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All eyes on the football

The wide coverage of FIFA World Cup has come as an opportunity for Indian footballers to grab national attention. ANUJ KUMAR has the details

GLUED India may be languishing at the 117th spot in FIFA rankings but the television viewership surpasses those who are participating in the FIFA World Cup PHOTO: R. RAGU

For once soccer is in the vantage position. The mania that has hit the nation in the televised form has brought glad tidings for those who dared to play the beautiful game for the country. For once viewers prefer Baichung Bhutia's analysis of the Brazil win to Siddhuisms. If it's Bhutia on CNN-IBN and Channel 7, it is rehabilitation time for former internationals Anadi Baruah and Tarun Roy on Zee Business and Sahara respectively. Veteran Syed Nayeemuddin is his crisp self on NDTV and young Sunil Chhetri is impressive in his analysis on Doordarshan.

Says Tarun, who has been the captain of the national side, "Even Ranji players find autograph seekers. Here nobody recognises in my office that I represented the country. It is a great opportunity." Agrees Bhutia, "The only thing is, you have to be awake till 2.30 in the morning!"

As the game's viewership and coverage improves in the country, avers Bhutia, more and more players are being called for analysis.

"It is no longer a once-in-four-years affair. These days the Indian football league is also shown on private channels. Then there are the Olympics and the Asian Games."

Sour point

The sour point, however, is that ESPN Star Sports, the sports channel, which is telecasting the game live, has no Indian national-level footballer on the panel. The channel is relying on the services of ex-Irish international Gerry Armstrong and ex-English and Liverpool player Steve McMohan. The channel promised P.K. Banerjee and Bhutia, but according to R.C. Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India, it could not work out because of the availability issues.

"We have Novy Kapadia, Noel Da Kima Leito in the commentary team and Harsha Bhogle as the moderator." Switching Harsha, synonymous with cricket, to football speaks of a dearth of talent, but Venkateish feels otherwise. "He is not only a known face but has the ability to put the right question to the experts."

Refusing to go into the sports channel versus news channel issue, Bhutia says he tries to make it a point that things don't become too technical for the layman. "I do talk about formations and style of a particular side but don't go into unnecessary analysis as it kills the excitement." As for answering questions like why do you play the game, Bhutia has just a hearty laugh to offer.

BUOYANT Anadi Barua feels high viewership is bound to reflect on the ground

A FIFA qualified coach, Tarun, who also appears on Doordarshan, admits he was hesitant in the beginning. "I try to keep things simple and try to explain things like the importance of shoes, how the players make the ball swerve, what attracts a card and yes, the always-confusing offside rule. A number of goalkeepers and defenders have complained that the new ball swerves a lot. We have explained that it is a deliberate attempt by FIFA so that more goals could be scored."

Anadi, currently a national selector, is still remembered for his goal against a strong German Club at the packed Nehru Stadium in 1986. He says he delves into the unknown facets. "Like why Ronaldo is a without-ball player or how Argentina's goalkeeper Roberto was the catalyst for the two goals that the country scored against Costa Rica."

Short and sweet

On keeping the analysis short and sweet, Venkateish says the dynamics of football are different from cricket. "It is essentially a simplistic game. Unlike cricket there are not too many variables to be factored. We are following the international format." However, factorising the growing popularity of comedy on television, the channel has put a show Duniya Goal Hai just before the last match of the day, where Vinay Pathak and Ranveer Shorey - straight out of The Great Indian Comedy Show - look at the lighter side of the sport. "Three matches in a day can make things dreary. The show is meant to enliven the viewer," defends Gautam Bhimani who has a segment on the show.

He says in cricket you have about 300 faces to choose from. "So you can have The Shaz and Waz Show. Here the choice is limited, and to find people to speak on the lighter side is even more arduous."

A lack of familiar faces is indeed proving to be a problem. Perhaps that's the reason why NDTV had to invite diplomats of the participating countries to discuss the prospective winners in their so-called serious series, The Big Fight. Zee News is doing without any expert for the month-long tournament. Similarly, India TV gives you minute details of the city where the game is to be played, but there is no expert analysis. "Football is a young game and apart from Bhutia there is hardly anybody that youngsters can identify with. It is imperative that the viewer should respect the knowledge of the expert or at least relate with him. We are relying on the services of our correspondent. At least people identify him," remarks Ravi Kant Mittal, Input Editor, Zee News. Anadi counters that there are players like P.K. Banerjee, Subrato Bhattachrya, Arun Ghose and Alphonso who have a deep understanding of the game but the problem is the media's acquaintance with the sport is limited.

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