|
From short to long, an Indian season
A fitting tribute to Tulsidas Balaram at the Hero Tri-nation International Football Tournament. (Image source: Twitter/IFTWC)
It was a coming together of generations. At a venue hosting an international tournament for the first time – the atmosphere created ensured it won’t be the last – Naorem Mahesh Singh, with about 45 minutes’ experience in an India shirt, won a penalty that Sunil Chhetri, in his 133rd game, converted. It killed the contest against a team ranked higher and fetched India the Hero Tri-nation International Football Tournament; skipper Chhetri handing over the trophy to Amrinder Singh before blending into the throng of blue as confetti showered on them on an inky Imphal night.
The club game pausing for the first time since the World Cup also allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to add another record (more on that, later) and made Lionel Messi the planet’s only male player to have won the World Cup and scored over 100 international goals. Even before that the South American federation had decided Messi had done enough to deserve a statue at its museum alongside Pele and Diego Maradona. The international break also took Harry Kane to where no Englishman has and his team to a first win in Italy since 1961.
The year’s first FIFA window opened after Barcelona showed La Liga is theirs to lose and Bayern Munich realised they don’t have much time to lose (more on that later as well). It was when a clutch of teams, including defending champions Senegal, qualified for the 2024 African Cup of Nations; Peru players were involved in an altercation with Spanish police; a Spanish hotel employee was arrested for racially abusing Morocco players who, by beating Brazil, showed that the World Cup was no fluke. It was also when Kylian Mbappe began a new reign as France captain with a mauling so severe that it got Holland coach Ronald Koeaman and defender Nathan Ake worried; Scott McTominay’s goals gave Scotland their first win against Spain since 1984 and Germany and Juergen Klinsmann stuttered at the start of their rebuilding campaigns.
Windows of opportunity
In the time-sharing arrangement between clubs and them, national teams will get four more windows this year. With an Asian Cup finals at the start of 2024 and this being the first time they have qualified for consecutive editions, those breaks become more crucial for Igor Stimac and his staff. It will mean from going to a short season to one that doesn’t really end till July for national team players but with the All India Football Federation keen on maximising opportunities, something that hasn’t always happened, that looks unavoidable.
That could also mean Stimac’s staff will have to be on their toes to minimise injuries and fatigue. A hectic run of games in the homestretch of the Indian Super League meant Manvir Singh wasn’t fit going into the three-nation tournament and Ashique Kuruniyan unavailable. Next month’s Super Cup could add to that list. Stimac has requested clubs to leave out players not fully fit. “The worst player in the squad if fit will be better than the best who is not,” is a mantra the former Croatia defender and coach believes in. Clubs have their own requirements – after all, they pay the salaries – so may not agree with him.
Prior to the Asian Cup, Indian men's football team head coach Igor Stimac seeks a 4-week camp. (Image source: sportstar.com)
As of now, Stimac’s plan is to get the players for a camp in May, prune the list to 30-odd before the Hero Inter-continental Cup and the SAFF Championship in June-July. That will be the core of his squad for the Asian Cup next January.
He is also keen on using the September and October FIFA windows and is insisting on a four-week camp in December leading to the Asian Cup. Stimac might even be willing to trade the October window for that but whether ISL plays ball is something he has no control over. And so far, AIFF has not said anything to show that it is in Stimac’s corner.
That camp is essential. They always are for teams ahead of a major tournament where the standard will be higher: India could be the lowest ranked team in the group. It is why Saudi Arabia could beat Argentina. The gap between the Saudi Pro League and the World Cup could only be reduced by sustained, collective work at a preparatory camp. Unlike the football elite, Saudi Arabia could not get into a World Cup with seven days’ training.
Negotiations between Stimac, AIFF and ISL over the next few weeks will be as crucial as India using FIFA windows to get ready for the finals.
Thomas Tuchel takes first Bayern training session. (Image source: Santa Maria Times)
Churn: From Nagelsmann to Marquez
Negotiations happened between clubs and coaches while attention shifted to national teams. So sudden was the decision of Bayern Munich to appoint Thomas Tuchel that it yanked focus back into the club game. Bayern thought the 1-2 defeat at Leverkusen was enough to change Julian Nagelsmann if something had to be salvaged from the season.
For Bayern that means Bundesliga and something else. Bayern needs to stay at the top in Germany, said Philipp Lahm matter-of-factly over a Zoom call explaining why Nagelsmann had to make way. You can listen to the interview in this episode of Kicks For Free. Going into a cluster of matches that include playing Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final, Der Klassiker at the weekend and the DFB Pokal quarter-final, they thought the international break was the best time to change managers.
East Bengal didn’t do that but should have when they have announced that Stephen Constantine wouldn’t be staying. Why retain a coach who knows he has no future at the club? Is it fair to expect him to stay focused while he hears Manolo Marquez, Josep Gombau, Antonio Lopez Habas and Sergio Lobera being discussed as successors in the media and at the club? Why not go the Tottenham Hotspur way and appoint a deputy after the departure of Antonio Conte, a decision for which Son Heung-min feels personally responsible? Spurs now also have to deal with FIFA’s worldwide ban on Fabio Paratici, their managing director of football but this another story.
Marquez’s departure from Hyderabad FC marks the end of an era. How the club that was at the bottom before he took over and delivered three seasons of consistency, including one ISL title, reacts to that in the Super Cup would be a pointer to their immediate future. If reports of the promising Rohit Danu being sold are true, the immediate signs are not encouraging.
|
