Renewed optimism of Indian football team

So should India be happy with their performance at the Asian Cup? The jury is out on whether Baichung Bhutia and his team’s performance in the tournament can be termed a success, disaster or a watershed moment.

After conceding 13 goals in three matches, scoring just three times and keeping the average ball possession up to 35% in those three games, not many coaches will take heart from the performance but India’s chief coach Bob Houghton is content.

The Englishman lauded his boys’ ‘brave’ and ‘warrior-like’ performances after each match. The Asian Cup showcased the gulf of difference between the quality of football India dished out compared to their Asian counterparts.

Australia demonstrated that winning against India was like stealing chocolates from children, 10-man Bahrain showed how ruthless it is to play in a top-tier tournament while South Korea toyed with the defence and it was sheer bad luck that the score remained 4-1 in their favour.

“We played our hearts out. Each of us put in more than a 100 per cent. Still, the score line shows how far we lag behind. But experiences like these help. If we play these big teams regularly, we’ll improve, certainly,” said defender Gouramangi Singh, who scored India’s first goal of the tournament, in their 5-2 defeat against Bahrain.

One positive that an Indian fan can take out of the last one week is the never-say-die spirit the players put up.

“If you look at the rankings we’re much behind teams like Australia and South Korea but that didn’t stop us from giving them a game. People watching it back in India wouldn’t want us to let them down. But when we went to the draw and drew Australia, Bahrain and South Korea, people feared the worst, but our boys have kept their heads above the water and done wonderfully,” said Houghton.

The executive committee of the All India Football Federation will meet in the coming days to analyse the team’s performance, the run-up of which cost them nearly Rs 25 crore.

What has irked the top-brass is Houghton’s candidness during the media interactions in Doha, where he repeatedly embarrassed the AIFF for its failure to develop the infrastructure.

“We have provided him with all the facilities he had asked for. We couldn’t do much. As far as the infrastructure goes, we are trying to get it in place. It won’t happen overnight,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said.

But Houghton’s outburst has certainly pressurised the AIFF to act. “That, potentially, can be the biggest legacy for India from the Asian Cup,” admitted Das.

Skipper Bhutia has already set eyes on the 2015 Asian Cup to be played in Australia. Qualifying for that will be India’s biggest challenge and Houghton has promised India will come stronger in the next version.

“We have a chance to qualify as the winners of the 2011 and 2013 AFC Challenge Cup will get automatic qualification. We hope to win one of the two,” he said.