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East Bengal, the three-time National Football League (NFL) champion, just about managed to ensure its existence in the inaugural I-League. The team’s plight, which is similar to what its arch-rival Mohun Bagan had experienced a year ago, highlighted the crisis pervading football in Kolkata. TWF correspondent Kushal Chakraborty reports
Doubts are emerging about the unique status Kolkata football has enjoyed ever since the sport found its roots in the country more than a century ago. The salutation - Mecca of Indian Football – is seriously looking out of place, especially after the National Football League was refashioned as the I-League. Even the staunchest follower of soccer in the country would not hazard to blow away this observation as a puerile musing. A brief look in the I-League standings table would reveal the decay that seems to be eroding the foundation of the cradle of Indian football.
The reason behind this crisis stems from the fact that the football clubs in the city are unable to stand up to the demand of the time – professionalism. The whole edifice of the city's soccer identity primarily rests on the two pillars – East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. These two clubs have managed to hold their vitality while others, including the famous Mohammedan Sporting, have wilted under the blows of time. This has happened primarily happened because of administrative callousness in the clubs, which could not stand up to the challenges posed by changes in system and principles of governance. In comparison the courage and initiative shown by the clubs in rest of the country, especially Goa, seems to be drawing away the focus from the eastern metropolis.
A peep into the coverage of the I-League would reveal the shift in the spotlight. The clubs from Goa, Maharashtra (Mumbai) and even Punjab (Ludhiana) dominated the greater part of the footage. Kolkata may draw a high percentage in terms of passion or following but the urge of adapting to the edicts of modern football is clearly missing.
A small incident in 1986 seemed to hold the fist symptoms that indicated the onset of decay. It came as a blow on the image of invincibility of the Kolkata clubs as all the three giants -- East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting – lost playing against relatively unsung opponents virtually in a span of 24 hours. Playing on May 2, 1986 in the now-discontinued Stafford Cup in Bangalore, Mohammedan Sporting lost to Goa's Dempo SC before East Bengal met the same fate against local side ITI the very next day. While this was happening Mohun Bagan, playing in Bandodkar Trophy in not-so-far-away Panaji, faced a reverse against Marmugao Port Trust. The sequel of setbacks raised a lot of cry at home but the mandarins in the clubs' management failed to read the inscriptions on the epitaph.
The launch of National Football League in 1996 brought a new age in club football in the country. The Kolkata clubs, riding the long tradition of playing competitive soccer, came to rule the sport yet again. Though JCT Mills won the inaugural event, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan took over thereafter. The two teams shared six titles before fading out against Goan resurgence. They have drawn a blank in the last three seasons and the number of teams – that once stood at a respectable four – was reduced to two with Mohammedan Sporting and Tollygunge Agragami bowing out. That was not all; even the former champions faced the plight of a relegation threat. Mohun Bagan stuttered and stumbled but somehow managed to stay adrift last season. This year similar fate befell East Bengal, which ran a sequel of loses and just about managed to save itself from sinking (read relegated to the second division). This did not happen in a day. It took years of neglect highlighted by multi-sector failures in the functioning of these clubs.
Absence in professional attitude – as most of the clubs depended on the whims and foibles of one man or a few amateurs clinging to power – saw the Kolkata teams falling behind the others when it came to the process of team building. The Goa teams, joined by the corporate giants like JCT Mills and Mahindra United, scored higher in this respect. Goa still has the highest number teams in the tournament.
In the past the Kolkata clubs, especially East Bengal, also doubled as nurseries creating stars season after season. It was the time when football was more skill oriented. With the passage of time, power, strength and stamina have come to represent modern football. Contribution of Bengal was quintessential in realising the two Asian Games gold (in 1951 and 1962), which now appears like a fairytale. This is primarily because the Bengal players could not adapt to the transformation to a more power-based approach. It became difficult for Bengal footballers to maintain the same level of fitness through the season. Though nimble footed, Bengali footballers are prone to injuries.
As Bengal struggled to come in terms with the challenges of modern football, the strong and tenacious boys from the hills – the North East – started coming into the picture. The onus of nurturing young talents gradually shifted to the states like Manipur, Meghalay, Mizoram, and Sikkim, which now contribute the highest number of footballers in the country. Goa comes second in this respect but becomes the ultimate destination for having arguably the best club set-up in the country.
While the rest of the country try to embrace the edicts of modern administration, the officials running the clubs in Kolkata show unnecessary stubbornness. In doing so the Kolkata clubs are drawing huge arrears in terms of selecting quality players. Before selecting a player it is extremely important to know about his physical and biographical profile. As a matter of fact Kolkata clubs have a system of having a committee of former footballers to scout talents. But when it comes to recruiting the players, the club officials take over and it becomes a play of pelf and politics.
Even the infrastructure of the Kolkata clubs remains antiquated. "You have hundred-year-old clubs but they seem to have remained transfixed in history," was how the president of Asian Football Confederation, Mohamed Bin Hammam, exclaimed making his visit to the city along with the his counterpart from the world body – FIFA – Joseph Blatter. The international bodies, realising need of a systematic development, have laid out clear guidelines of development. But the officials here still remain lost in the paradise of the past.
When it comes to coaching, the persons appointed for the job end up as escorts to the players and officials. Foreign recruits play major role in determining the fate of the clubs in any tournament. The curse of officialdom is evident here too as people with limited knowledge of the game go out on foreign trips just to recruit the player having least utility in the team composition. It is high time the clubs gave a serious thinking in tidying the administration. The AFC guidelines are ready at hand.
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