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Nehru Cup: Has Criticism Of India's Performance Been Harsh?
In the wake of India's demoralizing defeat to Lebanon on the opening day of the Nehru Cup, the Indian media came down harshly on coach Bob Houghton and his boys. Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal now asks whether such criticism was justified.....
21-Aug-2009 12:10:43 PM
If you haven't been living under a rock for the past couple of days,
then you would have observed how the Indian mainstream media came down
harshly on the Indian national team after they lost 1-0 to Lebanon in
the opening match of the Nehru Cup on Wednesday.
The Times of India moaned about the lack of penetration, the Kolkata Telegraph lamented the lack of extra grit upfront,the Indian Express illustrated the crumbling down of hopes and expectations in a rhetoric tone while The Statesman blasted coach coach Bob Houghton and labeled him as a "cropper".
The frustration of these newspapers, especially those from West Bengal, is understandable. After all, after last year's AFC Challenge Cup triumph that bought India a ticket to the Asian Cup in 2011, there was every reason for the Indian football fans to be optimistic about their national team's progress.
Also, India were playing a Lebanon side that are ranked 148th in the world and were playing them at home. So defeating them wouldn't (and perhaps shouldn't) really be difficult.
For the 156th rank India to progress and 'take the leap', it is imperative that they win against sides that are ranked higher than them. Progress comes when you start winning against sides better than you.
India had gone to Dubai and Barcelona ahead of the Nehru Cup to prepare themselves for the competition and having spent a good amount of money on these tours people did expect them to win. Which they didn't, in the first match anyway.
Wasn't That A Foul?
If India had dominated the match, hit the frame of the goal four or five times and got a man wrongly sent off, their defeat could still have been justified. But India didn't dominate the match, didn't hit the frame of the goal four or five times and didn't get a man wrongly sent off.
India were featuring in an international competition after one year and expectations were huge. Therefore, the opening day defeat is something that didn't go down well among those who retain the unbreakable faith in India one day establishing themselves as an elite footballing nation.
For that day to dawn, the groundwork has to be done and the platform (for now) should be the Nehru Cup. But losing to the Lebanese is going to make that platform look unreliable.
Yet, for all the criticisms thrown at India one has to remember that this is India, a nation more mad about the Premier League than the I-League, a nation ranked 156th in the world, a nation that has cricket and not football encrypted into its DNA.
True, India didn't win and this columnist believes that they should have done better than they did and should have won, but was their performance really that bad?
If you look at India's performance through the eye of a Premier League or Spanish football maniac, then yes, it was really that bad. But before you get carried away, remember that Indian football is not on the same level as the Premier League or the Spanish Primera Division, and to enjoy Indian football and to understand it you have to remove yourself from that 'European mindset' and take Indian football as it is, in its own context.
Bob Needs To Re-think His Strategies
True, Lebanon are not 'South Korea, Japan, Brazil or Italy' and a defeat to the Lebanese will resurface doubts on India's footballing credentials, but to dismiss India's performance against Lebanon would be naive. Lebanon deserved the victory, looked the more confident and compact side, played a more passing game and India did get caught out on a number of areas but India weren't at their worst or were as desultory as some critics have suggested.
After India conceded the goal, they did recover some of their rhythm and looked dangerous at times, especially towards the end of the first half. That their attack lacked the necessary venom is another story but the fact is that India's performance, although not impressive, wasn't the worst you could have imagined and was certainly not as bad as some would suggest.
No, this is not to suggest that coach Bob Houghton can eclipse his side's faults by covering them with the bushy excuse of 'heavy grass'. Admitted, ground conditions were not the most ideal but Lebanon played a passing football and executed some good moves and as far as this columnist could see, they were playing pretty much on the same pitch as India were.
To lose hope at this stage would be premature. There are three more matches left for India to salvage their pride and progress to the final and if they need any inspiration, then they might reminiscence how they started the AFC Challenge Cup slowly but still won it.
Subhankar Mondal
The Times of India moaned about the lack of penetration, the Kolkata Telegraph lamented the lack of extra grit upfront,the Indian Express illustrated the crumbling down of hopes and expectations in a rhetoric tone while The Statesman blasted coach coach Bob Houghton and labeled him as a "cropper".
The frustration of these newspapers, especially those from West Bengal, is understandable. After all, after last year's AFC Challenge Cup triumph that bought India a ticket to the Asian Cup in 2011, there was every reason for the Indian football fans to be optimistic about their national team's progress.
Also, India were playing a Lebanon side that are ranked 148th in the world and were playing them at home. So defeating them wouldn't (and perhaps shouldn't) really be difficult.
For the 156th rank India to progress and 'take the leap', it is imperative that they win against sides that are ranked higher than them. Progress comes when you start winning against sides better than you.
India had gone to Dubai and Barcelona ahead of the Nehru Cup to prepare themselves for the competition and having spent a good amount of money on these tours people did expect them to win. Which they didn't, in the first match anyway.
Wasn't That A Foul?
If India had dominated the match, hit the frame of the goal four or five times and got a man wrongly sent off, their defeat could still have been justified. But India didn't dominate the match, didn't hit the frame of the goal four or five times and didn't get a man wrongly sent off.
India were featuring in an international competition after one year and expectations were huge. Therefore, the opening day defeat is something that didn't go down well among those who retain the unbreakable faith in India one day establishing themselves as an elite footballing nation.
For that day to dawn, the groundwork has to be done and the platform (for now) should be the Nehru Cup. But losing to the Lebanese is going to make that platform look unreliable.
Yet, for all the criticisms thrown at India one has to remember that this is India, a nation more mad about the Premier League than the I-League, a nation ranked 156th in the world, a nation that has cricket and not football encrypted into its DNA.
True, India didn't win and this columnist believes that they should have done better than they did and should have won, but was their performance really that bad?
If you look at India's performance through the eye of a Premier League or Spanish football maniac, then yes, it was really that bad. But before you get carried away, remember that Indian football is not on the same level as the Premier League or the Spanish Primera Division, and to enjoy Indian football and to understand it you have to remove yourself from that 'European mindset' and take Indian football as it is, in its own context.
Bob Needs To Re-think His Strategies
True, Lebanon are not 'South Korea, Japan, Brazil or Italy' and a defeat to the Lebanese will resurface doubts on India's footballing credentials, but to dismiss India's performance against Lebanon would be naive. Lebanon deserved the victory, looked the more confident and compact side, played a more passing game and India did get caught out on a number of areas but India weren't at their worst or were as desultory as some critics have suggested.
After India conceded the goal, they did recover some of their rhythm and looked dangerous at times, especially towards the end of the first half. That their attack lacked the necessary venom is another story but the fact is that India's performance, although not impressive, wasn't the worst you could have imagined and was certainly not as bad as some would suggest.
No, this is not to suggest that coach Bob Houghton can eclipse his side's faults by covering them with the bushy excuse of 'heavy grass'. Admitted, ground conditions were not the most ideal but Lebanon played a passing football and executed some good moves and as far as this columnist could see, they were playing pretty much on the same pitch as India were.
To lose hope at this stage would be premature. There are three more matches left for India to salvage their pride and progress to the final and if they need any inspiration, then they might reminiscence how they started the AFC Challenge Cup slowly but still won it.
Subhankar Mondal
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