Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004 |
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Football
By H.S. Manjunath
India captain Baichung Bhutia engaged in target practice. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
MARGAO, FEB. 17. Their strategies and hunches apart, Stephen Constantine and Radojo Avramovic are in total agreement that the elements are just right for good football when India takes on Singapore in the opening game of the Group III Asian Zone World Cup qualifier before an expected full house at the Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday. At a joint media briefing on Tuesday afternoon they tactfully covered their tracks on strategy and team composition but maintained that the game was important to both sides. India's live wire Bhaichung Bhutia may have to take a routine fitness test as late as Wednesday morning to see whether he has fully recovered from a slight hamstring strain he picked up in the game against Geylang United away in Singapore last week. The Indian captain has been on light training for the past few days and has seemingly got over it. The air surrounding Tomba Singh has also been cleared. In Constantine's words, "he is fine." Ashim Biswas will team up with Bhutia in the attack, trying to fill the breach caused by I.M. Vijayan's retirement. Constantine reacted as if it was a great personal loss for him. "Vijayan's absence will make a huge difference. We have to respect his decision," he said. He was, however, reticent to comment on whether Ashim could replace Vijayan. "You can not compare Ashim with Vijayan. It is rather unfair at this stage. Ashim is only 19 and if he can go half the way down Vijayan's path it would be an achievement. If he can go beyond that then sky is the limit." A believer in continuity, the Indian coach was happy with the nucleus of the team that has remained more or less the same for the last two years, the only nagging problem being finding reliable strikers. He squarely blamed `imports' for this situation and threw his lot behind a possible restriction of foreign players to two from the present four. On the pressure's affecting the team, Constantine said, "every time you wear a national jersey you are under pressure. You have to learn to deal with such pressures. I am sure the boys will understand this." He further added that what one did on the pitch was far more important than ratings, an obvious reference to the fact that India is rated far below Singapore. Also he was banking on a good home crowd to boost his team's chances. Avramovic, however, didn't subscribe to the theory and said, "whether the stadium is full or empty, you are there to play the game to the best of your ability." The Singaporean coach said he respected Bhutia as a class player but didn't see him as the main threat. "There are 10 other players. It requires all the 11 to do well to win matches," he said. He said his side had learnt crucial lessons from its friendlies against Norway and Iran and was capable of holding its own against India. "Of the 26 players listed we missed as many five good players to injuries. I am not saying all five would have made it to the line-up. But some of them certainly would have." On India's prospects, Constantine said, "like any one else, I am also carrying the aspirations of a nation. But realistically it is a very tough proposition. We are in a tough group. We want to go as far as we can."
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