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Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
The goal drought India need to talk about
Kolkata: In 2019, after India lost 1-2 to Oman having led till the 82nd minute, head coach Igor Stimac said the team could not keep looking only to Sunil Chhetri for goals. Chhetri had put India ahead from a Brandon Fernandes free kick, a training ground drill executed to perfection, but India missed opportunities to kill the contest leading to Stimac speaking about the need for goals from other players. Following the high of a 0-0 draw away to Qatar, India's goals that year came from central defender Adil Khan and wide forward Seiminlen Doungel, both off Fernandes's set-pieces, but it was only in 2023 that Stimac got what he wanted. Of the 21 goals India scored that year, seven came from players not designated as forwards. Anirudh Thapa started the trend against Myanmar in the three-nation tournament and India had goals from Sandesh Jhingan, Udanta Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and, including goals away from home against Iraq and Malaysia, three from Naorem Mahesh Singh in his first year of international football. No coincidence therefore that 2023 was also India's best year – Stimac's team won 10 of their 15 matches, two of them against higher-ranked opponents (Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon) – this century. India won three tournaments, broke into the top-100 and also had a rare away win in a World Cup qualifier. It was the only time between 2015 and now that they had notched up double digits in the wins column. It was also the last time India won a competitive match. Inability to get goals from players in different positions is one reason for that. It is also why goals scored per game has, as per data provided by All India Football Federation (AIFF), come down from 1.64 between 2015-19 to 0.75 now. As per AIFF data, the goals conceded per game consistently stayed over 1 between 2015 to now. Chhetri has been head and shoulders above his teammates when it comes to goals. He has got 49 of the 138 India have scored since 2015. Between 2015 and 2019 Chhetri also had the strong and powerful Jeje Lalpekhlua as his fellow striker, the two linking up superbly to score in the 1-0 win against Kyrgyzstan in 2017. Lalpekhlua also scored in the 4-1 win against Thailand in the 2019 Asian Cup before his career got derailed by injury. But equally crucially, 41 of those 138 goals, or 29.7%, have come from players not designated as forwards. Apart from Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Nishu Kumar, Rahul Bheke, Fulganco Cardozo, Narayan Das, Nikhil Poojary and Narender Gahlot are some of the defenders who got goals for India. Jackichand Singh, Suresh Wangjam, Rowlin Borges, Mohammed Rafique and Halicharan Narzary have stepped up from the midfield to do that as have Samad, Doungel, Udanta and Mahesh. Ashique Kuruniyan too, when used a wide player. Chhetri retired, returned but India's goals dried up after 2023. In four matches this year, India have scored only in one. In 15 matches since the start of 2024, Rahul Bheke is the only player who wasn't a forward to have scored. The defender's goals have come against Malaysia in 2024 and Maldives in March. Strikers not scoring is a concern AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey spoke about at last Friday's press conference in New Delhi. India has not been able to produce a good striker in the past 10 years, he said. The former goalkeeper said it would be difficult for a player used in a different role at his club to play as a striker for India with little time to train. Which makes it even more important that goals come from players in other areas of the pitch. Teams do well when that happens. Defenders Subhasish Bose, Tom Aldred and Alberto Rodriguez sharing 13 goals, or one-fourth of the club's tally of 52, was an important reason why Mohun Bagan Super Giant did the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) shield and cup double. Bagan scored 23 goals from set-piece situations in ISL last term. Choubey has spoken of the need for a discussion on how to increase game time for Indian strikers. Isn't it also time for a conversation on ways to do better at set-plays and find out why India's defenders and midfielders lack front-third sharpness?
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First Post
04-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
Infighting between national coaches and AIFF: the root of Indian football team's woes?
