|
|
The Indian Dream: Meet The Man Who Shall Mould The Future Of Indian Youngsters - Desmond Bulpin
He is the man...
02-Aug-2010 12:54:00 PM
By Rahul Bali
It’s no secret that the only way Indian football can move forward is by qualifying for the World Cup. And for that to actualize, the ground work has to be started. The field must be ploughed, the seeds are to be sowed and thereafter, the sapling must be exposed to adequate sunlight, provided water supply for it to mature and thereby, be ready at last.
To do this dirty work, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has called upon an expert by the name of Desmond Bulpin upon the recommendation of Indian national team coach Bob Houghton to develop a young pack that shall form the future of the country.
Working with youngsters is not new to this Brit as he has spent close to 30 years of his career on this. Amongst his famous protégés is current England international Peter Crouch.
Bulpin Trained Crouch, Not The Robot Dance Though!
Having had 18 jobs before landing in India, his experience ranges from working at Bristol City academy to Bristol Rovers where he had former England international Nigel Martyn as a student. QPR, Tottenham, Stockport County, Leicester City. Plymouth Argyle and Singapore’s Tampines Rovers are some of the names on his CV with his last job being that of a national team coach of Philippines who are ranked 167 in the latest FIFA rankings.
Probably this explains why Houghton chose him to lead the AIFF XI side, doesn’t it? But there’s more to it as Bulpin has worked with the former national coach of Uzbekistan.
“I did my coaching ‘A’ license under Bob Houghton way back in the early 1980s when he was at Bristol City. I was the Uzbekistan U-17 coach when he came there as the head coach of the Uzbek national side,” recalls the Englishman.
And he isn’t new to Indian football having already watched an I-League match and seen the Indian Colts in action.
“I did come to India about 12 months ago when I watched Churchill Brothers win their first I-League title. I also saw Colin Toal’s team in Manchester,” he mentions.
But despite having a career to envy, why on earth did he chose to come to India, a country ranked 132 in the world which is by no means impressive to say the least.
“India as a country has massive potential and has got the talent. With the right infrastructure which will take time, India can be one of the biggest forces in Asia.
You're The Reason I'm Here!
“The second reason being that Bob Houghton is an outstanding coach and even though I’m 60 but I’m stilling willing to learn. The opportunity to work closely with Colin Toal, who I think is a very good coach, is great.
“Bob, Colin and I think the same way about the game and agree on the same principles which is why it is great to work together,” explains Bulpin.
‘The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him’ says Bible and the same patience spoken about is perhaps, Bulpin’s greatest virtue as working with youngsters can be exciting and frustrating at the same time.
“The idea is to develop the youngsters and not about winning games,” utters Bulpin, something which Colin Toal has been seen speaking about almost every day which only highlights that the trio are on the same page.
This Is Me: Des Bulpin
His initial impression about the AIFF XI boys has been good and he is well aware of the purpose why the team was formed.
“Their attitude has been good. Hopefully, I can push them on so that for the 2018 World Cup qualification which begins in the year 2015, some of these boys will be 25 and join Bob. Thereafter, we pick more boys.
“Responsibility is part of every job and as far as I know, I can develop and help improve them. How many will progress and how many won’t make it to Bob’s team? I can’t really put a figure to it.
“Hopefully, most of them should and if they don’t, then they can join the I-League clubs which means that the benefits are twofold,” Bulpin justifies.
With Aamir Khan propagating Indian tourism ministry’s slogan of ‘Guest is God’, we ask Bulpin how India has treated him.
“I admire Indians. They work really hard. When I came to Goa, I was received very well. The AIFF welcomed me nicely,” notifies Bulpin.
He wasn’t joking guys, he knows the ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ (Read: Oscar Wilde)!
To do this dirty work, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has called upon an expert by the name of Desmond Bulpin upon the recommendation of Indian national team coach Bob Houghton to develop a young pack that shall form the future of the country.
Working with youngsters is not new to this Brit as he has spent close to 30 years of his career on this. Amongst his famous protégés is current England international Peter Crouch.
