Cup would raise doubts on whether spending quite a lot of money and gong abroad for training actually helps the national side as much as it is supposed to.
Then there's the small matter of winning three international titles in three years. India won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and a Nehru Cup triumph this year would be as much delightful as encouraging.
Football in India is gaining massive popularity these days but it's mostly in the European football sector. For Indian football to replace or at least compete with foreign football in terms of popularity and following in the long run, the Indian national team needs to demonstrate its ability and it is competitions like the Nehru Cup that the 'Bhangra Boys' should excel in.
Will Sunil Chettri Be Missed?
Winning the Nehru Cup might not imply that India are ready to play in the World Cup and neither would it really show the progress of the team - beating the likes of Lebanon and Sri Lanka should be a walk in the park for any team.
But winning the Nehru Cup would give the Indian football following public something to cheer about and a reason to dream.
'And if you dream big, big things happen.'
Subhankar Mondal
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