Wasted Miles

Nobody recognises his full name. But ask for ‘Balaram’ and eyes light up. The football legend, considered one of India’s best centre-forwards, lives alone in a small flat in Uttarpara near Calcutta. At 77, Balaram still keeps fit. His passion for football and disgust for officials managing Indian football are equally strong. In recent years, he coached the Calcutta Mayor’s XI and accompanied the team to Europe four times between 1993 and 1999. The school footballers got international exposure in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany and received encouraging reviews. Excerpts from an animated conversation he had for Outlook with Rajat Roy:

In the ’60s, three of us received training in Japan to become professional coaches after we ceased playing football. But Chuni (Goswami) never quite took it seriously while P.K. (Banerjee) did and achieved some success with Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and the Indian team. As for me, nobody got back after they heard of my precondition. I was very clear in my mind that as the coach, I would brook no interference in team selection. Even major clubs refused to concede independence. The All India Association of Football (AIAF) selected me twice and on both occasions I resigned for the same reason. My experience as a selector of the Indian team was also quite bitter. We selectors learnt about the team from the media! It was a farce.

Officials call the shots these days and order the coach about. Selections are made with ‘quotas’ and other considerations in mind. The AIFF and the clubs have destroyed Indian football. Even after so many decades, they have not been able to provide the necessary infrastructure. I don’t even see a good ground. In both Europe and Latin America, they play on natural turf. Here, our idea of a good turf is Astroturf. Lionel Messi, who last year played a friendly on Astroturf in Calcutta did the organisers a favour, possibly because he was on a goodwill visit. Take Mohun Bagan. It is an old club with such rich heritage. But they use the same ground for football, hockey and cricket! Can it ever happen on the grounds used by Manchester United, Real Madrid or Barcelona?

So how can you produce good footballers? It is depressing to watch the pathetic passing and ball-receiving skills of our footballers. But how can we possibly blame them? Poor quality grounds with uneven bounce and use of below-standard balls do irreparable damage. I remember my visit to the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur. Arun Ghosh was then TFA director. It was heart-warming to see the facilities. Excellent ground conditions, a modern multi-gym, floodlights, comfortable hostel, good food. Yet there was something missing. The Tatas hired the right people—Arun, Chuni and PK, for example. But as directors they were made to sit in their air-conditioned offices with computers, phones and fax machines. They were not expected to train or coach. That was left to others.

I actually had the bizarre experience of listening to the TFA coach instructing his players to get rough with rival players. What kind of coaching was that? I took it up with Arun Ghosh but he ruefully informed that he had no authority to interfere on the field.

The National Institute of Sports (NIS) has been busy producing coaches since 1959. The kind I’ve mentioned before. But can anyone tell me how many players they have produced? It has been wasting time, energy, money. If it must survive, it should work with scho­ol­children.

The Indian team now finds it difficult to even beat Afghanistan, to which it recently lost. The AIFF, in its wisdom, has shut down old tournaments like the Durand Cup, Rovers Cup and the IFA Shield. In those tournaments, smaller teams too would get the opportunity to play alongside bigger teams. Younger players would learn from their experience of playing against better players. But in the I-League, the number of teams is limited and only second- and third-raters from African nations are playing for these teams. Unless our players learn to play competitive, world-class football, why should world-class players come to play?

Just imagine, India is ranked below 146 other football playing nations. But in 1950, India could have sent a team to the World Cup. In 1956, India played well against teams like France, Italy and Hungary. When we visited Malyasia to play in the Merdeka Cup, we remained unbeaten. and were runners-up. I remember how scared the Koreans were of Jarnail Singh.

In the Rome Olympics too we performed creditably and were complimented for being quick on our feet. The fact that Indians reminded commentators of Brazilian skill was high praise. European newspapers effusively hailed the rise of another Asian footballing nation. Two years later, India beat South Korea and won the gold medal in the Asian Games.

But did Rahim saab get any award or acknowledgment? No. Now I see several coaches receive the Dronacharya and the Rajeev Khel Ratna Award even without international success. But Rahim saab’s immense contribution to Indian football is not even acknowledged. A devout Muslim, he would say that footballers had no religion. He never allowed anything else other than players’ skills to come in the way of their selection, training or positioning. Can you name one person like that in India? Praful Patel has more serious preoccupations in politics.

In Asia, Japan and Korea have surged far ahead. Their players are now regulars in the European leagues. Even Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have made progress.

Football was unknown in the US. But they began from scratch, invited legends like Pele to popularise the game, even hosted the World Cup in 1994. They could not have done all that without hard work, a vision and committed managers. In India you cannot expect this.

The CM of Goa, I am told, has entrusted the nurturing of young talent to a professional manager. Coaching centres have come up in 18 places. Similarly, I am told of a Nite Hawks Foundation in Delhi, which provides kits, coaches and tiffin to kids interested in football. Such initiatives aren’t publicised. How then do you move towards being a football superpower?