soccer

Durand Cup

Diego Maradona

Vijayan, I.M., made FC Kochin's maiden title triumph possible. That it came in the Durand Cup, and that too against a side like Mohun Bagan, was all the more creditable. This was the first cup win by a Kerala team in Delhi.

One had to go back several years to seek any comparison for I.M. Vijayan's deeds. And here we are not talking about the goal-scoring ability but the overall impact a player could leave on a tournament. A Mohammed Habib or Subhash Bhowmick, a Shyam Thapa or a Surajit Sengupta, an Amar Bahadur or a Ranjit Thapa, an Inder Singh or a Manjit Singh. Or a Narendra Gurung? Well, Delhi had seen them all. at their prime, not always on the winning side, but men who had left an indelible impression on the soccer fans of the capital.

Even after scoring eight goals in this edition fo the Durand, it cannot be said that Vijayan has joined the ranks of those above-mention players. For, they performed with great distinction over several years. But vijayan surely is on his way and FC Kochin can depend on him to pull it out of trouble, as he did time and again in Delhi. On the plus side, he rallied a side that had its quota of injury problems and whose defence was ready to cave in at the slightest of threats. The exception, mercifully for the Kochi club, came in the final.

There is a new-found enthusiasm in I.M Vijayan in the new season. He has shed his 'pure striker' profile a little, even as he has become the most feared marksman in the country. He showed an eagerness to take over the play-making role for FC Kochin nd even did his bit in the defence. Perhaps the match situations demanded such a shift in his attitude or perhaps he wanted to make sure that all the good work done by him was not wasted eventually.

Right form the start FC Kochin had to go without Jo Paul ancheri, out with an injury. That meant the defence was handicapped. Even if he was in the midfield or as the 'libero', Ancheri would have relieved the defence much of the burden.

To begin with, Bernard Operanonzie seemed get into too many mix-ups with fellow Kochi stopper Saeed Akinsaya. Added to it was the inexperience of the wing backs, A.S. Firoze and Mohammed Shafeeq. From the midfield, Carlton Chapman played more a of a defensive role, just out of sheer necessity.

However, in the final against Mohun Bagan, FC Kochin reorganised its line-up. K.A. Anson was pushed into the defence, at the right wing back, allowing Shafeeq the chance to show his worth in the midfield. Everyone performed their roles creditably and the result was a 3-1 victory. Rarely had Bagan suffered such humiliation.

Mind you, Bagan was playing its 24th Durand Cup final. It had a compact defence and arguably the best midefield in the country. And it had Chima Okorie in from. But the dreaded Nigerian was not allowed much freedom by the taller Saeed Akinsaya. On the odd occasion Okorie broke free, he could not show his magic of old.

Even after suffering a forehead injury in the first half, Akinsaya performed splendidly in starving Okorie of the passes and of the room he was looking for. The rest was handled effectively by Bernard and Anson.

As for the goals, after Raman Vijayan sneaked one in from a melee in the first half, I.M. Vijayan came up with a classic header in the second to make it 2-1 and later Friday Elaiho, the powerfully built Nigerian midfielder, who rose to his full stature only in this match, converted a penalty that was earned by Shafeeq.

Bagan coach Amal Dutta had a difficult to choice to make before the final. For, he had too many inform forwards. He persisted with Sri Lankan Roshan Perera who had socred a hat-trict in the semi final against Air-India. Abdul Khalique got the axe. Khalique was brought in for a halt-fit Dipendu Biswas in the first half itself, but hen the could not show his dash on the wings.

JCT's winning the Philips National League was the best thing threat can happen to Indian Football. The title not only went to the correct hands, but also stressed the point that the time so stressed the point that the time has come when Indian soccer needs a true cosmopolitan approach to lift its level of performance and standard.

