Spain’s historic 2-1 win over England in the final of the UEFA Euro Cup football tournament left spectators in awe of the brand of football that the red shirts played. Spain has won the cup for the fourth time thus making it the most successful football nation in Europe.
What factors make this country so good at football? Some things are obvious. Firstly they have an excellent domestic system. Young players are nurtured and developed to keep a steady supply of talent to the senior team. As soon as the “Tiki-Taka” generation of players like Iniesta, Xavi, Juan Mata, Xabi Alonso, and others left the scene, there were equally good players of the next generation who filled their shoes efficiently.
La Liga is almost a century old
Its top-level domestic tournament, the La Liga, is one of the oldest in the world. It began in 1929 which makes it 95 years old. The championship has evolved and is now one of the most competitive football events held anywhere on the planet. The world’s top footballers strive to establish a career in Spain.
Barcelona’s academy is top-class
The top-ranked clubs have their academies where they train young boys and girls starting from the age of six years. Barcelona has the La Masia Academy which has produced several of Spain’s most famous footballers. Lionel Messi was a trainee at the La Masia academy.
It is so famous that parents from other countries are also eager to have their children admitted there. The children live on the premises, study their academics and also learn football from experts. There are children from several European and African countries and also Brazil who are being taught there. It is considered to be the elite football school in the world.
Similar academies are run by many famous clubs in Europe. These institutions ensure that boys and girls who have football talent do not let it go to waste.
India is stagnating
In India too there are academies but few. In this nation of 1.4 billion people, the football system is poorly handled. There is no vision and drive to develop the game. Although there are a few private institutions that are trying, a big and efficient system is missing.
To fulfill that need, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) must wake up from its slumber and organise football with the youth as the primary target. India is now ranked 124 in the FIFA world rankings. Immediately ahead of us are Sierra Leone (122) and Estonia (123). Both these are tiny countries and cannot be compared with India in size and economy. Also in that list, far ahead of us, are even smaller nations like Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Haiti, etc.
Shameful situation
It is a shame that we are occupying such a lowly position despite having the manpower, talent pool, and finances to do much better. But our football administrators have squandered all opportunities and allowed the game to stagnate.
Foreign coach explains
More than 30 years ago, this correspondent had met up with Jozsef Gelei, the Hungarian coach who was then coaching the Indian team. He explained to me why India was lagging. He pointed out that school football tournaments were very few. There was no encouragement for schoolchildren to excel at football.
“In India, I have seen many cricket tournaments for children. But for football, there are very few. Unless you develop schoolboys, you cannot improve. That is why your cricket is improving but your football is not. By the time a boy is in his late teens, it is too late to develop his basics. He should be playing for his country by then,” said the coach.
India must learn
More than three decades have passed since Jozsef Gelei spoke to me but the situation has not changed. After every disastrous performance by the Indian team, officials point fingers at each other, shift the blame and nothing gets done. It is high time that we learned some lessons and followed the same path as Spain, England, Germany, and others. Even Asian countries like Japan and Korea have made huge progress.
No solution in sight
There is no magic wand that will make all of India’s football problems vanish. It has to be done with teamwork, planning from top to bottom, and selfless sacrifice on the part of the officials who run football in India and the different states. However, there is no sign that any improvement will happen soon. India’s football fans can only view events like the UEFA Euro Cup and FIFA World Cup, admire the teams and the players, and keep their minds away from the disappointing mess in Indian football.
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