Bulpin Trained Crouch, Not The Robot Dance Though!
“I had Crouch at Queens Park Rangers (QPR) when he was 11 and when I went to Tottenham, I took him with us. When I went back to QPR, Crouch was brought for £60,000 and thereafter, we sold him for £1.25 million. That was a good business,” recollects Bulpin.
Having had 18 jobs before landing in India, his experience ranges from working at Bristol City academy to Bristol Rovers where he had former England international Nigel Martyn as a student. QPR, Tottenham, Stockport County, Leicester City. Plymouth Argyle and Singapore’s Tampines Rovers are some of the names on his CV with his last job being that of a national team coach of Philippines who are ranked 167 in the latest FIFA rankings.
Probably this explains why Houghton chose him to lead the AIFF XI side, doesn’t it? But there’s more to it as Bulpin has worked with the former national coach of Uzbekistan.
“I did my coaching ‘A’ license under Bob Houghton way back in the early 1980s when he was at Bristol City. I was the Uzbekistan U-17 coach when he came there as the head coach of the Uzbek national side,” recalls the Englishman.
And he isn’t new to Indian football having already watched an I-League match and seen the Indian Colts in action.
“I did come to India about 12 months ago when I watched Churchill Brothers win their first I-League title. I also saw Colin Toal’s team in Manchester,” he mentions.
But despite having a career to envy, why on earth did he chose to come to India, a country ranked 132 in the world which is by no means impressive to say the least.
“India as a country has massive potential and has got the talent. With the right infrastructure which will take time, India can be one of the biggest forces in Asia.
You're The Reason I'm Here!
“The second reason being that Bob Houghton is an outstanding coach and even though I’m 60 but I’m stilling willing to learn. The opportunity to work closely with Colin Toal, who I think is a very good coach, is great.
“Bob, Colin and I think the same way about the game and agree on the same principles which is why it is great to work together,” explains Bulpin.
‘The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him’ says Bible and the same patience spoken about is perhaps, Bulpin’s greatest virtue as working with youngsters can be exciting and frustrating at the same time.
“The idea is to develop the youngsters and not about winning games,” utters Bulpin, something which Colin Toal has been seen speaking about almost every day which only highlights that the trio are on the same page.
This Is Me: Des Bulpin
His initial impression about the AIFF XI boys has been good and he is well aware of the purpose why the team was formed.
“Their attitude has been good. Hopefully, I can push them on so that for the 2018 World Cup qualification which begins in the year 2015, some of these boys will be 25 and join Bob. Thereafter, we pick more boys.
“Responsibility is part of every job and as far as I know, I can develop and help improve them. How many will progress and how many won’t make it to Bob’s team? I can’t really put a figure to it.
“Hopefully, most of them should and if they don’t, then they can join the I-League clubs which means that the benefits are twofold,” Bulpin justifies.
With Aamir Khan propagating Indian tourism ministry’s slogan of ‘Guest is God’, we ask Bulpin how India has treated him.
“I admire Indians. They work really hard. When I came to Goa, I was received very well. The AIFF welcomed me nicely,” notifies Bulpin.
He wasn’t joking guys, he knows the ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ (Read: Oscar Wilde)!
Our 
provides the best breaking news online and our 
football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!
provides the best breaking news online and our football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!Inside Goal.Com
-
Vote for your Goal.com World Player of the Week
Have your say on who you think should win Goal.com's weekly honour
-
Euro 2012 a timely respite for depressed Spain
With 24 per cent unemployment, wage cuts and little hope for improvement in the short term, the continental competition will at least take people's minds off their sad situation
-
Welbeck impresses but it's a bad day for Johnson
Ashley Young has also all but secured his place in the starting line up against France while Steven Gerrard put a good shift in. Here's how the Belgium friendly affected the England player's chances of featuring in Euro 2012
-
Five players Rodgers could sign for Liverpool
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Lambert the latest in EPL manager merry-go-round
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday