Indian Football: Age Group Teams Continue to Impress

The India U-14 Team Which Participated in SAARC U-14 Football Event

Age group teams in India have done well in the continental level events with the performance ofAi??U-16 teamAi??bearing a testimony to this fact as they put in a gallant display in the recently concluded AFC U-16 Championship. The U-19 and the U-22 teams also put inAi??commendableAi??Ai??performances in their respective qualifiers despite being placed in tough groups. The recent addition to this is the India U-14 team which participated in the SAARC U-14 Football event andAi??finished at the second spot.

TheHardTackle takes a look back at the campaign of the U-14 boys and also reviews the steps AIFF is taking to spot the talent at this age-group.

The Indian Team and The Tournament

In a decision which is first of its kind the AIFF had decidedAi??to send the U-14 boys from its Regional Academy in Navi-Mumbai to participate in theAi??U-14Ai??SAARCAi??ProgramAi??in Japan from 7 to 20th of October. The Indian team stayed as follows

Goalkeeper: Sam Noronha (Goa), Subrata Das (West Bengal).

Defenders: Amey Ganesh Ranawade (Maharashtra), Jayananda Singh (Manipur), Jerry Lalrinzuala (Mizoram), Prasenjit Chakraborty, Amit Tudu (both from West Bengal),

Midfielders: Aaron Franklin Hermiz (Goa), Saravanan Kiran (Karnataka), Bugde Vineet Vikas (Goa), Bodo Baoringdao (Assam), Kyntiew Shaphrang Kharlukhi (Meghalaya),

Forwards: Md. Hasil (Kerala), Krishna Pandit (Chandigarh), Zonunmawia (Mizoram), Laishram Bedashwor Singh (Manipur).

The team was coached by Sajid Dar with Goutam Ghosh as his deputy. The U-14 team had a camp at theAi??Pailan World School before the event. The event in Japan featured 8 more teamsAi??besidesAi??India -Ai??Japan Football Association Academy 1, Japan Football association Academy 2, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal. The Indian team played 4 matches in the tournament each of 50 minutes duration.

Indian Team Performance at the Event

The Indian boys defeated Afghanistan 2-1 in their first encounter with strikerAi??Krishna Pandit scoring a brace. Pandit scored the first goal 30 seconds after the kick-off chipping a pass fromAi??Amey Ranawade past opponent goalkeeper. Second goal again saw Ranawade – Pandit duo combining with the striker heading home a Ranawade cross from right wing. Ai??Afghans pulled one back in the stoppage time of second half but India held on to the win.Coach Sajid Dhar praised the boys and said

This is a good exposure for us and overall development stays the priority. We played in a 4-3-3 format and the boys stayed keen in keeping possession all throughout.

The Indian team then routed Bhutan 9-0 in the second match thanks to a hat trick from Krishna Pandit and a brace each fromAi??Md. Hasil,Ai??Bugde Vineet Vikas and Bodo Baoringdao. In the third match India took onAi??Japan Football Association (JFA) Academy 1 team and in a keenly contested match held the local team to a 1-1 draw. It was India who took the lead through Krishna Pandit as he scored on a rebound afterAi??Aaron Franklin’sAi??freeAi??kick hit the post. Japan equalized justAi??beforeAi??the half time and the match ended in a stalemate. Coach Sajid Dhar said after the match

The second-half was keenly contested and some Indian counter attacks drew appreciation from all. The onlookers, which comprised of participating team coaches and some locals appreciated our play. To force the Japan Football Academy Youth Team to split points with us is a huge achievement

In the last match India squared offAi??against Bangladesh and with their neighbours preferring to sit back and defend the India team created a plethora of chances.Ai??StrikerAi??Zonunmawia and midfielderAi??Baoringdao were at the heart of most Indian attacks in the match but team India failed to make a break thrrough.Ai??Head Coach Sajid Dar summed up the tournament as follows

The SAARCAi??U-14Ai??tournament has certainly boosted up the ongoing development process of our youth team and this is going to help them play better in the long run. The team improved with every match

Ai??AIFF Efforts To Spot Talent

To do well at the international level it is important to spot talent early and then nurture it. In most of the European and South American nations talented youngsters are spotted at the U-12 and U-14 age group levels and then developed inAi??academies. The AIFF has realized this and the AIFF Regional Academy in Navi-Mumbai shows a step in the right direction. The team that participated in Japan consisted of boys from this academy. AIFF had held an U-14 football fest in Kalyani, West Bengal to spot talent and had also organized open talent scouting events across the nation.

AIFF also plans to open regionalAi??academies inAi??BangaloreAi??and in the Pailan School. All the regionalAi??academiesAi??will have U-14 boys. AIFF GeneralAi??Secretary Kushal Das had also said in an exclusiveAi??interview to TheHardTackle about opening of Ai??EliteAi??Academies by 2014 where the U-16 boys from RegionalAi??AcademiesAi??will be trained after completion of their terms. The master plan of youth development in being prepared by Rob Baan, TheAi??TechnicalAi??Director of Indian Football. AIFF has deservedlyAi??received a lot ofAi??praise for its recent youth development efforts.

What is also heartening to see is the stress on theAi??possession based football and a change from 4-4-2 system which has not yielded results for the national team. The U-14 batch of players Ai??has indeed shown a lot of promise and the football fans across the nation will look forward to such performances from these youngsters at U-16, U-19 and senior team levels.

Indian Football: Age Group Teams Continue to Impress

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