Nehru Cup 2012
It is indeed paradoxical that the year in which the All India Football Federation (A.I.F.F) is celebrating its platinum jubilee India’s FIFA ranking for August,2012 have dropped to an all time low of 168 out of 205 member nations ever since the rankings were introduced by the world’s soccer body in 1994.However the the Indian team which had been training under their new coach Wim Kovermans of Netherlands for the last three weeks will have a different mindset when they venture into the 15th Nehru Cup International Football Tournament which is being hosted by A.I.F.F at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at New Delhi as part of their platinum jubilee celebrations.Other teams in the fray are Cameroon (59),Syria (147),Maldives (161) and Nepal (162) all ranked higher than the host nation.But the Indian team led by Sunil Chhetri and under a new coach have had a chequered run in the tournament recently.They have won both the last two editions of Nehru Cup held at the Ambedkar Stadium,New Delhi in 2007 and 2009.Incidentally India got the the better of Syria in both the finals of 2007 and 2009.
The current Indian squad have been built with a special emphasis on youth.Since the last Nehru Cup many senior players like former Captain Baichung Bhutia,Defenders Mahesh Gawli and Midfielder Climax Lawrence have hung up their boots from international competitions and the coach and team management have pinned their hopes on the youth possibly with an eye to the future.Two members of India’s under 22 squad Alwyn George and Manandeep Singh along with debutants,Raju Gaikwad,Gurwinder Singh (Defenders) Sanju Pradhan,Lenny Rodrigues,Francisco Fernandes (all midfielders) and Robin Singh (Striker) will form the nucleus of the team.They will be assisted by Sunil Chhetri (Captain) striker who is currently playing for Sporting Clube of Lisbon in the Portugese League.Chhetri who is third in the line of India’s highest goalscorers with 34 goals will spearhead the attack.Others who have made the squad are Subrata Pal (Goalkeeper),Gouramangi Singh,Syed Rahim Nabi (Defenders),Mehtab Hossein,Anthony Pereira and Clifford Miranda (Midfielders). All in all India looks pretty well set to retain the Cup on the home soil.The only challenge would come from Cameroon a much stronger footballing nation with World Cup background but they would have to adapt themselves quickly to the Indian conditions to do well in the tourney. Apart from Cameroon who are making their second foray in the Nehru Cup India should have measure of the other three teams in front of their home crowd.
Nehru Cup was inaugurated by India’s late prime minister Indira Gandhi on 16th February,1982 at Kolkata.It was a premier invitational international tournament which was second only in importance to the Merdeka Cup of Malaysia.In the very first year the Cup attracted leading teams from Latin America,Europe and Asia.The inaugural tournament was won by Uruguay who beat China 2-0 in the final.The Uruguay’s team boasted of World Cuppers Enzo Francescoli,Valencia Ramos and Jorge Da Silva who stole the hearts of Indian fans with their exceptional performance.India finished fifth but had the distinction of defeating the European powerhouse Yugoslavia 2-1.For India Manas Bhattacharya and Manoranjan Bhattacharya scored.From 1982 to 1989 the Cup was held on annual basis.Since 1989 it became biennial event till 1997.The last two editions were held in 2007 and 2009.
U.S.S.R (Russia) have dominated the tournament in the past.They reached the finals a maximum of six times winning the Cup four times (1985-1988) and finishing runners up twice-1989 and 1995 (Russia).Hungary have reached the final thrice winning the Cup twice – 1983,1989 and finishing runners up in 1991. India’s performance in earlier tournaments were quite average but they reached the semi final in 1997 and won the Cup in the last two editions in 2007 and 2009.One also recalls India’s performance in 1984 when they heroically went down to Argentina 0-1.
| Nehru Cup Statistical Highlights |
| Year |
Venue |
Winner |
Runner Up |
India’s Performance |
| 1982 |
Kolkata |
Uruguay |
China |
Fifth |
| 1983 |
Kochi |
Hungary |
China |
Lost in the Group Stage |
| 1984 |
Kolkata |
Poland |
China |
Sixth |
| 1985 |
Kochi |
U.S.S.R |
Yugoslavia |
Lost in the Group Stage |
| 1986 |
Trivandrum |
U.S.S.R |
China |
Sixth |
| 1987 |
Kozikode |
U.S.S.R |
Bulgaria |
Lost in the Group Stage |
| 1988 |
Siliguri |
U.S.S.R |
Poland |
Sixth |
| 1989 |
Margao |
Hungary |
U.S.S.R |
Sixth |
| 1991 |
Trivandrum |
Romania |
Hungary |
Fifth |
| 1993 |
Chennai |
North Korea |
Romania |
Lost in the Group Stage |
| 1995 |
Kolkata |
Iraq |
Russia |
Fourth |
| 1997 |
Kochi |
Iraq |
Uzbekistan |
Fourth |
| 2007 |
New Delhi |
India |
Syria |
CHAMPION |
| 2009 |
New Delhi |
India |
Syria |
CHAMPION |
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NB – Total of 514 goals have been scored over 14 editions of which India scored 60.
Gautam Roy
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