Category: Football

Defender Adil Khan feels that Indian football is moving forward and growing on “the right path”.

“Indian football is growing in a good way and through the correct path. I just wish (Indian football) keeps growing the way it has been and tries to maintain the quality,” the 32-year-old defender expressed during an AIFF TV interview, a year after he faced off with neighbours Bangladesh at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Following an aggravated injury that had halted his footballing career, Adil came back strongly to appear for the Indian team after a seven-year hiatus. The sturdy central defender lauded the changes that have been brought into Indian football to move things ahead, as players can now avail better infrastructure.

“During my initial days, there was a dearth of quality grounds. Infrastructures, facilities have improved immensely since then. These things always help a player perform to their true potential. That has helped Indian players perform in a better way,” stated Adil.

“Earlier, teams used to depend heavily on foreigners to churn out results. But, the scenario has changed of late. Indians have been taking responsibilities and proving their worth. They are scoring goals, providing assists, taking guards in the defensive half, tackling with more conviction – only to take Indian football forward,” he added.

Adil praised the authorities for resuming football actions in the country in the aftermath of the lockdown that was enforced owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is great! After more than seven months without any football activity, we’re back to the pitch once again. I followed the I-League Qualifiers closely and have noticed the positive buzz around it – that’s fantastic,” he said.

“It was difficult for everyone who is connected to football – supporters, owners, players and every single stakeholder. Our pre-season has also started. I am very excited and hopefully, everyone is,” Adil added.

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Barcelona FC has confirmed that president Josep Maria Bartomeu has stepped down from his post. The abrupt ending of Bartomeu’s 6 year stint along with the stepping down of other board members pave way for a major reshuffle in the club’s governing board.

Bartomeu, who had replaced Sandro Rosell as Barca president in 2014, resigned on Tuesday rather than await a fans’ vote of confidence on his future at the club. The rest of the board of directors stepped down alongside him and an election will be held to appoint a new president within 90 days.

“This is a well-considered, calm, consensual and collective decision by my fellow directors who have accompanied me over recent years in a loyal and committed fashion with regards to the project and the club, and who have made so many sacrifices thinking always of Barca,” Bartomeu said in a statement.

He also rallied against the Catalan government, who he felt should have allowed the club to delay the referendum on his future due to new COVID-19 restrictions in Spain.

Bartomeu further informed that Barcelona have agreed to join a new European Super League.

He added that joining the venture would guarantee the club’s financial sustainability moving forward after it announced earlier this month that their debt had more than doubled to €488 million.

The 57-year-old, however, did not reveal any details of the proposed Super League nor what it would mean for domestic competitions like Spain’s LaLiga.

The announcement, however, alarmed the LaLiga head Javier Tebas, who criticised Bartomeu and the plans for the new competition.

“Unfortunate Josep Bartomeu announcing on his last day the participation in a phantom competition that would ruin (Barcelona) and reiterating his ignorance about the football industry,” Tebas tweeted. “A sad end for a president who did many things right but that lately made many mistakes.”

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Subrata Bhattacharya, a well known defender of his time, feels Indian football’s love for foreign coaches is a relic of the gone colonial era. The former national player and a long term Mohun Bagan star was also a successful coach at club level. He has given several trophies to different Indian clubs.

Bhattacharya feels that “we have still not been able to come out of the influence foreigners and that is the reason that we are ready to bring anything that is foreign. Otherwise, how can we forget what coaches like Amal Dutta or PK Banerjee did for Indian football”.

“See, we are still under the influence of ‘Bideshi anugotto’ (Colonial influence). So by bringing in foreign coaches, the officials are trying to show that they are doing a great job. But how successful are these foreign coaches in comparison to our own PK Banerjee or Amal Dutta. Who will tell these officials that their line of thinking is wrong? In fact, as a club coach I have beaten all the foreign coaches of my time,” Bhattacharya told IANS.

“Myself, Subhash Bhowmik, during our times, have defeated clubs coached by foreign coaches. What I feel is that apart from Indian coaches, it is very difficult to make the Indian footballers understand what is expected of them. Tactical football, strategical football whatever they may say, they have not been able to make the Indian footballers understand that. Whatever the officials are doing, they are doing with a misconception or may be intentional, otherwise how can a coach like Subhash Bhowmik be jobless,” he went on to say.

Bhattacharya also rued the fact that a coach has to have an “A” licence to train a top league team.

“It is not that all the coaches in the world have ‘A’ licence. I can tell you several names who do not have ‘A’ licence. ‘A’ licence does not guarantee you a good coach. Had that been the case, then in India we have several ‘A’ licensed coaches, why they are not being appointed? It’s like they are neither on this side nor on that side,” he said.

He also set aside the myth that Indian coaches cannot control the players. “Had that been the case, then how is it that we coached the teams, even Indian teams, till this recent influx of foreign coaches. As a club coach, I have three National Leagues in my kitty.”

Bhattacharya is in favour of an agitation by the former players and coaches who have given their all for the country as a player or as a coach, as he feels that in India nothing happens without an agitation. But at the same time he also feels that it is very difficult to bring them all together.

“Have these foreign coaches been able to bring the spectators back to the stadium? Why then run after them,” he asks.

Instead he wants the people in power to use the popularity, the quality and the achievements of the former players and coaches like Sukhbinder Singh, Armando Colaco, Subhash Bhowmik.

“They are afraid of the fact that if they bring these players then nobody will listen to them,” he said.

“These foreign coaches, at the best can beat Sri Lanka, Maldives or Bangladesh. May be a few ups and downs in the team ranking, that’s it,” Bhattacharya signed off.

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Indian Midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad has heaped praise on IM Vijayan, stating that the legendary India footballer is one of a kind.

During a recent show on AIFF TV, Sahal expressed his awe at Vijayan, who is regarded as one of the role models for young footballers coming out of the ‘God’s own Country’.

“There will be only one IM Vijayan. There’s absolutely none like him,” Sahal stated.

The 23-year-old went on to express his regret that he was never able to share a dressing room with the man who was often fondly referred to as the ‘Black Buck’ by fans for his propensity to dribble past opposition defenders.

“It is unfortunate that I could not play with him or share a dressing room with him,” said Sahal.

“All of us youngsters from Kerala look up to him. Everyone in Kerala who loves football, loves IM Vijayan,” he added.

Sahal, who himself is known to have tinkle-toes on the pitch, stated that he was left amazed when he saw Vijayan play in local exhibition matches.

“I couldn’t see him during his playing days, but even now whenever he plays local exhibition matches, you can see that he’s still got it – the magical feet,” he stated.

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