International Friendlies Lined up for Indian Football Team

India’s football team have begun their preparations for the 2011 Asian Cup in earnest. Set to return to top-level competition after a gap of 26 years, Bob Houghton and his squad have spared no expense in preparing the team for the mega-event in Doha.

As Mr. Arunava Chaudari reported earlier today, the Indian football team is all set to travel to Portugal for a two month training camp. Out of the 30 probables that have been named for the squad, 29 will be travelling together to Portugal. Star striker Sunil Chettri is not expected to join the squad because of his commitments with the Kansas City Wizards, but defender Gouramangi Singh and goalkeeper Subrata Pal join the Indian side after failing to bag contracts at the Melbourne Heart FC and Vancouver Rapids, respectively.

The football squad will train at Vierra from July 1-31, which is 200 miles from Lisbon, on the road to Porto. The training facilities there are good, and the town also has a third-division team. The aim during the first month is to improve the fitness of all the players, since they are all part of different clubs and routines, and some have just recovered from injuries and are lacking the desired fitness levels, according to coach Bob Houghton.

In August, the Indian football team will travel to Lisbon where they’ll train at the training facilities of Sporting Club de Lisbon, a Portuguese Premier side.

“The players will train at the Sporting Clube academy for the month of August. The academy is famous for producing two World Footballers of the Year in Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo. We will play 10 friendlies there,” the experienced British coach said.

The ten friendlies scheduled are against second division teams.

On returning, the Indian football side has several international friendlies scheduled to keep up their international exposure, and to get used to different climates and tactical formations. The first will be against Thailand on September 4, which will be played in Bangkok. India will then host the return leg friendly against Thailand at the Ambedkar stadium on September 8th.

Four more friendlies have been planned for the month of September, and the AIFF has contacted countries such as Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, DPR Korea and China. Exposure against such football sides will surely help the Indian team’s resolve and mental fitness, as some of them have represented Asia at the World Cups too.

October 8th and 12th are official FIFA match days, and India will play two internationals, the opponents are yet undecided. In November, they will travel to either UAE or Qatar for their final preparations before the Asian Cup in Doha.

India have been drawn in a very tough group, in fact in the so-called ‘Group of Death’, which also features Australia, South Korea and Bahrain. But coach Bob Houghton is not too worried, and in fact believes it will be a good experience for the side.

“Australians in the ongoing World Cup is an ageing side. I expect many of them retiring before Asian Cup. The coach will also retire, so we can expect a new-look squad. That would be better for us,” said the experienced coach who had been at helm of affairs for national sides of China and Uzbekistan.

“Regarding South Korea, only a couple of players from their World Cup squad may not be in Asian Cup. Their coach may also be there. When I was coach of China in 1998-2000 I was against the South Korean coach for three matches. So we know what to expect from the South Koreans,” he said.

Given the unusual 6-month training camp that the Indian football team will go through, Houghton certainly expects to make an impact at the Cup. He also agreed that the Asian Cup carried more importance than the Asian Games, and pointed out that even countries such as Japan and China send only developmental teams to the Games. And with all the international friendlies lined up, given that the Indian football team performs well, it will certainly not do any harm to our FIFA ranking as well.

The Toast of the Nation - Gouramangi Singh

For the last few days, I have observed that no one has picked up this important story, one that surely goes a step further in putting India on the world map of football. 

Gouramangi Singh could be well on his way to become the fourth Indian to ply his trade on foreign soil, after Mohamed Salim (Celtic), Bhaichung Bhutia (Bury FC) and Sunil Chettri (Kansas City Wizards).

The 6'1" centre back was offered a two-week trial by the Melbourne Heart FC, of the highly rated A-League of Australia. In doing so, he is the first non-striker to be offered a chance to prove his worth outside India.

The Indian football team has been making  headlines recently, with the performances of Sunil Chettri, and Gouramangi Singh certainly seems to be taking it further. The 25-yr old has played a lot of important games for both his club (Churchill Bros.) and country, and is a calming influence in defense.

Indian national coach Bob Houghton, whose own future with the team is in doubt, praised the Manipuri about his work ethic and attitude. However, if Gouramangi manages to bag a contract for the Melbourne Heart FC, it would mean he would miss out on the eight-month preparation camp of the Indian national team for the 2011 Asian Cup, where ironically, India will face off against Australia during their group stages. 

Indian forward Abhishek Yadav is convinced that Indian players are being taken seriously now, following their successful campaigns over the last few years. He said of Gouramangi, "Gouramangi is a nice chap. Defensively, I think he’s calm and very cool. He doesn’t lose his cool under pressure. He makes minimal mistakes and I think he’s been one of the most important members in the national team over the last few years."

"He keeps the defence intact. He is also a good leader and communicates well the team. If you check his record in the national team, you will find that India has not conceded many goals when he has played."

Melbourne FC head coach, John van't Schip also spoke very brightly of the youngster.

“Indian football is very much an unknown quantity, but I am confident Gouramangi has the potential to make an impression here in Melbourne,” he said.

“Despite his age, he is already an accomplished international footballer, having played in a number of important matches for India, including World Cup qualifiers.

“The club will have a close look at his ability, and determine whether he is both capable of making the transition to the Hyundai A-League and playing the football we want to play.”

His credentials are certainly good, including the Durand Cup in 2007 and 2009, the I-League title in 2008-09 where he was adjudged Best Defender, the historic IFA Shield in 2009, and helped his team Churchill Brothers to reach the group stages of the AFC Cup. On the international level too, he has impressed one and all, captaining the India U-18 team which won the legendary Ian Rush Trophy in 2003, representing the country in the U-23 team in the Olympic Qualifiers, where he starred in the draw against Iraq. He has been consistently delivering  solid performances for the senior team as well, helping them win the 2007 Nehru cup and 2008 AFC Challenge Cup.

Gouramangi Singh himself was ecstatic upon hearing the news.

“I would first like to thank God for giving me this great opportunity to showcase my skills abroad. Its every players dream to ply his trade at a higher level, and mine is no different. But it’s not always that one gets fortunate enough to land a trial and I intend to grab this opportunity and prove myself to the club. I would like to thank all my fans across the country that have supported me over the years and I hope I repay their faith in me by excelling at the trials.

"The invitation to try out for the club was a bolt from the blue and least expected, I had to pinch myself really hard to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I now look forward to impressing the club coach. I am quite thrilled about the prospect of playing alongside Simon Colosimo and John Aloisi, both Australian internationals who are part of the team. I would also like to thank the national team coach Mr. Bob Houghton for instilling in me the self belief that I can achieve it all and without his pivotal role in my career, none of this would have been possible.”

He will be attending the trials from the 7th of June to 19th of June 2010.