The growth of Indian football remains in the hands of not just the AIFF but also in our hands to give it enough recognition it deserves. Over the decades even before Independence, the sport had its own revolution but never really boomed.
West Bengal Man, often known as the “Father of Indian Football”, Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari dedicated his life towards spreading Football in the country. He found the first ever Indian Football Organisation before dying at the age of 70, seven years before Independence.
That was the first ever effort made by an Indian for the sake of Football but that really wasn’t enough to get us to the top was it?
Post Independence we have had players like Sarangapani Raman, the first Indian Olympic goalscorer, Chuni Goswami, IM Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri among others but did you ever wonder why no one crossed the Seas and made a name for themselves in Europe or America?
To put that into context, have you heard of players like Fikru Tefera, Sony Norde, Ian Hume or Ferran Coronimas? If you haven’t, then you might know these: Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires, Roberto Carlos and Asamoah Gyan?
Do you know what do all of them have in common? They have all played in the Indian Super League, our top-tier football. But there haven’t been many that played in the PL, La Liga etc.
Having at least one name in a Big Foreign club is directly linked to the spike of Indian football. We need someone who can open the doors for others here to follow suit. You might not be convinced by this but you will be when a FIFA World Cup winner says it.
Bayern Munich legend Hans Pflugler who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany, shares similar thoughts. Currently on duty at Goa to scout 10 Indian youngsters from Bayern Youth Cup at Fatorda’s Nehru Stadium.
Those 10 players have to be very lucky and hard working at the same time as an opportunity of lifetime awaits them. They will be putting on Indian badge at Bayern’s training facility, Säbener Strasse at World Final 2023.
It is definitely not easy but is certainly not impossible as players from USA, Mexico, Argentina, Nigeria, South Africa and Rwanda have also gone forward through Bayern’s initiative ranks.
Hans Pflugler, who is overseeing all the proceedings, claimed that, “You need to have one player abroad, someone who can open doors to Europe. If that happens, it will have a snowball effect on the game here and it will be easier for others to follow in his footsteps.”
“Of course, football is not the most popular sport in India, but if developed well, sky is the limit.” – Pflugler added.
