NEW DELHI: The police cars that followed their team bus around for the last two weeks were no longer there. There were no barricades around the training pitch, blocking off the horde of journalists waiting for a word, nor were there armed guards deterring fans trying to get a peek. The first Indian team to take to the field in a World Cup, caught in what must have seemed like a surreal two-week dream, had landed back with a thud into reality.
The kids, most of them anyway, assembled at the JN Stadium on Wednesday for their first training session post their exit, but they were no longer the country's U-17 team. They, along with a smattering of older players, are now the country's U-19 team, who will attempt qualification to the U-19 Asian Championships in Saudi Arabia next month.
Coach Luis Norton de Matos was back, as was his assistant Hugo Martins, but goalkeeping coach Paulo Grillo has returned back to Portugal. Assisting them was current U-19 coach Floyd Pinto. The trio will shepherd the squad through the U-19 Asian qualifiers, though they have not yet inked the contracts to manage the team in the upcoming I-League season.
With the weight of the World Cup off his shoulders, De Matos appeared a relieved man, even popping over to the handful of journalists watching, to wish them a 'happy Diwali'. The boys themselves appeared tired though, their fatigue more mental than physical. Most of them returned home after two years away on Friday, only to jet back to New Delhi on Tuesday.
"I understand the concerns," De Matos said. "The World Cup is a lot of pressure, a lot of concentration. But the problem is the time. On October 24, we go to Qatar to play friendlies. The players are involved in the process now and they need to continue to play at this level."
"It was in August that we proposed for the boys to play the I-League," De Matos said. "The I-League, for me, is the key thing for the players. After these kinds of games, this kind of intensity, it is important to the play a tournament like the I-League. In the future, that will make them more strong."