BANGALORE: In 1984, Argentina sent a team under Carlos Bilardo for the Nehru Cup in ‘Calcutta’, now Kolkata. Bilardo was preparing the team for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Except Diego Maradona, Argentina had most of them who did duty when they triumphed in 1986.
The Indian team under Yoguslav coach late Ciric Milovan lost to Argentina 0-1 with the goal coming as late as in the 88th minute. That spoke volumes of the talent in Indian football.
Ask any Indian footballer who has been associated with coaches over the years as who was the best coach and the answer inevitably is Milovan. The humble and learned Milovan coached Yugoslavia when it was a force in European soccer as also Israel. India needs a Milovan.
In the 1997 Nehru Cup under Syed Nayeemuddin, India lost to eventual champions Iraq on penalties after playing out a 1-1 draw in the semi-finals. During the 2000 World Cup qualifiers in Bangalore, India under Sukhvinder Singh defeated a very strong United Arab Emirates 1-0 with Bhaichung Bhutia scoring the winner.
These achievements must rank far higher than those got by the Indian teams under coach Bob Houghton for they had to face quality opposition unlike in 2007 and 2009 when India won the Nehru Cup. For they came at the expense of sub-standard opposition at best.
In the preceding years when the Nehru Cup saw national teams of class and quality, India did well despite not actually winning the cup. Those results were a better measure of India’s playing levels rather than cup wins in 2007 and 2009.
That Bob was India’s best soccer coach is far from truth. Houghton came to India in June 2006. He resigned and left in April 2011.
With the Englishman at the helm, India also won the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup by virtue of that victory.
Five years at the helm on the trot is easily the longest term a coach has had with the national team. Houghton could not have asked for more. He was the most expensive coach in Indian sports at $30,000 a month.
Do his achievements justify the salary that the All India Football Federation paid him? Even in the context of the victories that Houghton guided the Indian team to, the answer is an emphatic ‘no’.
He was clever enough to have national camps in Portugal and Spain lest his methods be exposed. Playing friendly matches against third and fourth division teams was no way to prepare for an important assignment like the Asia Cup with India being there after 1984.
Players always have an axe to grind and will support the man in charge. Not surprisingly, for even Bhaichung, Nayeem, Sukhi, Rustam Akramov and Stephen Constantine were all the best coaches he has played under.
Bhaichung says the same about Houghton now.
A pretentious, over paid and under-achieving Houghton’s term is over for whatever reasons.