Any JCT triumph, even a couple of years back, would have been projected as the triumph of Punjab football. The champagne would have flowed more because of Punjab football's victory over Bengal, Goa and Kerala football than JCT's winning particular trophy or title. In typical narrow mindedness, it would have been seen as a victory for a particular language or a particular community or a particular state based player than the efforts of one team.

Thankfully, JCT itself has taken the lead to shatter all the age-old beliefs. The poor performances of its team in the 1993 and 1994 season forced it to change to policy of taking only Punjab based players and give an all India colour to the team. It was the most positive approach and a farsighted move which swung the fortunes of the team within no time.

It is good that JCT's change of policy came a few years before the National league was ultimately launched by the All India Football Federation. This league came as an eye-opener for all those who opted for localised approach in the gem. These teams not only faired poorly, but were also forced to change its views on the whole policy.

Goa's Salgaocar Club remains the best example of the failure of the policy of pampering the sons of the soil. Mainly consisting of local players, the top Goan side got themselves totally exposed in the long drawn league and had to take the seventh place among eight teams. The Salgaocar manager Henry Britto confessed after losing to Dempo, "Our policy of taking mainly Goan players has failed miserably. We have to change our style of recruitment if we have to do better from next year."

Britto did not hide his feelings and said, " Dempo and Churchill were criticised for going for outstation players. But at the end they received results by finishing second and fourth respectively. And we had to go back empty handed."

A team like Salgaocar or ITI or Kerala Police are the burning examples of paying the price for not following what has now become a world-wide policy. The bell rung in the ears of the JCT management earlier than these teams and it made them change the course at the right time. The victory of JCT could be the biggest tribute to the modern day approach to the game. After all, going by the record book one would be shocked to find that the success rate of JCT was most insignificant during the so-called glorious days of the 70s when an Inder Singh led JCT outfit was the symbol of a particular state's football power. What JCT and Leaders Club of Jalandhar had won together in the sixties and the seventies was simply overwhelmed by this present JCT team in the last two years only.

The JCT team management, however, need to be praised for its approach to the whole situation. It decided to go for the best when it changed its policy. It was not the beating around the bush like Indian Bank and Salgaocar, whose transition only meant recruiting average players from Maldives and Nepal, which did not take them anywhere.

JCT, on the contrary, decided to choose the best and what it did was like a brain drain in football. The club officials never made the mistake of going for quantity and instead carefully picked few quality players available in the country. Vijayan and Ancheri from Mohun Bagan and Bhutia and Champman from East Bengal. These four were the best in the country and the transfers made all the difference. Every title in the country became JCT's. Within no time the Phagwara became the undisputed king of Indian football.

One careful look will also prove that JCT was most choosy when the AIFF decided to allow five foreigners to be included in the team. While some team went for hasty recruitments, JCT did not rush to take advantage of this policy. It already had proven players in different tournaments. Saeed was the last one to come, during the initial stages of the National League and the JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh only used him sparingly and hardly ever put him in the starting eleven.

The success of a team, that too in a gruelling league like this, depends on its off the field plannings and it is where JCT and Churchill scored, while others like East Bengal failed. Sheer talents available in the JCT ranks added with its meticulously hatched plans and made them the champions. Churchill was an average side but it had the most clever coach in the circuit in Danny McLennan and the Goan team came agonisingly close to the title.

East Bengal's recruitment policy was bit haphazard and it could not take it beyond the third position.

It was a tamasha, right from start to the finish at Kochi. When one looks back at the 12th Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup invitation tournament-now called the Eider Nehru international football series after a five-year deal was struck between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Chandigarh-based telecommunication giant- it is indeed a pity that there is nothing to write home about but the repeat of title-triumph by holder Iraq.

Perhaps, the only saving grace was the refined show dished out by India while making its maiden entry into the semifinals of the tournament. This, in more ways than one, was in fact an adequate compensation for the organisers since the Indian presence in the semifinals ensured that the tournament did not end up in the red as was feared initially. Still, there were many things which could have been avoided had the AIFF top brass followed up their public statements.

