( Nothing much it seems, for there is no football in India!)
Forlan, the Uruguayan footballer is in India and our dailies are full of it. He is a good player and was a big star even before he struck those goals in the recent world cup and took his team to the semi finals. I don’t know what he is doing in our land. One thing is for sure; he is not going to talk football in India, or if he does he is not going to talk seriously about it, because there is no real football in this land.
I am not saying this out of spite because my favorite team has fared poorly in the national tourney, or as an effort to denigrate all those guys who play the game in India. We play our sort of football and some of us like to watch it in action, because we love the game and would like to see it flourish in the country.
And at present the scenario is not all that bad for the player too. They have started to earn well. This was not the case before. There are clubs all over the land, there is sponsorship and there is great hype about the game in the media. This is all very welcome and I am glad for the players, for football is a crippling game at any level and those playing it should be guaranteed some sort of security in their life.
But honestly, the kind of football we play wouldn’t bear scrutiny. It’s terrible. That’s why one of our greats in football, I.M Vijayan recently stated that we wouldn’t be in the world cup even in the times of his child Aromal (the boy is learning the art at the feet of his father.) He may not be the most analytical of guys, but what he says comes from within him and it is sensed by the talent in him. It has to be true. If he had the physical strength of a European or African or Latin American footballer, he would have been a great international player.
He had such talent and brains for the game.
You know once, a long time back and when he was only a player, the present coach of Brazil came to our land on a visit and our reporters were at him seeking advice for our football. Dunga fortunately was not totally dismissive of it; he was kind enough to admit that there is such a thing in the land. He visited a few coaching camps and the players immediately crowded around him asking for tips on the strategies to be employed on the field.
His kindness did not prevent him from being blunt in his reply. He said:
“First learn how to control the ball and learn the skills of the game, then learn what the game is all about before trying to take it further”.
He further elucidated the point he was making.
“You know, we all do it for years and years before we even start to think about things like strategies back at home”
The guys were abashed; they might have thought that they are in the same league as these greats of football. And there could be still guys out there who think so. For them I have something. It’s a totally crazy video about tiny tots playing football. These guys are caught early and trained meticulously. Look at the stupendous skills these kids have, do you think that any international in India could even repeat the feats?
This is only the start of their game and they all do it, do you think that they would stop there or would be allowed to stop there? Do you think that those free kicks struck by Forlan came merely out of day- dreaming? He did it repeatedly while others as good as him was finding trouble with the ball employed. You can only execute your dreams if you sweat blood and are fired up by desire to excel in the game. It takes the dedication of a lifetime.
Just watch the video
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