Independence Day special

Independence Day special: Indian football's inspiring tales from 2018-19

Fifteenth August is a red-letter day for India, marking the nation's independence after almost two centuries of intense struggle and sacrifice. In essence, it's a day to celebrate and remember the past and take the inspiration to work towards a brighter and better future. To mark the nation's 73rd Independence Day, we list down some of Indian football's most inspirational tales from the past year.

Bheke overcomes personal tragedy to realize dreams

2019 began on a sombre note for Bengaluru FC defender Rahul Bheke, with the passing of his father in January. The Mumbai-born player, however, overcame his personal tragedy in emphatic fashion and soared high to score the winning goal in the Hero ISL 2018-19 final against FC Goa late in Extra Time. The 28-year-old then realised a life-long dream, making his national team debut under new India head coach Igor Stimac at the prestigious King's Cup tournament in Thailand.

A hero's homecoming for Sahal

Having spent most of his childhood in UAE, Sahal Abdul Samad returned to his roots in Kerala for his college degree and the homecoming kickstarted a dream which may very well turn out to be something special. After joining Kerala Blasters back in 2017, the young midfielder's reputation has been skyrocketing steadily, but over the last year, the 22-year-old not only established himself as Kerala's hero but also the collective toast of the nation. A brilliant Hero ISL 2018-19 campaign saw him named as the ISL Emerging Player of the Season. The ball-playing midfielder then went on to earn a debut for the national team and capped it off with the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Men's Emerging Footballer of The Year 2019 award. Sahal has impressed highly so far, and the coming years can very well see him develop as a talisman for the nation on the global footballing stage.

The future is here: Narender Gahlot announces himself

For 18-year-old Narender Gahlot, it was a rocky start to his international career as he made his debut in the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019 opener against Tajikistan, which the Blue Tigers lost 2-4. The youngster got his second opportunity to don the India shirt in the side's third outing of the competition against the mighty Syria and this time, he impressed and how. Narender showed immense character, putting up a solid showing at the back and scored his maiden international goal. The Jamshedpur FC man didn't only bag the Player of the Match in the process but also became the first player born in the 21st century to score for the Indian national team. There's surely a lot more to come from the promising centre back.

Sunil Chhetri keeps the Indian flag flying high

Captain, leader, legend, Sunil Chhetri has been the talisman for Indian football for years now and despite turning 35 earlier this year, the ace striker has shown no signs of slowing down. Having led his club Bengaluru FC to the Hero ISL title earlier this year, India's highest goal scorer scripted history yet again as he usurped Argentina legend Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal scorer in the world. Chhetri scored his 69th and 70th goal for the Blue Tigers in the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019 opener against Tajikistan to go past Messi. Currently with 71 goals to his name, Chhetri sits between two global superstars - Lionel Messi (68 goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (88 goals) in the list of top active goal scorers in international football.......

Milan Singh returns to NorthEast United

NorthEast United FC have secured the services of former Mumbai City FC midfield enforcer Milan Singh for the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 campaign. This will be Milan's second stint with the Highlanders, having represented them back in the inaugural season.

NorthEast United FC

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Milan Singh is back where he belongs! #StrongerTogether #MilanReturns

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Born in Manipur, Milan began his career with Kolkata giants East Bengal but truly made a name for himself playing for Indian Arrows. He signed for Shillong Lajong in 2013 and was loaned out to NorthEast United for Hero ISL 2014. He made his Hero ISL debut on October 13, 2014, in a match against Kerala Blasters but only managed five appearances over the course of the season, clocking just 231 minutes of game time.

After missing the 2015 campaign, Milan returned to the Hero ISL representing Delhi Dynamos and was a mainstay for the Lions, guiding them to the semi-finals. He played for Kerala Blasters extensively in the 2017-18 season and impressed again in the Mumbai City colours, driving them to the semis last term.

The combative midfielder is a hard-working player and excels at disrupting opposition moves with crunching challenges, as shown by his 119 tackles in 50 matches. At NorthEast, he will be hoping to fill the boots of Rowllin Borges, who moved in the opposite direction earlier this transfer window

ISL

NorthEast appoint World Cup semifinalist Robert Jarni as new head coach...