The fortnight prior to the tournament had been a tough one for the local organisers who were at their wits' end after being kept in the dark by the AIFF. The tournament, according to the original schedule was to be held between March 24 and April 8, but had to be postponed (to March 30-April 12) with just four days remaining for the kick-off since the AIFF was unable to confirm the participation of the foreign teams that were invited. The field then was eight teams including India, but was later brought down to six. Kenya then surprised everyone by backing out at the very last-minute.

There would have been some consolation had the field consisted of at least one team from either Europe or South America-the power bases of world football. This again was major disappointment and as the tournament progressed the fare became rather predictable-dull and drab. Of the five foreign teams, China and Uzbekistan took part to provide exposure to their youngsters; and Ghana, involved in the World Cup preliminaries, could afford to fly in only its second string. This was to prove a boon for Iraq in its efforts to retain the title won at Calcutta in 1995.

The eventual winner, too, was mainly made up of National reserves, but it had in its skipper Habib Jaffar Agal and Laith Hussain Shihab two experienced players quite capable of marshalling the team in the midfield. Then there was the bald-headed Jalil Agal in the goal, Hayder Majeed and Hayder Khadim in the defence and Abudl Ridha Sadiq and Husam Naji up front to provide overall solidity to the team, which at best looked to be matched only by the Indians.

Yet, Iraq failed to enthuse the sizeable gathering before winning its campaign-opener against China 2-0. The side seemed to lack the required class whenever it went into attack. It did require quite an effort from Hayder Majeed and Alaa Jabbar to provide the winning margin. At the other end, things were not any different as the Chinese, who were reported to have been in training for 24 months in Brazil, belied all expectations and were content to play second fiddle.

If the initial two round-robin league matches had given evidence of very little quality football, the third between Iraq and Uzhekistan seemed to be the limit, especial due to the failure of the latter to perform as a cohesive unit. The Uzbeks, who had landed in Kochi only hours prior to the match, resembled a rudderless ship caught in the midst of a raging storm. They went down without even putting up a fight and the Iraqis made merry and scored a morale-boosting 6-1 victory. Much worse was to follow as Ghana opened up its campaign with a goal-less draw against China in another dull and drab match.

The Indian performance gained a definite boost but it was Iraq which caught the eye yet again before keeping its slate clean with a solitary goal win over Ghana. However, pitted against the home side next, the Iraqis seemed to have many surprises in store, especially in the wake of the improved display that the Indians came up with. It was a close match and it was by the narrowest of margins that the champion side completed its preliminary engagements through that one goal scored by Qahtan Drain in the first -half.

The tournament fixtures, peculiar in many ways as it included a criss-cross semifinals and a losers final as a prelude to the final, was also to have a sudden revision due to the pressure exerted by the Ghanians, who after the defeat against Iraq were more interested in returning home than play to their true potential. Even though it was just a second string, the team did seem to have some class at least int he presence. of Al Hassan Idrissu, Robert Boateng and Sekyi Yaw. But the turning point of the Ghanian's campaign came when they failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead against Uzhekistan before losing 3-2.

The semifinals played before a crowd numbering not less 75,000, too, had its moments of glory, especially when India burst into the lead through Chapman who made no mistake after being put through by Bhutia. But the Iraqis had only just about settled and it did not take them much time to return the compliment through Abdul Ridha Sadiq which then paved the way for extra-time and then the penalty shootout, in which the Indians were clearly outwitted.

In fact, India had a good start when Hemanta Dora stopped the effort of Abdul Wahaba Labed with a dive to his right. But the hopes that this save did raise soon vanished as Khalaf Sahab, Hassan Matrud, Husam Naji and Habib Jaffar Agal made no mistake even as Amit Das and Jiju Jacob, who followed after the successful conversion by Raman Vukayan and Naushad Moosa, misfired.