India had three back-to-back international triumphs in 2023. Who could anticipate then that a blind alley was waiting for Indian football just round the corner? read more July 20, 2023, was a red-letter day in the recent history of Indian football. As FIFA released its new men's rankings, . A 64-month wait had ended. India broke into the top hundred. Finally. It was the celebration time for Indian football, whose sky looked azure, the grass looked emerald green. The long-cherished ascending dream in international football has begun with three back-to-back triumphs in the three-nation tournament in Imphal, the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, and the SAFF Championship title in Bengaluru. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Who could anticipate then that a blind alley was waiting for Indian football just round the corner? As India take on Thailand in an International Friendly on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, they stand at the 127th position in the FIFA rankings. Ironic as it may sound, Thailand, who were 113th on July 20, 2023, currently occupies the 99th place. More from Football What exactly went wrong? Why did a team that bagged three titles between March and September 2023 against decent rivals and earned a memorable draw against mighty Iraq in the King's Cup, losing only on penalties, suffer such a slump? Is it fait accompli, as they normally say? The answer is: Certainly not. To put it plainly, more than the players and the coaches, it is the sheer mismanagement of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), headed by its President, Kalyan Chaubey, that has led to this situation. The AIFF has not only failed to capitalise on the upward graph, but has also downgraded the entire effort with poor planning, inability to strike a balance between the clubs and the National Team, improper handling of players, and by creating a cantankerous relationship with the National coaches. Unfortunately, the seed of the downfall was sown in July 2023 when India broke into the top hundred. The participation of the National Team in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, became the bone of contention. Former Indian football team coach Igor Stimac. Image: Reuters The ultimate fallout and bitter difference between the head of the AIFF and National Coach Igor Stimac began at this juncture, which finally culminated in the termination of the Croatian coach's contract in June 2024. Stimac was at no fault when he suggested well in advance that, since football in the Asian Games was an Under-23 tournament, he should take a team of U23 players to the King's Cup in Thailand in September (7-10) and the same squad to Hangzhou later in the month. After due consultations with the ISL clubs, Stimac also submitted a list of players to be registered for the Asian Games. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD AIFF didn't heed the advice and decided to send senior players to Thailand. It didn't stop there. The AIFF President promised the Sports Ministry that senior players like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu would travel to the Asian Games without even bothering to inform the National coach. The mess that was created during the Asian Games would go down as one of the darkest chapters in Indian football history. The AIFF had to change the squad three times after clubs refused to release players, the visas were not ready, and a terrible travel plan left the players fatigued, as they had to sleep in the airport lounge. India didn't have enough bench strength in the first match, as at least two players were yet to reach. The fallout began from here. A furious Stimac started speaking his mind, which made the widening difference between the coach and the federation a matter of public knowledge. Twice, Stimac was served with show-cause notices, which further complicated the issue. By the time India travelled for the Asian Cup in January 2024, the very fabric of the National Team was already in tatters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The rot had set in by then. India could not win a single official match after the away win over Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2023. Almost the same set of players, who looked like the next-gen lot in 2023, were reduced to a rudderless bunch a year later. The situation worsened with the AIFF making no effort to arrest the decline. They were busy showing the door to Stimac, who levelled some damning allegations against Chaubey. No rule was followed to terminate Stimac, who, in retaliation, threatened to go to FIFA and walked away with compensation that left the AIFF poorer by . Once the Stimac era was over, things were expected to settle down in the Marquez Manolo era. It hardly happened that way as India continued to struggle in the international arena. Rumours are now rife that the Spanish coach and may say goodbye to the coveted post after the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on June 10. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Manolo Marquez is reportedly set to leave the Indian football team's coach in June 2025. Image: AIFF While Manolo hasn't uttered a word publicly, there is something seriously wrong with the setup that could force the second National coach in a short time to leave. The AIFF hasn't come up with any fresh plan, not even a Technical Committee meeting was convened after the disappointing draw against Bangladesh in March. With the Supreme Court expected to announce its verdict on the new AIFF constitution sometime in July, which may result in mid-term elections of the body, it won't be a surprise if Sunil Chhetri and his boys are left to fend for its own for the Asian Cup qualifiers. Fait accompli? Yes, now, it would be the apt description of the situation. One of the most renowned football journalists in India, Jaydeep Basu worked for 37 year career as a sports reporter in renowned publications. He was Director of Communication and Media at AIFF from July 2022 to March 2025. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
