One wonders if Bob Houghton is really serious about Indian football’s development. Three years at the helm, the Englishman has once again reposed faith on his ‘old bunch’. The recent probables announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) doesn’t seem to convince us about his seriousness. The same old faces have been chosen. Bob had since been talking about finding some new talent. He had told us several times in the past that only after watching I-Leagues and Fed Cups he would be able to scan the latest talent in Indian football. But those seemed to be just hollow talks as the Englishman had reposed faith on the same group.
Is there anything which is stopping the Indian coach from giving opportunities to some of the players who did well in I-League? Is there any agenda against these players who simply struggle to get a call for the national camp?
We still don’t know. But there has been rumour about a possible coterie inside the Indian team and Bob is under its influence. Mohammad Rafi the left-winger who probably scored more goals for his side than any of his strikers still finds himself out of favour. Rafi is tall and revels in an attacking blend of football. Then has Bob thought about S Venkatesh, who has impressed with his all-round performance for Pune FC in the I-League II.
Mohun Bagan left-back Nallappan Mohanraj and JCT central midfielder Jagpreet Singh have been picked, who have been to camps in the past. But where are the rest? Is Bob the only person who is in the selection panel?
Well, we don’t know. We are still groping in the dark. We aren’t sure if India would be able to break the jinx at 2011 Asian Cup. Let’s face the fact that we are still unable to organise our team. Bob’s high-profile Goal Project 2011 has already bit the dust with the Federation saying it is “impossible” to carry out a mega project. So come June, the Indian team will assemble in Delhi for another grinding session and, not so surprising, with the same old faces.
