Setting an unwanted record - Indian football team’s annus horribilis

A 1-1 draw against Malaysia in an international friendly in Hyderabad on Monday saw India set an unwanted record.

Any pearl-clutching over the Indian football team's failure to secure a single victory in a calendar year is unnecessary. There's no byzantine complexity in this. After follicly-challenged Stephen Constantine followed by Igor Stimac, Manolo Marquez now has the task of sending a group of bang-average players on fool's errand. Failures are expected.

A 1-1 draw against Malaysia in an international friendly in Hyderabad on Monday saw India set an unwanted record. For the first time since 2014 they were winless in a year. They rounded it off with four draws and a defeat against sides ranked lower. Ironically, it was a year when India aspired to reach the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Indian football’s annus horribilis had a forgettable AFC Asian Cup campaign in Qatar. They were schooled by Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, returning from the tournament without being able to score even once.

Then, they went deeper in the mire, losing to Afghanistan at home in a World Cup qualifier game. Sunil Chhetri's goal gave the hosts an early lead, but they couldn't hold on to it, going down 2-1.

India last won a competitive fixture on November 16, 2023, when they beat Kuwait in their lair in a World Cup qualifying match, with Manvir Singh scoring the winner. It proved to be a false dawn. Rather than building on that very creditable win, India’s performances nose-dived. The Indian football team has a fancy name, Blue Tigers. At the moment, in the international fixtures, they look like rabbits caught in the headlights.

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The anodyne year had some serious lows. Failing to beat Mauritius, ranked 178th, was one of them. India couldn't get the better of Vietnam either. Circa 2024 also saw the talismanic Chhetri calling time on his illustrious international career. There's no readymade replacement available.

“How can you have a replacement for Sunil, when your premier domestic tournament, the ISL, serves up dross and the teams rely on the foreigners to score goals, rather than giving local talents an opportunity,” former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly told this correspondent. “Overseas players, who don't get opportunities elsewhere, come to ply their trade in this league. Until we are serious about our grassroots development, it will continue like this.”

Not only the senior team, India failed to qualify for any of the AFC age-group tournaments as well.

“We are disappointed not to win, but I'm sure we will qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in 2027,” Marquez said after the draw against Malaysia.

For that to happen, India need to start winning matches. The new India coach will have to build a winning mentality with this set of players. Good luck with that.

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