2014 World Cup qualifiers: ‘Heavy storm’ awaits India in UAE
Margao: Indian football is in a ‘transitional phase’ and coach Armando Colaco has warned fans not to expect any quick results in the upcoming double leg 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against UAE.
The Indian national football team coach has an agenda on his mind ahead of the Asian round of the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Colaco says Indian football is in a ‘transitional phase’ and the friendly against Qatar is an ideal preparation and a wonderful ‘opportunity and exposure’ for his young side which he feels will form the core of the Indian team in years to come. But, he has his eyes set on the future of Indian football.
Colaco warns fans not to except any quick results in the upcoming double leg 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against UAE and the friendly against Qatar.
“It will be a storm, a heavy storm against UAE. We are not expecting anything. It’s going to be tough. They are (UAE) a strong, a very strong team. They have the best of the facilities they are investing so much in the foreign exposure trips. It will be good lesson for us to play them.”
UAE, currently 111th in the FIFA World rankings, played India last in a friendly in November 2010, winning 5-0. India last win against UAE came on Indian soil back in 2001 in a World Cup qualifier in Bangalore.
At that time, the West Asian nation was ranked 64th in the world. India upset all odds to beat UAE 1-0 with midfielder Jules Alberto scoring the only goal of the game.
“We have been watching the videos of UAE matches and after the friendlies I’m sure we will be well prepared for that clash,” said Colaco.
Colaco’s thirty member squad is a mixture of youth and senior players and he says the new players are likely to ‘form the core of the future in the years ahead’.
The 58-year old who has managed Indian I-League Dempo since 2000 has awarded ten under-23 Olympic qualifying players with a place in the senior squad. Colaco had to take some hard decisions after taking over and one of them was axing some of the senior players like Bhaichung Bhutia and Rennedy Singh.
“I haven’t axed any player. If the need arises I won’t hesitate to recall them. Performance at the club level will be paramount for me. I have nothing against Bhutia or Rennedy. All I wanted was to have a set of players who are fit and deserving to be there.”
Bhutia knick named the Sikkimese Sniper became the first Indian footballer to play professional football in Europe in 1999. He played for Bury FC.
India, ranked 147 in the world take on World No 94 Qatar at Al Sadd Stadium Doha today at 6.30pm (Doha time).
The match, an International Friendly, is in preparation for India’s World Cup Qualifier against UAE on July 23 and the return leg will take place in New Delhi on July 28. The match is also the last chance for Coach Armando Colaco to decide the final composition before the qualifiers. The first friendly against Maldives, India drew 1-1.
India played Qatar in the Pre-Olympic Qualifiers at the same stadium an Old Trafford’s replica 28 days back and lost to the hosts 3-1 and the return match in Pune ended in a 1-1 draw, with Qatar qualifying to the next round on aggregate of 4-2.
The Serbian Milovan Rajevac has a mission off taking the 2022 World Cup host to the finals rounds of the quadrangular event to be hosted by Brazil.
Rajevac’s task begins on July 23 when the 94th-ranked Qataris start their qualification road to Brazil 2014 with a preliminary-round tie against Vietnam.
Qatar has been unsuccessful in earlier ten attempts to reach the Finals round of the World Cup since first entering for the 1978 event. It qualifies automatically for the 2022 tournament as host.
The Serbian Rajevac has a mission in trying to give the wealthy 2022 World Cup host credibility on the field to match its status in soccer politics.
Hired in February, Rajevac’s task begins next week when the 94th-ranked Qataris start their qualification road to Brazil 2014 with a preliminary-round tie against Vietnam.
Rajevac is motivated by making history.
”That is the most important thing, the greatest satisfaction. This is something that you cannot buy,” Rajevac said recently.
Last year, Rajevac’s Ghana team eliminated the United States in the second round and nearly became the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal.
That performance enhanced Rajevac’s reputation just five years after he was an assistant at Doha club Al Sadd.
Rajevac said he was ”thrilled” to come back to Qatar because of its special place in soccer’s new world order.
”That is why we’re trying to build a team for the future. You try to do everything according to a plan.”
That plan includes Qatar reaching a World Cup on merit, in its 10th attempt since first entering for the 1978 event. It qualifies automatically for the 2022 tournament as host.
Qatar has two chances left, but the relaxed coach said he’s not under stress.
”There’s no additional pressure,” Rajevac said.
”Football is like that, everything is pressure. You need to be very calm to do your work properly. We try to channel that pressure into a positive performance.”
As part of the preparation for the qualifiers Qatar were in Europe this month, Qatar lost 3-0 to Swiss top-division side Lausanne, and 4-2 against Bayern Munich in Italy, before returning to Switzerland to draw 2-2 with Neuchatel Xamax.
Colaco said playing Qatar is part of the learning experience for the juniors.
“They (juniors) can learn a lot from these friendlies. I have always advocated the need to play more friendlies even with lower ranked teams. It will be a good lesson for us. Qatar will be a tough opponent and an ideal preparation for our match against UAE. I understand, both (UAE & Qatar) have similar styles of play. India has a strong friendly relationship with Qatar and it was great of them to provide us with this opportunity”
The former India midfielder is however happy with the way his team played against Maldives in the first friendly match since he took over from Englishman Bob Houghton in May this year.
