Indian football’s tryst with South American giants
Indian football has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past few years, be it the poor performances of its national teams or the many challenges associated with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
While many sports have seen tremendous development in India over the past decade, Indian football has declined and continues to be divisive. However, there have been recent developments that have brought the spotlight and focus back on the Blue Tigers as they prepare to face South American giants Brazil and Uruguay in friendlies, scheduled to be played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 3 and 6, respectively.
India also played World Cup participants Panama in Bengaluru on September 25 and held them to a creditable 1–1 draw. The hosts played well to take the lead through winger Ryan Williams but conceded in the second half to play out a draw. It was a much-improved and solid performance from India to keep a World Cup team at bay and also breach their defence once. However, the challenge ahead against South American powerhouses Brazil and Uruguay will be a different kettle of fish.
Brazil are one of the most successful football teams in the world. The winners of the most FIFA World Cups (5) and several Copas América, that the Seleção are coming to play is a massive achievement for India, as it gives them world-class exposure and the experience of playing against a much higher-ranked team.
That said, no one expects them to win this game even with a couple of key players missing from the Brazilian team. Raphinha is unlikely to feature, while Alisson Becker is not part of the squad, though a number of superstars like Vinícius Júnior, Gabriel Magalhães, Bruno Guimarães, Endrick, Estevão Willian, and João Pedro have been named in the 26-man travelling squad by head coach Carlo Ancelotti. These players compete in the top-most European leagues in the world, having won major silverware already. Sharing the pitch with them will be a colossal challenge for India.
As for Uruguay, they are another big team who have agreed to a friendly. The two-time FIFA World Cup winners have struggled in recent years, but they continue to produce great talent. Temporary Uruguay head coach and former legend Diego Forlán has announced a strong squad for the India match. Captained by Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, Uruguay could also feature striker Darwin Núñez, midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, and defender Ronald Araujo among other big names.
India and Uruguay met once before, four decades ago. The South American side won the contest 3–1 in the Nehru Cup at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 1982. Uruguay are way above India in the FIFA rankings, being world No. 20, while India have fallen down massively and are 138th currently. It will hardly be a surprise if the score line ends in Uruguay’s favour. Like Brazilian players, most Uruguayan players also compete in the top South American and European leagues and are much superior to the Indian squad in terms of skill, big-match experience, and fitness.
For India, more than the result, this is a massive chance to get the world’s attention on the incredible opportunity for growth of the game in the country. There is a huge number of Premier League and LaLiga fans in India, who would throng the stadiums to watch their favourite stars play against their national team. Although, result-wise this could be an embarrassment. As Indian football fans, we know that our current level of football leaves much to be desired.
It’s great that we are able to attract prominent international teams to come and play friendlies against our national team, but this isn’t the solution to move forward. India needs to consistently play tournaments against Asian teams with whom they compete for World Cup qualification spots. As of now, the Indian men’s team struggles to even defeat teams near them in ranking; expecting them to compete with teams ranked in the top 20 is unreasonable.
From an exposure viewpoint, this could be a tremendous move to create more fanfare around football in India, but from a team improvement perspective, this might not help the Blue Tigers a lot. Fandom can only sustain if the team produces consistently positive results. They will definitely get a chance to share the field with some of their idols, superstars they have watched play for their favourite clubs, but the difference in the level will be miles apart.
If the AIFF really wants to improve the situation in and around Indian football, then it should be looking to improve the country’s football structure right from the grassroots level and create a regular schedule to help its team gain international exposure against sides nearer to them in the rankings, with whom its teams compete for qualification to major tournaments. The Indian Super League (ISL) also needs to be reinvented and improved so that we can attract decent foreign talent to compete with our players.
For now, though, Indian football fans are mighty excited at the prospect of seeing star players from Brazil and Uruguay playing in India against their national team. We hope everything goes well from a scheduling perspective, and that we are able to witness two wonderful games without any hassle or unnecessary obstructions.
