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HT Kick Off: It could start to hurt now
Lack of domestic action might affect India’s clubs and the men’s national team, writes Dhiman in this issue
So far, India have coped admirably with the season being stalled for no fault of the players, All India Football Federation (AIFF) or its commercial partners. Four matches in 11 days in the CAFA Nations Cup saw Khalid Jamil’s team carve out two wins against higher-ranked opponents and finish third. It would have been good at any time but many players having no scope for pre-season training made it nothing short of incredible.
Jamil has begun preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore but the familiar club-country tug-of-war has meant the new India head coach is training with only 18 players. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has joined but none of the Bengaluru FC outfield players have. Ditto the trio from East Bengal and four from Punjab FC.
Club v country, again
This was hours after AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey had called “all stakeholders to support and cooperate” in conducting long preparatory camps for national teams. With the federation announcing the Super Cup dates, you cannot blame clubs for not releasing players outside the international window. In the absence of a calendar which AIFF can stick to, and one which accommodates longer camps, this is a problem without a solution. As the first step, Chaubey has promised a conversation “where all stakeholders will be taken into confidence.”
In the short run, none of this helps Jamil. What could make it more difficult is that when India play on October 9, the Singapore Premier League will have been 11 matches old (games pause after October 2 for the match against India). The season in Singapore began on August 23. Contrast that with most of India’s national team players having taken part in zero competitive matches between September 8 and October 9.
Asked specifically about this at a press conference in Bengaluru last Friday, Jamil did not give a clear answer. “It will be a difficult game because it is away. You have to be prepared,” he said.
No substitute for matches
Before India take on Singapore, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and FC Goa are scheduled to go on away trips in Asian Champions League 2. They could also face the problem of a lack of domestic action. Like last year, Mohun Bagan’s trip to Iran has become uncertain and a developing story.
That no amount of training – Mohun Bagan had six weeks to prepare for this – can substitute matches was evident in the 0-1 defeat at home to Ahal FK. There were many reasons for the loss but one certainly was Mohun Bagan’s opponents looking sharper, a consequence of competitive football for six months in the Yokary Liga before coming to Kolkata.
“No chance to play matches didn’t help us,” Jose Molina had said before the match. It was the only point in the preparation the Mohun Bagan head coach said he would have changed if he could. In the month between the Durand Cup quarter-final defeat to East Bengal on August 17 and the ACL2 opener, Mohun Bagan could play only one friendly – against FC Goa.
Tough friendlies against Iraq, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan helped India perform creditably in the Asian U23 qualifiers, head Naushad Moosa has said. What Moosa got and Molina didn’t was reflected in the performance of their teams.
Sepahan have starting problems of their own but they would have played five rounds in the Persian Gulf Pro League should Mohun Bagan visit them on September 30. One day later, Istiklol will host FC Goa. The Tajikistan heavyweights will have played 17 matches in the league, two in the cup and one in ACL2 by then. For FC Goa, it will be their third official match in 48 days.
It was different against Al-Zawraa because like FC Goa, the team from Iraq were starting the season with the ACL2 tie between them on September 17. Late goals sucker-punched FC Goa and next week will tell us how well they have recovered.
Football always gives you hope, teams always believe in miracles. “We want to be in the final. That’s the kind of mentality I want to have,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had told me in an interview before the CAFA Nations Cup. And yet the question that needs to be asked is: did India give their clubs and the national team the chance to be the best version of themselves in Asia?
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