Now
that the ISL is over, it is time to think, discuss, as we very often do keep on
wasting our time in doing this, popularly known as third half. I am not a
footballer and never have any sort of claims that indicate to analyse the game
with profound knowledge. Just like most of the Bengalis who spent their good childhood
time in kicking the ball in their nearest neighborhood ground, I too have a
special place in my heart for football for that reason. Yes! I used to watch
Calcutta League, (Super division) , IFA Shield , Rovers Cup , Durand Cup ,
Federation Cup on a regular basis –once upon a time J .
Thanks to ISL, that it brought back that same
euphoria amongst us. Let me put it in this way - I already have gone nostalgic
in writing this , so I don’t see any harm in looking back to those days where
Derby were being played between the football Giants like Mohonbagan –East
Bengal . Hot debates, ticket crunch all were part of those events inside and
outside of every Calcuttans home. Turn back and memories begin to step forward
to engulf – black & white TV , Late
Ajay Bose as a commentator , Bidhesh Bose`s solo run , Shibaji Banerjee`s
penalty save, Prasun Banerjee`s game-making,
Surojit Sengupta`s dribble. Football was a phenomenon at that time – radio
commentary, football galleries, human-roar, gossips, jerseys, banners and
festoons of favorite clubs – and fish markets. If it is football, I am sure we
all have our photographic memory of the past. The skills of Krishhanu- Bikash, Subrata
- Monoranjan, Bhaskar Ganguly, Mihir Bose, Md. Habib-Akbar, hardly have faded
from our retrospect.
Although
the levels were falling down sharply comparing to the by gone days of Manna,
Chuni, PK, Amhed , Sattar - still the game can easily pull large chunk of crowd
in galleries . Paper house, News agencies had made their bread out of it, TRP
went up high. It was an enthraller all the way, charmed people for sure.
The
Quality Level could have been raised or be recuperated, if we were at all keen
to do that but no! The glory gradually faded away and as it seems we got to embrace
(without much choice) a game that hardly played by major countries of our world.
Now,
let’s not distract from the key point and ask ourselves why? What had gone
wrong? What could be the reasons that potentially pushed football into
obscurity? Lack of Sponsorship, viewership, infrastructure? What majorly
contributed into it? I couldn’t think off any single reason for this turnaround
rather all these factors must have had their roles in decaying Bengal football.
Arguably it’s not only about the talents, but about various reasons associated
with the game have compounded to form a major clout in soccer scene at Calcutta. Do we miss the nursery where skills are usually
honed, clubs like Aryan Sports and Kalighat , Sonali Shibir , those who act as
the feeder institutions for bigger clubs through their local tournaments, they
are banking on the foreign players now. Yes! We do, but what lies beneath?- let
me exemplify – during the eighties, Madhyamgram High School, WB, had won the
prestigious Subrata Cup for 7 times. Parimal Dey, Shyam Thapa , Prasanta
Banerjee, Shyamal Banerjee, Pratap Senapati they all have played this
tournament before they brighten up the IFA League at Calcutta. So it can
clearly infer that we are losing both skills and focus from the school level
itself.
Now the
point I see the offices, banks may have stopped recruiting the star players as
it used to do earlier. The professional league doesn’t have enough money for
the domestic player by which they can sustain later in their life. Moreover if
by any chance he got injured in any session and couldn’t play thereafter, there
will be a full stop in their career. Football no longer is a good career option
for middle-lower middle class Bengalis as it used to be earlier, when it was
told in families,- if you are good you can ensure a public sector job for
lifetime. Now it’s different, the self-life of this career has shrunk. Those who shined once with their skills at
ground hardly suggest their children to take football as full time career. Think about schools – they don’t have any scholarships
for football , think about the foods , in a poor state like Bengal where one
day meals are not even a daily assurance , how can parents afford to buy a
spike boot – grounds are largely occupied by the land sharks , there are places
for real estate ,- football sadly no.
Then, we would nod our heads in disagreement
and shout to place our rationale – wasn’t it same at the early days … well of
course yes! It was even worse; we won IFA shield in bare legs against a
regiment who wore boots. We were proudly beaten by Hungary at the Olympic
Semifinal in football. We won Asian Game gold, Mardeka cups against mighty
opponents, aren’t we? Adverse situation were there, will always be, and can’t
be a mere excuse – point is to overcome them and move on. –right? Wrong! The
needs are rolling; we can’t imagine a bowl full of rice in 1 paisa today, can
we?
Accept it or not, we need sponsors,
scholarships, and infrastructure and above of all patronage from the Government
– remember the phrase from the movie ‘Jerry McGuire’ - ‘Show me Money’.
Bengal
helped establish many sporting associations and went on to give shape to many
national federations. The Indian Football Association (IFA) is one such State
body which came into existence much before the national body — the All India
Football Federation (AIFF). In football
landscape if India to succeed we need Bengal football to survive also. The fanatics, craze is very much here, proves?
-Just see the fan following, in week days ‘Yuvabharati’ Stadium has recorded to
draw about 67-68000 crowd- almost in every occasion .
What else we need?- Let us reiterate the dialogue - ‘Show me Money’ .
ReplyDeleteIt is really very excellent,i find all articles was amazing.awesome way to get exert tips from everyone,not only i like that post all peoples like that post,because of all given information was wonderful and it's very helpful for me.
Dotnet training in Chennai
Yes, you are right. Football no longer is a good career option. You exactly explain us why children can't take football as full time career. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I hope it will be helpful for too many people that are searching for this topic.
ReplyDeletesuperfighters
friv