“We created a lot of chances, at least seven of them but we could not score with an open goal before them. Opening up the rival defense and creating so many things is a good thing. If you have a look at the DVD of the match then you can see the progress yourself,” said Colaco, who got three weeks to prepare the team.
For Colaco, this is his maiden stint with the national team, all his success has come at the club level for Dempo SC, the club where he also served as a player and where he now holds the dual duties of a coach-cum-general secretary. He has been given a temporary break of four months by his club to take up the national assignment.
Colaco took over from the globetrotting Houghton who tendered his resignation in April this year.
Houghton had been quite critical of the infrastructure facilities and the lack of quality coaches in India. The 63-year- old guided the world second populous country to the final stages of the 2011 Asian Cup held Qatar in January this year
But the Indians who qualified for the Cup after a gap of 24 years fared miserably losing all their three matches to Australia, Bahrain and South Korea.
Colaco now wants to break free of the long-ball style of play employed by Houghton during his tenure.
“I would like my boys to keep possession and build up the game from their own half. We will play to our strengths and not copy the English style — it doesn’t suit our players. But that doesn’t mean we will try to emulate Barcelona. No team in the world can do that, and we, of all people, can’t dream of such wonders.”
"A lot has to be done and achieved in three weeks of training. But I am happy with the way we played our first match against Maldives," said Colaco, referring to the process made in the three-week camp.
He added: "I would request all to go through the recording of the match and judge how the boys played. However, there is no denying a lot has to be done and achieved."
“Qatar is a highly ranked team and plays with a style similar to that of the UAE. India has a strong friendly relationship with Qatar and it was great of them to provide us with this opportunity,” Colaco said.
Colaco’s thirty member squad is a mixture of youth and senior players. The 58-year old who has managed Indian I-league club since 2000 has awarded ten under-23 Olympic qualifying players with a place in the senior squad.
The former India international said playing Qatar is part of the learning experience for the juniors.
“They (juniors) can learn a lot from these friendlies. I have always advocated the need to play more friendlies even with lower ranked teams. It will be a good lesson for us.
“The only way these young boys can improve is by giving them exposure and the earlier we do it, the better. Yes, they lack experience but this is the only way they can grow. I will try to give them opportunities in these friendlies but we are in the final stages of getting the right combination and I have to keep all that in mind as well,” reasoned Colaco.
A new-look Indian football squad is in Doha since Tuesday as part of their preparation and will play Qatar today.
Qatar team
Goalkeepers:
Saad Al Sheeb (Al Sadd), Qassim Burhan (Al Gharrafa), Baba Malick (Lekhwiya)
Defenders: Mohamed Kasoula, Ibrahim Maged (Al Sadd), Ibrahim Al Ghanem, Bilal Mohamed (Al Gharrafa), Hamed Ismael, Meshal Mubarak (Al Rayyan), Moussa Haroun (Al Arabi), Mohamed Moussa, Moussa Al Allaq (Lekhwiya)
Midfielders: Wisam Rizq, Magdi Sediq (Al Sadd), Lawrence Quaye, Fohaid Al Shmmari (Al Gharrafa), Fabio Cesar, Younis Ali (Al Rayyan), Hussein Shehab (Lekhwiya)
Forwards: Khalfan Ibrahim, Yousef Ahmed (Al Sadd), Sebstian Soria (Qatar SC), Mohamed Al Sayed Geddo (Umm Salal), Mohamed Razak (Lekhwiya)
INDIA
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Sandip Nandy (East Bengal Club), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC), Laxmikant Kattimani (Dempo SC)
Defenders: Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers SC), Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers SC), Robert Lalthlamuana (Churchill Brothers SC), Rowilson Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC), Raju Eknath Gaikwad (Indian Arrows), Valeriano Rebello (Dempo SC), Debabrata Roy (Dempo SC), Sameer Naik (Dempo SC), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC)
Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal Club), Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal Club), Harmanjot Khabra (East Bengal Club), Steven Benedic Dias (Churchill Brothers SC), Jewel Raja Sheikh (Indian Arrows), Shilton D’Silva
(Indian Arrows), Lalrindika Ralte (Indian Arrows), Peter Carvalho (Dempo SC), Climax Lawrence (Dempo SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan AC), Lalkamal Bhowmick (United SC)
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Chirag United SC), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Indian Arrows), C.S. Sabeeth (Viva Kerala), Sushil Kumar Singh (East Bengal Club), Baljit Singh Sahni (East Bengal Club)
Stand-Byes: Thokchom Naoba Singh (East Bengal Club), Khangembam Jibon Singh (Indian Arrows), Anthony Barbosa (Salgaocar SC), P.K. Anil Kumar (Viva Kerala),
Officials: Armando Colaco (Chief Coach), Savio Medeira (Assistant Coach), Marcus Pacheco (Goalkeeping Coach), Suresh Babu, Team Physio and other officials.
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