The momentum that was built by the two extraordinary semifinals was totally lost in the final between Iraq and Uzhekistan which followed the 2-1 defeat of India against China in the clash for the third place. The Uzheks had improved remarkably to have a shot at the little, but psychologically they seemed to have suffered by the earlier 6-1 rout. They were never in the picture and Iraq sewed up the match 3-1 despite the absence of its skipper, Habin Jaffar Agal, out due to a temporary suspension.

The Iraqis, led by Laith Jussain Shihab, adjudged the Player of the Final, toyed with their rivals and made sure that the handsome trophy stayed in their custody for a further period of two years.

It was probably a tactical ploy by the Iraqi coach Yahya-Alwan Manhal to give his captain the edge, but in the end both Habib Jaffar and brilliant midfielder Laith Hussain Shihab walked away with the individual honours in the Eider Nehru international football series. s

The Iraqi captain Habib Jaffar Agal received Malayala Manorama's Golden Boot after being adjudged the Best player of the Tournament while Laith was named the Man of the Final and given the gold medal donated by Deshabhimani, another leading Malayalam daily.

"Habib is a very active player... he is very fast. If he is not scoring, he is assisting others. His very presence motivates the team," said Yahya Alwan Manhal.

Both Habib and Alwan belong to the AL Talaba Club and this could be one reason why Habin got more exposure in the tournament probably with an eye on the Golden Boot.

Laith, an Asian All-Star who plays for Al Zawra Club which won the Iraq NFL a record 11 times, was easily the team's best player. But he came in as a substitute and played only for a few minutes in two matches, and both against India, which was easily the best chance to impress the panel of judges. Though the Iraq coach argued that the move was meant to rest Laith for bigger battles and also to surprise the Indians, many saw it as a ploy to keep the spotlight trained on Habib Jaffar.

But when Habib Jaffar was forced to miss the final after having earned two yellow cards, stand-by captain, Laith grabbed the opportunity with both hands, After doing the spadework for the first goal, scored by his club-mate. Hussam Fawsi Naji, Laith scored a beauty in the second half. He showed fine reflexes while banging in the rebound after hitting the post with his first attempt, a booming freekick from 25 yards.

Iraq's most popular player, Laith is a treat to watch. An artful dodger, he bemuses the defence with his mesmeric slow dribble before striking like a lightning. "This is his usual style, he is always full of surprises, now slow, now fast... and very dangerous," said Alwan. This sudden change of pace in his play was very evident in the league.

Laith's performance of the fifth placed Iraq in the recent Asian Nations Cup in the UAE was so impressive that he was picked for the Asian All-Star team which will play against a World XI in Hong Kong later this year.

Though he played for Qatar's Al Wakra for two seasons, Laith has been with Al Zawra for nearly 14 years, after beginning as a sub junior. "I owe my entire career to Zawra. I represented Iraq in the championships during my Zawra days," he said.

At age 29, Laith, married and a father of three daughters, is sought after by many clubs in Europe and also has attractive offers from India's Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar. But given a good offer, he would love to play in Europe.

Vijayan and Vijayan. That is no chartered accounting firm but the deadliest strikers in Indian football. In the field they are the most unlikely combination of forwards. They don't complement each other and that is probably the reason why they hit it off. While I.M. Vijayan is aggressive and plays from any position, Raman Vijayan is gentle and is yet to build a fiercely competitive mental make-up. I.M. Vijayan used to sell bottles of soda in the Trichur Municipal Stadium, earning 10 paise a bottle. Today the school dropout is the highest-paid footballer in the country. Raman Vijayan, 22, has been to university and grew up dreaming about playing with his namesake.

Dodging defenders, dribbling and sprinting with the ball as if it were glued to his feet, I.M. Vijayan is a fearsome striker. The man with the Golden Boot (in 1993 he was awarded a golden boot by Malayala Manorama for the best football player in the Santosh Trophy) has metamorphosed into a Stealth Bomber. The moment he breaks through a cloud of defenders panic grips the opposition. They scream at each other to stop him and snap around his legs. But in those few seconds he positions himself and kicks a scorching shot at the goal. FC Kochin's (FCK's) technical director, George Blues, says: "Out of five such chances that he creates you can be sure two will find the mark."

