1930 to 1980's was hockey. then cricket took over. Maybe foorball will be the most popular sports in India after 30 years or so. If this happens that will be for good. What it means is most of us can watch India win worldcup from our deathbeds. You would cherish those memories till next rebirth.
I sincerly hope Sunil reaches the highest echeleons of soccer in the country as well as moving abroad to improve his game. But a point to consider, as long as Mr Priyaranjan Das Munshi heads the AIFF, there will be very little improvement in the game in our country. None in the Federation are honestly interested in improving the game in the country. I have played professional soccer for over 7 years in the country and know exactly how the AIFF function.
RE:Kudos to Sunil
by Sujan Saraswati on Dec 14, 2007 09:24 AM
Coutnho, it is really pathetic, if a player of your stature has to sound helpless. I am a fan of yours and I feel that you should be ruling the football affairs of this country and not Mr. Priyaranjan Das Munshi. I do not have any complaint against Mr. Das Munshi, but then they do not have any right to continue if they are not able to perform. We are probably stuck for eternity to below 150 position in the world. You can probably advise the likes of Mr. Priyaranjan Das Munshi as to how we can reach first hundred positions. You have an experience of playing with foreign players, you can probably tell as to how we are inferior to them. Do you think it is our physical structure or it is our dietry habits or it is our attitude.
RE:RE:Kudos to Sunil
by sudarshan chat on Dec 14, 2007 03:33 PM
Hi Sujan, Ofcourse Bruno will have a better answer, but some points that are obvious: Dietery habbits I think has a much bigger role than physical stature: for, if for physical stature, we should atleast do well at the asian level. It is the stamina to run for 90 mins that counts more. Better dietery habbits, better physios, more career security, more exposure and ofcourse, better leadership are amongst a few essential points which are necessary.
RE:Kudos to Sunil
by Sukhjender Singh on Dec 16, 2007 08:52 PM
Hi Bruno, I am a gr8 fan of urs.We shud look to develop football and shud consider looking forward toplaces like Andamans, I come from Andaman and from a school in Carnicobar which dominated Subroto cup once upon a time. I still remember the time when we used to have excellent coaches and our school team was doing gr8. but unfortunately not anymore, still today whenever there's suproto cup, I go through newspaper to find mention of my school. How and why it happened is hard for me to digest. but would diffinetly I would like to see football in a much better positionthan wht it is now. I am sure you will know than, emanuel and khusboo were from my school played for goa, and if i m not wrong they were on bench with one of the team with you (toolong for me to remember exactly).
RE:Kudos to Sunil
by sudarshan chat on Dec 14, 2007 03:21 PM
Hi,
I donot know if you are the same Bruno who I used to see on the TV. But whatever you have said is to be completely agreed upon. I remember on incidence, before the 1990 world cup, every country was alloted some time ( possibly 3mins) to ask a question and have it answered by the fifa authorities over phone. Mr Munshi ( who represented India) spent the entire time in praising fifa and couldnot even complete his question! We couldnot expect much progress for the sport if we have such lethargic representatives.
1) Kahan raja bhoj, kahan gangu teli. 2) Sania will have difficulty finding match for herself. Outside the sports arena in india close to the most eligible bachelor 4 her is Shri Rahul Gandhi s/o LATE PM
RE:Sunil Chetri v/s Bhutia
by sonia gupta on Dec 13, 2007 09:27 PM
Jeez... you watch too much Saas-Bahu serials. Why are you worried about her marriage ??? is she your daughter? If she is doing well in tennis, why are you so jealous?
Indian Government has totally ignored football and hockey. Invest some money in this sport and it will reach to the level of cricket.How can a sport come up without money?
RE:FOOTBALL TOTALLY NEGLECTED
by prasanth pai on Dec 13, 2007 06:37 PM
haha that is a joke, Indian govt has done nothing for crciket. cricket got noticed when India miraculously won the world cup by beating the unbeatable Windies. then some great marketing made it extremely popular. there is no one like Dalmiya in other sports. maybe football/hockey should get him as the chief.
there is a great following for football in India but unfortunately that happens to be for European league football and not for Indian football. for Indian football to become more popular, the national team should do something dramatic such as qualifying for the Asia Cup, World Cup etc. realistically we should aim to qualify for the 2018 world cup. appoint someone like Zico as the coach and plan for the long term. there is no use sitting on a couch and blaming cricket for the condition of football. there are only 16 teams in the cricket world cup but in the mind of a layman, a world cup win is a world cup win. i know that it is extremely difficult to qualify for big football tournaments but the common man in India will only notice it when something big happens. another good idea would be to bring big players such as Rooney, Ronaldinho etc for one or two days to India and get them to play in some fun matches. the media will create the hype coz these people are famous. i know it is going to be difficult to get these busy players but at least one can try. i am just sick of people blaming cricket for the pathetic condition of Indian sport. Cricket was marketed brilliantly and finds way to remain in the spotlight. people such as Gill and Kalmadi are the true culprits. they have been hanging on to their posts like leeches without contributing anything. there is enough space for sports to progress and prosper like in any other true sporting nation. i encourage children around me to t
RE:don't gimme that
by prasanth pai on Dec 13, 2007 06:24 PM
to take a plastic ball and practise dribbling and goal scoring. i couldn't become a sportsman but i want these kids to become sportspersons beacuse i believe what the writer of 'Chak De India' said in a NDTV chat show, ' Sport is he most beautiful thing'!
There are sports enthusiasts and cricket lovers. The first group believes in real sports and the second is stands near bollywood. Cricket and bollywood is for entertainment and soccer is a passion. Dont thing this article is going to make much change on an average indian. They will always be faithful to cricket where physical contact and power is not involved.
RE:For real sport
by prasanth pai on Dec 13, 2007 06:29 PM
only 10% percent of Indians are true sport lovers coz only these people have ever played a outdoor sport of any kind. all true sport lovers and cricket lovers but all cricket lovers are not true sport lovers. people of the second variety will praise Sachin when he scores a hundred and will burn his house if he ges out for a duck in the very next match.
