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The cash prizes are still sad, but from the looks of it, the indian team is finally starting to look like a unit. Or maybe its another false dawn, we have had a few of those... time will tell, can India qualify for a major championship??
ONGC NEHRU CUP: PRADEEP LIGHTS A NEW ERA
India was destined to win her maiden Nehru cup in front of 20,000 crowds in the Ambedkar Stadium on a humid Wednesday night. All the elements were in their favour. Two goal.com articles had predicted an Indian win; Bob Houghton came perfectly suited and booted; crowds went wild once the kick off commenced; Indian flags were fluttering aplenty; the posters had names of Sunil Chettri and Baichung Bhutia; and the best poster screamed “We want Sweet Revenge”.
Revenge it was, and sweet it was! Subroto Pal was outstanding, Steven Dias and NP Pradeep dictated the flanks, Mahesh Gawli marshaled his defences – all this while the Syrians lost cool and a man. It didn’t even matter that Baichung had missed open chances, what mattered was that, India played stylish possession football. It became irrelevant that Syrians were an aggressive unit with larger framed players (the common excuse India gives while losing); what mattered was that India were bold and controlled the match. It didn’t even matter that the post match presentation host was stumbling with words and introductions, what mattered was that Baichung Bhutia got louder cheers than a current cricketer who was standing in the overcrowded dias. It didn’t matter that the presentation ceremony was shoddy to say the least; AIFF have to be given bouquets for arranging a pre-tournament Portugal tour and also announcing cash bonuses to the winning team, equivalent of the tournament prize money (USD 40K). As a footnote, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit also announced addition of USD 12K to the winning team’s bonus kitty!
NP Pradeep’s bullet from the edge of the box in 44th minute had and will have a much bigger impact to Indian football, as it made its debut to the news flashes and tickers in the 25 odd regional and national news channels. It dawns a new era, which is larger than the 40 ranking spots it is expected to leap. India will now await its qualifier vs Lebanon and the I-league. Till such time, I whole heartedly thank the 20000 odd lucky Delh-ites for coming out and cheering India to a famous milestone with their closest friends, noisy bugles, irritating whistles, colorful turbans, jingoistic bhangra, creative slogans, bare chested swinging their white shirts in the air and hoarse lung power. The national team needed it all … and deserved it all.
ONGC NEHRU CUP: PRADEEP LIGHTS A NEW ERA
India was destined to win her maiden Nehru cup in front of 20,000 crowds in the Ambedkar Stadium on a humid Wednesday night. All the elements were in their favour. Two goal.com articles had predicted an Indian win; Bob Houghton came perfectly suited and booted; crowds went wild once the kick off commenced; Indian flags were fluttering aplenty; the posters had names of Sunil Chettri and Baichung Bhutia; and the best poster screamed “We want Sweet Revenge”.
Revenge it was, and sweet it was! Subroto Pal was outstanding, Steven Dias and NP Pradeep dictated the flanks, Mahesh Gawli marshaled his defences – all this while the Syrians lost cool and a man. It didn’t even matter that Baichung had missed open chances, what mattered was that, India played stylish possession football. It became irrelevant that Syrians were an aggressive unit with larger framed players (the common excuse India gives while losing); what mattered was that India were bold and controlled the match. It didn’t even matter that the post match presentation host was stumbling with words and introductions, what mattered was that Baichung Bhutia got louder cheers than a current cricketer who was standing in the overcrowded dias. It didn’t matter that the presentation ceremony was shoddy to say the least; AIFF have to be given bouquets for arranging a pre-tournament Portugal tour and also announcing cash bonuses to the winning team, equivalent of the tournament prize money (USD 40K). As a footnote, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit also announced addition of USD 12K to the winning team’s bonus kitty!
NP Pradeep’s bullet from the edge of the box in 44th minute had and will have a much bigger impact to Indian football, as it made its debut to the news flashes and tickers in the 25 odd regional and national news channels. It dawns a new era, which is larger than the 40 ranking spots it is expected to leap. India will now await its qualifier vs Lebanon and the I-league. Till such time, I whole heartedly thank the 20000 odd lucky Delh-ites for coming out and cheering India to a famous milestone with their closest friends, noisy bugles, irritating whistles, colorful turbans, jingoistic bhangra, creative slogans, bare chested swinging their white shirts in the air and hoarse lung power. The national team needed it all … and deserved it all.
Last edited by on Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:06 am; edited 1 time in total
you'd think that with 1 billion people they could find 20 that would have quite a bit of skill.
we watched the game on a projecter in our college, with about 200 of us, and I was the only one cheering for Italy!!