The crowd goes into a frenzy the moment he gets the ball. Naimuddin, national coach, who polished Vijayan's skills, says he is a natural player. "If he puts on muscle mass and becomes sturdy and fitter," says the coach, "he can create havoc anywhere."In 1991, when I.M. Vijayan was playing for Mohun Bagan, his partner Raman was a first-year college student. He was in the Madurai-Kamraj University team the lanky, dark footballer from Kerala was his hero. The lad from Kandramanickam village near Madurai was spotted by Indian Bank, for which he played during 1993-96. Talent hunters from East Bengal pitchforked him into the mecca of Indian football, Calcutta, last year.

During last year's Nehru Cup striker Jo Paul Ancheri told him that FCK was looking for a striker. Raman and Ancheri who had joined the club by then were scared to their boots because if the club didn't take off their careers would be in jeopardy. "We were racked with doubts and fear because we kept thinking What would happen if we failed to make it to the national league?" said Raman. "Now I think that it was a good decision. Many players from other teams have expressed interest in the club."

FCK has taken the football-loving public's imagination by storm. The Vijayans have been instrumental in taking the club to dizzy heights since it was formed in the spring of 1997. A.M. Sreedharan, who coached I.M. Vijayan for seven years when he played for Kerala Police and who is also FCK's coach, says: "Raman and Vijayan combine well and rescue the team whenever it is in the doldrums. The important point is that the public enjoys watching them play.""Both know the importance of holding onto the ball," said Blues. "They hold the ball until they get support from the mid-field."

I.M. Vijayan is a total footballer, powerful and fleet-footed, he has good body movements, excellent ball control, is superior in one-on-one situations, has the ability to get around defenders easily, and is a natural and accurate striker. More important, he is a team player and a match-winner. He is not afraid to play in the mid-field or in the defence. Off the field he is self-effacing. After winning against Mohun Bagan in the Durand Cup he immediately rushed to the opposition's bench to commiserate with them. When FCK lost to Bagan in the semi-final of the DCM tournament he was, again, the first one to congratulate them.His counterpart, Raman, is a long-legged fast player. He is also good in the air. The moment a centre from the flanks sails across the goalmouth one can be sure of Raman flying through the defenders to try for a header.

But sometimes, especially in the last three matches that FCK has played, the combination has not clicked. According to Blues: "Raman waits too long for the ball. If the mid-fielder has the ball he has to break away from the defenders and come for the ball." National coach Naimuddin feels that he "lacks self-confidence and combativeness." According to him these two factors motivate a player to develop the killer instinct, which is essential for any striker.

Experts say that the two Vijayan's could prove deadly if they practise with greater dedication. Naimuddin pointed out that they were a new combination "which is yet to find coordination and rhythm." Sreedharan and Blues are determined to extract the best from these two players. While they want to develop Vijayan's natural football skills, they will put Raman through a rigorous regimen of touch practice so that he can react quickly to Vijayan's moves. As Naimuddin says: "Practice till you drop dead should be the golden rule."

Football World Cup: Politics aside, the draw for the 1998 soccer extravaganza in France has been along predictable lines, though arguments will continue till the kick off...

It was a smooth night for the French and the Brazilians, and a rough night for the Americans and the Spaniards. The draw for the 1998 World Cup finals was held in the tradition-rich confines of Marseilles' Stade-Velodrome, and when the last shivering soccer celebrity had pulled the last name out of the transparent bowls on the chilly outdoor stage, the 32 teams had been divided into eight first-round groups, and the world had its quadrennial conversation piece.

