Asian giants till the 1970s, South Asian toppers till 2012, India have ceased to be even that this year. The 0-2 defeat to Afghanistan in the SAFF Cup final in Kathmandu has sunk India to her lowest in the FIFA hierarchy.
The I-League kicks off on Saturday, but the parent body - AIFF - is yet to wake up from its slumber and market the tournament properly. So soccer lovers in the country are barely aware of the event. The prize money for the winners has been increased from `40 lakh to `50 lakh, while the runners-up will get `20.8 lakh. The winners in each match will get `35,000.
With barely any talent worth its name in Indian football, all eyes will be on the foreigners. Interestingly, many from Europe have signed up this time. Players from Spain, England and even France are here to ply their trade.
Bengaluru FC have roped in former Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool assistant manager Ashley Westwood as coach. They have Englishman John Johnson, who played for Middlesbrough for a season, Kenyan Curtis Osano, of the Reading Academy, and Liberian John Menyongar.
Among other foreign signings, Churchill Brothers have the Portuguese duo, defender Euripedes Amoreirinha and attacking midfielder Hugo Machado. Dempo, with Arthur Papas at the helm, have former West Ham United trainee Billy Mehmet, Australian international Simon Colosimo and Japanese midfielder Shinnosuke Honda from Thai premier league side Buriram United. They also have Brazilian Roiberto Mendez who is better known as Beto. Salgaocar are with Scot Darryl Duffy and French-born striker Claude Gnakpa and Japanese Seiji Saito in the midfield.
Shillong Lajong FC have acquired Cameroon international Charles Edoa Nga and Trinidad and Tobago’s Cornell Glenn who, since 2002 has 66 international caps and 23 goals and featured in all three group matches of the 2006 World Cup. Pune FC have Equatorial Guinea international and former Villareal CF B team striker Raul Fabiani and Englishman Calum Angus, a Portsmouth FC academy defender.
It remains to be seen how much the Indians will benefit by matching their skills with these imports. Unless the experience gained is translated into good performance, as far as the national team is concerned, Indian football will continue to slide on skates.