What are the measures that need to be taken to improve Indian football?

The Indian Super League (ISL) has seen the emergence of several young Indian players. Perhaps fittingly, Atletico de Kolkata’s winning goal in the league came courtesy an Indian – Mohammad Rafique.

One of the main reasons for the impressive showing of Indian players in the tournament was the presence of several experienced individuals on the field and off it. Subash Singh of Mumbai City FC would’ve never imagined that he would one day get to rub shoulders with the likes of Freddie Ljunberg. For young C.S. Sabeeth of Kerala Blasters, it would’ve been a thrill to train alongside Iain Hume.

The Coca-Cola Cup, an initiative started by Coca-Cola in partnership with the AIFF, aims to keep the development process running by giving players the necessary exposure to exhibit their talent at a young age. The grassroots level tournament sees participation of more than 40,000 youngsters from more than 2,000 schools, and is certainly proving to be a strong growth catalyst for the Indian football environment.

What are the specific aspects that the Coca-Cola Cup is focusing on, though? What exactly are the ingredients of ‘development of Indian football’?

Firstly, it is critical to have coaches from around the world to help instil the basics of the game in young footballers. In the past, grassroots coaching hadn’t been given too much importance in the country; people were under the impression that youngsters would learn as time passed. Unfortunately, there are too many examples in Indian football to illustrate that this notion is wrong.

How to pass the ball with precision, how to finish from goal-scoring positions, how to have effective communication between players – these are some of the key aspects that need to ingrained when the players are young, and not when they have already played league football.

The ISL is proof that there is abundant football talent in India, but it is evident that skill-wise we still needed to do a lot of work. A skilled footballer is not born, and it takes several days of hard toil on the field to master any art. David Beckham specialised in providing passes to the forwards from difficult angles but he didn’t develop that skill in a matter of days.

Spending hours on the ground, playing a lot of games, simulating match situations – all of that played a vital role in Beckham becoming able to implement his skills to near-perfection in the actual games. So it is imperative that youngsters are given specific coaching to improve and harness their skills, rather than just being made to play more and more matches without them realizing where they are going wrong.

Apart from working on the technical skills of a footballer, it is equally important to work on the temperamental aspects of his game as well. The best example of a footballer having exceptional temperament is that of former Manchester United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Sir Alex Ferguson had a great forward line during the early 2000s, with the likes of Van Nistelrooy and Rooney, which meant that Solskjær didn’t feature in the starting line-up on a regular basis. But when his side desperately needed a goal, Ferguson always turned to the Norwegian, and on more than one occasion, Solskjær delivered.

This ability of performing when it matters without worrying about whether you’re going to be a part of the starting line-up in the future is something that needs to be taught at a young age. The skill comes only when a player is made to understand what his role is in the team, and that kind of guidance cannot be given when he is playing in the big leagues.

Another aspect that needs focus is the stamina to last the entire 90 minutes. Indian footballers have traditionally lacked in this aspect; the fitness levels among the country’s players have a lot of catching up to do. The best way to develop foolproof stamina is to make a player compete in as many full games as possible when he is a youngster.

Of course, the conditioning and nutrition aspects can’t be ignored either. What kind of food needs to be eaten, how many hours need to be put in the gym – these are habits that can only be inculcated from a young age.

The Coca-Cola Cup attempts to fulfill all of the above developmental needs for India’s young footballers, and more. By raising the stakes and providing better guidance and infrastructure, the youth are getting their fair share of opportunities to shine. But more than just playing the game, the youngsters competing in the tournament get instilled with a competitive edge that would serve them well in the long-run.

The football revolution in India is well and truly underway, and at the heart of it all are the ISL and the Coca-Cola Cup.