Over the next six months, there will be debates on every continent, with the possible exception of Antarctica, over the relative merits of the teams that will compete in France from June 10 to July 12. Most of the debaters will conclude that Brazil is the favorite. Under Coach Mario Zagallo, the defending champions are more offensive-minded than when they won the cup for a record fourth time in 1994 in Los Angeles.

For anyone needing proof, Ronaldo, Zagallo's new striker, provided the evidence. In an exhibition all-star match that preceded the draw, Ronaldo finished with two goals in a 5-2 victory for the Rest of the World over the Europeans. The Brazilians have other new stars in Denilson and the brilliant fullback and free-kick virtuoso Roberto Carlos. They have veteran stars in Leonardo, Cafu, Dunga and, if he can regain his form of last summer, Romario.

The draw also gives them a very manageable first-round group, which includes Scotland, Morocco and Norway, which beat Brazil in a friendly match in Oslo, last June, putting an end to its 40-match unbeaten streak, but should have difficulty duplicating that feat in France.

The Brazilians will open the World Cup finals on June 10 in the Paris suburb of St. Denis against the Scots, who have never beaten them in World Cup or friendly play. "Our goal is to finish second in our group,'' said Scottish Coach Caig Brown, with admirable realism. ``Brazil is the best team in the world.'' Said Zagallo: "It is a good start for Brazil. Scotland is a good team, but it is not as difficult as some teams could be.''

The other first round match that drew much attention is the politically charged matchup of America and Iran in Group F. But in truth, Iran, which has played in only one previous World Cup, is the least of the Americans' concerns in its group, whose other members are three-time World Cup champion Germany and Yugoslavia, the unseeded and talent-packed team that missed the 1994 Cup because of U.N. sanctions. "The Yugoslavs are one of the best sides in the world,'' said Pele, who attended the ceremony.

Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the second round, which means the Americans will have to find a way to finish ahead of Germany or Yugoslavia, which also has a political ax to grind with the United States in the wake of the Bosnian conflict.

The 38,000 Marseilles soccer fans in the stadium were cheering after the draw. The French, who surprisingly failed to qualify for the last two World Cup finals but are now one of the world's top teams, are in one of the relatively weaker groups with South Africa, Saudi Arabia and former European champion Denmark, which also failed to qualify for the last World Cup finals.

Italy and Argentina, both seeded, also look very likely to advance comfortably. The Italians are in Group B along with Chile, Cameroon and Austria, which is one of the weaker teams in Europe. Argentina is in Group H with talented Croatia, but Japan and Jamaica, both World Cup finals rookies, are better stories than teams. Of the eight seeded nations, Spain appears to have the most daunting first round. With it in Group D are Paraguay, Bulgaria and Nigeria, and the Spaniards will play the early round in the north of France instead of the south, where their fans would have been a stronger presence. "We were unlucky with the draw and the geography,'' said Spain's coach, Javier Clemente.

The second most difficult group appears to be Group G, which includes Romania, Colombia, England and Tunisia. The Romanians, quarterfinalists in 1994, are the seeded team and were undefeated in qualifying. But they were not playing top-notch opposition. England was. It finished ahead of Italy in its qualifying group and has regained its once-glittering reputation under Coach Glenn Hoddle, but the English were not seeded here because of their failure to qualify for the last World Cup finals. Colombia has several charismatic players, including Carlos Valderrama, the most valuable player in major-league soccer last season, and striker Faustino Asprilla. Tunisia is a cut below but will have considerable fan support from the large Tunisian population in France.

It remains to be seen how all the World Cup fans will behave next summer. After considerable lobbying from FIFA, the world governing body, eight of the 10 host cities have agreed not to erect fencing between the field and the stands, as is customary in many French stadiums. "It's a good decision to remove the fences; we shouldn't put people in cages,'' said Michel Platini, co-president of the World Cup organizing committee. "For me, this was not a major incident. It was just children wanting to see one of their favorite players. I am not concerned about security next summer.''


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