NorthEast United FC have appointed former Croatia, Real Madrid and Juventus star Robert Jarni as the new head coach for the upcoming season of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL). The 50-year-old has over a decade of coaching experience behind him, with his last stint being with the Croatian Under-20 national team. Jarni will take over the Highlanders' reins after former head coach Eelco Schattorie joined Kerala Blasters FC a couple of months back.

During his playing days, the Croat plied his trade in the highest level for over 16 years. His journey started with Croatian club Hajduk Split back in 1986 and saw him play for several top clubs all over Europe, like Torino, Juventus, Real Betis and Real Madrid. During his time with Juve from 1994 to 1995, Jarni won the Italian league title and the Coppa Italia with The Old Lady. He was also part of the Los Blancos when they won the Intercontinental Cup back in 1998.

Highlanders, please welcome World Cup Bronze Medallist and former Croatian U-20 Manager, Robert Jarni, as the new Head Coach of NEUFC! 🔴⚫⚪#StrongerTogether #8States1United#WelcomeJarni pic.twitter.com/q1gbZxl9j9

— NorthEast United FC (@NEUtdFC) August 5, 2019

On the international front, Jarni was part of the former Yugoslavian youth side when it won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1987. Incidentally, current India national team head coach Igor Stimac was his teammate during the triumph. Like Stimac, Jarni went on to become a part of Croatia's 'Golden Generation' which shocked the world after finishing third in the 1998 France FIFA World Cup. Jarni played a total of 81 matches for the Croatian national team, which at one point was a national record for international caps by a Croatian player.

Like his club career, Jarni's coaching career too began at Hajduk Split. Over the next few years, Jarni managed several clubs in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary before taking over as the coach for the Croatia U-19 team in 2017. The following year, he was put in charge of the U20 side.

At NorthEast, Jarni will have a tough act to follow after Schattorie led the team to their first-ever Hero ISL semi-final last season, But the Croat has both the experience and pedigree to succeed at the club and can very well meet fans' lofty expectations from the team this season.

 “I am thrilled to take on this role at NorthEast United and the project has my full commitment. This is my first foray into managing an Asian club and I am thrilled to bring in an exciting brand of football which the supporters will thoroughly enjoy," the Croat said after formalizing the deal.

INDIA U-15

India u15 wrap up Thailand with four straight win ....

India U15 National Team wrapped up their exposure trip to Thailand in style with a convincing 2-0 victory against Assumption United FC today (August 9, 2018). The Blue Colts, in the process, scored 17 goals and conceded only 4 goals in four matches to maintain the 100% winning record during this tour.

Sridarth, who had already scored six goals in three matches before, broke the deadlock in the 40th minute before substitute Shubho Paul doubled the scoreline in the 59th minute to seal the victory.

Coach Bibiano Fernandes made two changes in the starting line-up from the previous match, putting Lalthangliana and Himanshu Jangra in replacing Sibajit Singh and Shubho Paul respectively.

India, who kicked off with more intent, could have breached the opponent defence in the 4th minute but Sridarth's shot was collected by the goalkeeper.

Lalthangliana, who started his first match in Thailand, fired it from inside the box but it got jammed in the goalie's gloves in the 20th minute.

Five minutes to the half-time whistle, Yoihenmba put in a brilliant cross for the target man Sridarth who slotted it home to give India an edge at the end of the first half.

At the stroke of the hour-mark, Shubho Paul, who replaced Taison Singh after the resumption, extended the lead from a well-placed cross by Maheson.

Assumption United FC attacker Jejthipat Wongyee shot it from wide but goalie Aman Sahani made an acrobatic save to maintain the comfortable lead in the 89th minute.

Eventually, India hung on to the 2-0 lead until the final whistle to secure the win.

Bibiano Fernandes' boys will now compete in the SAFF U-15 Championship Kalyani 2019 which is scheduled to kick-off with India facing Nepal in the opening fixture on August 21, 2019.

Women Football Team

COTIF Cup: Indian women's football team handed special trophy in Spain..

 Impressed with the Indian women's football team's performance in the COTIF Cupin Valencia, the tournament's presidend handed the players a special third-placed trophy.

India played four matches in the COTIF Cup, of which they won two (3-1 against Mauritania and 7-0 against Bolivia) and lost two (0-2 against both Villarreal and Spain U-19).

