2008: Year of international reckoning for Indian football

Biswajit Jha and Pratik Dogra For Indian football, 2008 was a year of international reckoning. If AFC Cup victory helped India back to Asian football map after 24 long years, the visit of legend Diego Maradona and Oliver Kahn to Kolkata, considered to be Indian football’s capital, inspired an entire generation of aspiring youngsters who have hardly any football icon to model themselves in India. Maradona’s visit is the best thing that has happened to the desperate Mecca of Indian football since Pele’s visit in 1977. The importance of Maradona’s visit in the Indian context lies in the value of inspiration, of the pure spectacle. Spectacle never fails football. Diego Maradona kicking a football at the crowd at Maheshtala, near Batanagar, the home of some of India’s finest footballers — Prasun Mukherjee, Sankar Banerjee, Manas Bhattacharya, Shanti Majumdar, Krishnendu Roy — will remain unreal for even those who had their share of flesh-and-blood proximity over the weekend. The same can be true of former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn’s visit to the City of Joy. Though Maradona did not take part in any match, Kahn led his Bayern Munich against Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan for the last time in his career. Earlier in the year, Baichung Bhutia’s boys heralded a new beginning for Indian football which also gave birth to a new icon in Sunil Chettri. He was the golden striker, who scored a hat-trick to give India a thumping 4-1 victory in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup over Tajikistan. The win, thus, earned India an automatic entry into the elite AFC Asian Cup after a hiatus of 24 long years. But it was not only the triumph, but the way the Indian team played throughout the tournament that is heartening. The win surely infused oxygen that was dearly needed for the footballers of our nation. Indian football needed to realize the ambition of coach Bob Houghton to see the team among the bests in Asia. In a team game like football, individual glory often pales into insignificance if the team finds it tough to get going. The contribution of the entire team is what it takes to become a champ in any team game. In that aspect, the entire team, be it custodian Subrata Paul, or right winger Steven Dias or mid-fielders Renedy Singh or Mehraj, everybody in the camp was excellent in the championship. The success, thus, can be attributed to team spirit that the team displayed in 2008. The entire team gelled together as a unit under Bob Houghton who has been instrumental ever since he took up the reins of Indian football. It’s no wonder that India clinched two big titles within one year after he became coach. What he has done with this under rated team is that he instilled a sense of ambition in every player. The AFC victory was a welcome relief after SAF debacle where the team lost to little known Maldives in the final. After that, India have done fairly well in Portugal tour where they played against country’s top clubs. In terms of individual achievement, 2008 also saw Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia getting international recognition. He was invited to play in the charity match organized by Goal4Africa where he rubbed shoulders with international stars like Gerrard, Buffon, Nistelrooy. The overall performance of India saw them ending the year at 143 in FIFA rankings from 160 odds at the beginning of 2008. This is truly a big leap forward for Indian football. At a time when hockey has lost its old glory and cricket has become a commodity at the hands of money seeking mercenaries, it’s the resurgent Indian football which can fill the void in the hearts of a billion sports aficionados of the country. This year, club football too took a step in the right direction. Though India failed to get a direct entry to the revamped AFC Champions League - thanks to some clubs not being able to fulfill the commercial entity criteria - Dempo made enough noise in the Asian circuit. Often punching way above their weight, Armando Colaco`s side became the first Indian club to progress to the AFC Cup semi-finals. They were a tad unlucky not to make it to the final but showed glimpse of the strides India were making as a footballing nation. On the international arena, the most striking features of 2008 were those of Spain…finally shredding its image as an under-achiever and lifting the Euro Cup at the expense of Germany. At the club level, Manchester United ruled the roost, triumphing over Chelsea in the English Premier League, and then in the UEFA Champions League final. The World Club title in December proved to be the perfect icing on the cake for one of the planets’ most popular clubs. In Ghana, Egypt successfully defended its supremacy in Africa, beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final, to romp home for a record sixth title. Euro Cup The Euro Cup, co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland in June, gradually gained in momentum and ended up a grand success, with the refreshing ‘Total Football’ adopted by Spain as the slogan. And with Fernando Torres’ exquisite strike, electrifying run and deft touch, that sealed a mechanical but efficient Germany’s fate in the final at Vienna, Spain proved that ‘fast, progressive, eye-catching football’ wins not just plaudits, but trophies as well. The manner in which they ran circles around the Germans, as the midfield and strikers combined with great skill and astuteness, pretty much summed up their flamboyant dominance over every opposition throughout the tourney. After a long spell of choking at every major event, Spain, led by Iker Casillas, lifted