Monday, Nov 03, 2003
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Football
``No doubt, the standard of Indian football has improved in the past few years. Had the team got more international matches and exposure, we had surely improved our FIFA ranking and moved into the first 100,'' Vijayan told pressmen on the sidelines of the Durand Cup matches. The Arjuna awardee, who scored four goals in four matches in the Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad, played the India-Uzbekistan final, which India lost 0-1 on Sunday night. The ace striker had scored a brace in India 5-3 win against Zimbabwe in the semi-final. Vijayan pointed out that India reached the finals of the Games, and played better than most of the higher ranked soccer teams in the Afro-Asian Games. India's FIFA ranking is 133 while the other soccer teams in the Games were Iran, ranked 45, Zimbabwe, 50, Burkina Faso, 69, Ghana, 75, Uzbekistan, 110, Rwanda, 111, and Malaysia, 117. He showed tremendous commitment for his team JCT Mills Phagwara and joined the team for its opening match against Army XI yesterday. Though he did not take the field, he was in the JCT's 18-member players list. JCT won the match 2-1. Vijayan said India has been consistently doing well in whatever little matches coming its way and has won tournaments, including LG Cup in Vietnam and beaten higher ranked teams in recent times. Vijayan said the Indian team had the potential to be among the top ten soccer playing nation in Asia and get into the first 70 in FIFA's world ranking. The ace striker said facing better competition could help India reach the top 100 in a couple of years. The senior forward wondered why the football team was not getting international matches apart from a few friendlies and below-average tournaments. ``FIFA should give us more chance while the AIFF should be more serious on the issue,'' he added. Vijayan said it was very painful to see that talents were being wasted and potentially interantional players getting ruined due to apathy of the sports authorities in the country. He also charged the government for following a step-motherly attitude towards the game. ``Football is not only the most popular game in the world, it is among the most liked and watched sports in India as well,'' Vijayan observed. Vijayan asked how many people watched domestic-level cricket, including Ranji Trophy matches and then compared it to the popularity of football. ``Even club level football are being watched by more people than Ranji matches... this demonstrates which game is more popular at the grassroots level,'' he noted. The former Indian captain reiterated that his decision to retire from international soccer was final and would only play for his club for this season. ``Apart from the ongoing Durand Cup, I will play all the major tournaments for JCT, including the national league this season,'' he added. Vijayan has been part of the Indian team since 1991, and was the Indian player of the year in 1993, 1997 and 1999. He received India's top sports award, the Arjuna, this year. The veteran player plans to open a football coaching centre after his retirement from all levels of the game. UNI
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