This is the team's best finish in the tournament, and it also won the Fair Play award.

"The organisation has valued the immense progress made by the Indian women's team over the last year. They have been a combative side with a warrior spirit that has made the fans here at COTIF fall in love with them," said Tormos.

"For all this, we have given them the prize for the national team that has behaved in the most sporting manner in the event, and I hope that they can come back here next year and repeat their performance once again in 2020. For all that India has offered us, and for being a revelation this year, I would like to thank them," he stated.

The COTIF president also congratulated the Indian coach personally after the tournament.

"We were awarded the fair play trophy, but there was no specific prize for the third-placed teams. However, the day after the last match, the local organisers presented us with a trophy, and the COTIF president also came over to congratulate us on the massive improvement we have shown," Rocky said.

BLUE TIGERS LAUD ROADMAP TO WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

BLUE TIGERS LAUD ROADMAP TO 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS.....

As the Indian Senior Men’s National Team gear up to kick-off their campaign in the King’s Cup in Buriram, Thailand, senior members expressed satisfaction at the pathway laid down for the Blue Tigers ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Qatar 2022 which kick-off in September.

Iconic striker Sunil Chhetri, all set to become India’s most capped International players if he plays against Curaçao on Wednesday (June 5, 2019), highlighted that the build-up to the World Cup Qualifiers “has been the way it should be”.

“It’s brilliant. We are playing Curaçao, and then we get either Vietnam, or Thailand in the King’s Cup,” he reflected.

“And then we come back home and play in the Hero Intercontinental Cup where we play Syria, DPR Korea, and Tajikistan. They are strong teams. This is exactly what Indian football needs. It’s a very good build-up for the World Cup Qualifiers which kick-off in September,” he maintained.

After India kick-off the season with the King’s Cup which concludes on June 8, the Blue Tigers will assemble again later this month for a preparatory camp for the Hero Intercontinental Cup, which is slated to be held at the TransStadia Arena from July 7-18, 2019. The World Cup Qualifiers are slated from September 2019, with the preliminary draw slated for July.

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said, “The upcoming five games, combining the King’s Cup, and the Hero Intercontinental Cup are of immense importance.

“I want to applaud the AIFF for getting the kind of games they have set for us. Most of the oppositions look so tough, and are at a better level than us. That’s the kind of matches we need. The build-up looks great,” he opined.

“Such matches will make us tougher. For the World Cup qualifiers, you need to put your best foot forward. Under the new coach, the team needs those games to gel well.”

The King’s Cup is India’s first appearance in an invitational overseas FIFA Ranking tournament since 2001, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur.

Central defender Sandesh Jhingan maintained, “we need to battle shoulder to shoulder with stronger nations.

“We won’t grow unless we play tough opponents. Tough teams will present their own set of challenges as they will have tougher players. We need to battle shoulder to shoulder with them to see where we stand, and improve on our strengths. I am liking this trend of getting ready for the World Cup qualifiers by playing such games,” he explained.

“The ultimate goal is to qualify for the big tournaments. You have to dream big, to achieve big. I always believe in the philosophy of dreaming big, despite the chances being low. But it’s only when you dream big, you have the hope, and chances of achieving it stay more,” he stated

World Cup 2022

European clubs could demand payoff if 2022 Qatar World Cup is held in winter..

The 2022 Qatar World Cup vanity project everyone except Sepp Blatter, FIFA, and the Qatari royal family want to wish away got one more wrinkle as Karl Heinz Rummenigge essentially demanded compensation if the tournament is moved to the winter. Player comfort will improve with the cooler temperatures but a winter change would crimp domestic league business not to mention increase the potential injuries and World Cup hangovers of the sort Mesut Oezil continues to suffer which impact performance.

“We are not ready to pay such a bill. That cost cannot be paid for by the clubs. It has to be made clear to FIFA that they need the goodwill of the clubs or we are not ready to talk.”

As president of the European Club Association, Rummenigge represents the business interests of the big clubs, most of them not too happy with UEFA poking around their accounts for FFP violations. Any loss in business makes the FFP maxim of loss should not exceed profits more difficult. A big fat check from FIFA for a winter participation might make that headache disappear.