Year Ender 2019: Excitement, Hopes and Unfulfilled Promises, Tracking ‘Sleeping Giant’ Indian Football’s Progress This Season

A year that started with a 4-1 thumping win over Thailand passes with India 10 ranks down than what it was two years ago. A year filled with highest expectations and full of hope, yet again ends with very little accomplished as India continues its constant challenge to come through the “sleeping giant” moniker it has been associated with since a decade ago. Year 2019 saw India surge from the maxim (attractive, slick passing and fast-paced football) to the bare minimum (incompetent and mediocre football) with only 2 wins to show in results, both incidentally coming against Thailand. But even as the Indian men’s team laid on to faint hopes, little sparks of brilliance and more of mediocrity, the women’s team burst out of the nutshell they were kept limited to. FIFA Team Rankings: India Lose 11 Places in 2019, Ranked 108th in Latest Football Standings.

For Sunil Chhetri & co, the season started in a dream. A 4-1 win over Thailand in the Asia Cup for a first victory in 54 years at the continental tournament. That win – where Chhetri went past Messi and Jeje scored his last international goal – was also erstwhile coach Stephen Constantine’s last taste of glory before his teary-eyed ending as India’s head coach after successive defeats. Yet even in his departure, the Englishman managed to liven up the long lost joy in Indian hearts of those passionate fans. That win followed a brave and spirited defeat to host UAE and an almost draw against Bahrain. Indian Football Team to Play 10 Friendlies in Europe Next Year: Igor Stimac.

But the joy, hopes and dreams of that night blew away and India were brought down to earth again with only three points from as many games. Off went Constantine and entered Igor Stimac. By far India’s biggest and prominent appointment. A better playing career, a World-Cupper, a national hero and a Derby County legend. Stimac came in with bigger promises. Spoke better and sold his plans better.

Soon India were playing from long hurls into the opposition half to possession-based transition football. But the final product lacked. All talk but no results. After two brilliant opening games in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, India needed an 88th & 93rd-minute equalisers to hold lower-ranked Bangladesh and Afghanistan. An insipid 0-1 defeat followed against Oman crushing India’s World Cup progress. And six months into the Croat’s reign, all India have managed is one win from 10 games.

The passing index have certainly improved from approximate 240s under Constantine to near 400 under Stimac as have been the ball playing and a short passing game between players in blue shirts. But results have long dried up for Stimac’s men, whose only win came in June and since which India have shipped 15 goals for 8 of their own.

In contrast, the women have enjoyed a better season with 16 wins from 26 matches, which includes the fifth successive SAFF Championship title and the South Asian Games gold medal. But despite the frequent happy and merry, Indian women’s football team too were so close yet so far. A 3-3 draw against Myanmar following hard-fought wins over Indonesia and Nepal, wasn’t enough for the eves to progress in their chase for Olympic dream. But the result was better than what their male counterparts achieved, a humiliating second-last position in the Asian World Cup qualifiers with three more games to play.

They have long been cut off the race for a World Cup berth and now a second-place finish in Group E looks a distant dream. Igor Stimac’s fantasy football go meaningless without results and perhaps its high time results start pouring out Because 2019 was all spent on harbouring hopes, excitement, selling dreams and looking forward to better days. Yet, little was achieved.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 27, 2019 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).