its first silverware in 44 years. Midfielder Xavi, judged to be at the heart of Spain`s triumphant campaign, was deservedly named the Player of Euro 2008 by UEFA. And fittingly, nine of Spain`s players were named in UEFA`s squad of the tournament. Meanwhile besides Spain, another team that rated high on popular vote was Turkey. Coming back from behind twice, first, against Czechs that paved their way into quarter-finals, and then, against Croatia, to march into semi-finals. However, their survivor instincts failed them against Germany to cut-short their dream run. Maradona takes charge at Argentina…Becks moves to Italy While Spain may head into 2009 as world’s number one side, Argentine legend Diego Maradona fulfilled his long cherished dream of coaching the national side in November, to add yet another chapter in his extraordinary up-and-down life story. A modern day great, David Beckham clocked up his 100th England cap in March under new national coach Fabio Capello, showing no sign of fading away, while displaying the same hunger and commitment he had as a Young Turk making his debut 13 seasons ago. Beckham will start 2009 at AC Milan, where he is on a 2-month loan from LA Galaxy. United- They conquer English clubs dominated the club scene in Europe. Heavyweights Chelsea and United were engaged in ‘a war on two fronts’ for a major part of the 2007-08 season, crossing each other’s paths in the EPL and the Champions League. While United sealed the second successive Premier League title with victory at Wigan on the last day, their UEFA Champions League silverware came after a hard fought victory in the final over Chelsea. In a tragic sequence of events for the London club, John Terry, their inspirational leader, who was playing the match despite a dislocated shoulder, seemed destined to lead Chelsea to the pinnacle of European club football for the first time. After play ended 1-1 after the regulation time, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole all scored for the Blues in the penalty shootout at the Luzhniki Stadium. Petr Cech saved from United`s Cristiano Ronaldo and Terry stepped up for the fifth spot kick with destiny in his hands. As he struck the ball, his standing foot slipped on the sodden turf and the ball angled away from United keeper Edwin van der Sar but skimmed the outside of the post. Nicolas Anelka`s subsequent miss that gave United the victory was almost incidental as Terry`s lonely, but very public, heartache filled television screens around the globe. Chelsea`s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich wasted little time ditching Avram Grant after the Blues ended the season without a trophy, roping in Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari to guide Stamford Bridge side into the new season. Manchester United`s Cristiano Ronaldo scored 42 goals for the club last season as they won the Champions League and Premier League and was named European Footballer of the Year. Elsewhere in Europe`s top club leagues, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Olympique Lyon all retained their titles, while Bayern Munich restored their place at the top of the Bundesliga, as they wrapped up a 21st title to make up for missing the Champions League places the year before. Italy feels ‘Mourinho effects’ At Inter, however, manager Roberto Mancini`s joy at winning the Serie A title proved short-lived as he was sacked days later, having angered club owner Massimo Moratti. Consequently, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was handed over the reins. True to his reputation, Mourinho wasted no time ruffling feathers in Italy where Catania chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco said the outspoken Portuguese risked having his "teeth smashed in". In South America`s continental club competition, the Libertadores provided a shock winner when they beat Brazil`s fancied Fluminense on penalties to become the first Ecuadorean club to lift the trophy. In the Asian Champions League, Japan`s Gamba Osaka took the honours with an easy 5-0 aggregate victory over Australia`s Adelaide United. Afro Cup…or The Cup of Life! While Europe may be the financial hub of football and Latin America may boast of the richest legacy, there is no denying the fact that it’s Africa that plays the game…for the love of it. Football is a unifying factor in this continent, a hope for a better future and more importantly an opportunity to bring about a positive change to a continent marred by years of violence and exploitation. The organisation of this year’s edition of African Cup of Nations in Ghana, threatened to turn the event into a sideshow and underline its reputation as the scourge of Europe`s club coaches. However, with 99 goals in 32 games, the quality of the football rivaled, not surpassed, anything seen in other continental tournaments. Egypt successfully defended the title, beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final to win the trophy for a record sixth time. OJ Simpson sentenced for 33 years OJ Simpson, acquitted in a murder trial that gripped America more than a decade ago, was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison on Friday for kidnapping and robbery in a bungled attempt to recover memorabilia of his storied sports career. Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass ruled that Simpson, 61, who was known as "The Juice" during his days with the National Football League and later appeared in several movies, would be eligible for parole after nine years. The retired star athlete had been found guilty two months ago of all 12 charges against him for last year`s gunpoint hold-up of two sports collectors in a Las Vegas hotel room.