Nehru Cup, SAFF Ch'ship wins mark an eventful 2009

Nehru Cup and SAFF Championships triumphs, a new man at the helm of the national body after two decades and an unprecedented expulsion of the country's iconic captain Bhaichung Bhutia by his club marked an eventful year in Indian football

Nehru Cup and SAFF Championships triumphs, a new man at the helm of the national body after two decades and an unprecedented expulsion of the country's iconic captain Bhaichung Bhutia by his club marked an eventful year in Indian football.

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The highlight of Indian football was undoubtedly the retaining of Nehru Cup International title after beating 2007 runners-up Syria via tie-breaker in the final here in August.

India, who have qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Doha after winning the AFC Challenge Cup last year, lost to Lebanon and Syria in round-robin league matches but emerged winner in the final in front of a packed gallery at the Ambedkar Stadium.

The victory prompted Bhutia to assert that Asia's top countries would now find India a difficult team to beat. His coach Bob Houghton went a step further by declaring that with good crowd support his side can beat the top Asian countries except Australia at the Ambedkar Stadium.

The tournament also saw Bhutia becoming the first Indian, 37th Asian and 152nd international footballer to have played more than 100 matches for his country when he led the side in a league match against Kyrgyzstan.