Football in Bangalore

State football patron Samuel Appaji no more

2012-01-18T23:14:00.001+05:30

Samuel Appaji, IAS (retired), patron of Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) has served with distinction the KSFA, as Secretary of the board of control of Bangalore Football Stadium.

Appaji was instrumental in getting the land on lease from BBMP for constructing the Bangalore Football Stadium. He served the KSFA with utmost integrity and fair-mindedness.

Samuel Appaji, 9I, is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The funeral service will be held at 3 pm, St. Mark Cathedral, M G Road. Burial will take place tomorrow, Thursday, January 18, 2012 at Hosur Road Cemetery.

BDFA B Division Fixtures and Results

2012-01-17T23:39:00.000+05:30

Schedule

Friday, January 20, 2012, 2 PM: Royals Vs Goans
Friday, January 20, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sri Gajanana Vs Minerva
Saturday, January 21, 2012, 2 PM: Young Muslims Vs Government Press
Saturday, January 21, 2012, 3:30 PM: Oriental Vs Bangalore Kickers
Sunday, January 22, 2012, 8:30 AM: Sun Rising Vs Jupiters
Sunday, January 22, 2012, 9:45 AM: Jawahar Union Vs BWSSB
Sunday, January 22, 2012, 2 PM: Nationals Vs Goans
Sunday, January 22, 2012 4:00 PM: Royals Vs Sri Gajanana
Monday, January 23, 2012, 2 PM: Oriental Vs Minerva
Monday, January 23, 2012, 3:30 PM: Young Muslims Vs Bangalore Kickers
Friday, January 27, 2012, 2 PM: Sun Rising Vs Jawahar Union
Friday, January 27, 2012, 3:30 PM: Government Press Vs Jupiters
Monday, January 30, 2012, 2 PM: BWSSB Vs Nationals
Monday, January 30, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sri Gajanana Vs Oriental
Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 2 PM: Goans Vs Young Muslims
Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 3:30 PM: Bangalore Kickers Vs Royals
Thursday, February 02, 2012, 2 PM: Minerva Vs Jupiters
Thursday, February 02, 2012, 3:30 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Government Press
Friday, February 03, 2012, 2 PM: Sri Gajanana Vs Bangalore Kickers
Friday, February 03, 2012, 3:30 PM: Nationals Vs Sun Rising
Saturday, February 04, 2012, 2 PM: Royals Vs BWSSB
Saturday, February 04, 2012, 3:30 PM: Goans Vs Oriental
Thursday, February 09, 2012, 2 PM: Nationals Vs Government Press
Thursday, February 09, 2012, 3:30 PM: BWSSB Vs Young Muslims
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 8:30 AM: Jupiters Vs Jawahar Union
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 9:30 AM: Sun Rising Vs Minerva
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 10:30 AM: Goans Vs Bangalore Kickers
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 1:00 PM Royals Vs Oriental
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 2:15 PM BWSSB Vs Sri Gajanana
Sunday, February 12, 2012, 3:30 PM: Nationals Vs Young Muslims
Monday, February 13, 2012, 2 PM: Sun Rising Vs Government Press
Monday, February 13, 2012, 3:30 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Minerva
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 2 PM: Goans Vs Jupiters
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 3:30 PM: Nationals Vs Oriental
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 2 PM: BWSSB Vs Bangalore Kickers
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 3:30 PM: Minerva Vs Royals
Thursday, February 16, 2012, 2 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Young Muslims
Thursday, February 16, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sun Rising Vs Sri Gajanana
Friday, February 17, 2012, 2 PM: Jupiters Vs Oriental
Friday, February 17, 2012, 3:30 PM: BWSSB Vs Government Press
Saturday, February 18, 2012, 2 PM: Goans Vs Sri Gajanana
Saturday, February 18, 2012, 3:30 PM: Nationals Vs Royals
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:30 AM: Bangalore Kickers Vs Minerva
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 9:30 AM: Young Muslims Vs Sun Rising
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 10:30 AM: Jupiters Vs BWSSB
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 1:00 PM Oriental Vs Jawahar Union
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 2:15 PM Government Press Vs Goans
Sunday, February 19, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sri Gajanana Vs Nationals
Monday, February 20, 2012, 2 PM: Royals Vs Government Press
Monday, February 20, 2012, 3:30 PM: Young Muslims Vs Minerva
Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 2 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Bangalore Kickers
Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 3:30 PM: Nationals Vs Jupiters
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 2 PM: BWSSB Vs Goans
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sun Rising Vs Oriental
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 2 PM: Young Muslims Vs Sri Gajanana
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 3:30 PM: Government Press Vs Minerva
Friday, February 24, 2012, 2 PM: Royals Vs Jupiters
Friday, February 24, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sun Rising Vs Bangalore Kickers
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 2 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Nationals
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 3:30 PM: Goans Vs Minerva
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 8:30 AM: BWSSB Vs Oriental
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 9:30 AM: Sri Gajanana Vs Government Press
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 10:30 AM: Young Muslims Vs Jupiters
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 1:00 PM Sun Rising Vs Royals
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 2:15 PM Bangalore Kickers Vs Nationals
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 3:30 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Goans
Monday, February 27, 2012, 2 PM: BWSSB Vs Minerva
Monday, February 27, 2012, 3:30 PM: Government Press Vs Oriental
Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 2 PM: Young Muslims Vs Royals
Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 3:30 PM: Bangalore Kickers Vs Jupiters
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 2 PM: Sun Rising Vs Goans
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 3:30 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Sri Gajanana
Thursday, March 01, 2012, 2 PM: Minerva Vs Nationals
Thursday, March 01, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sun Rising Vs BWSSB
Friday, March 02, 2012, 2 PM: Government Press Vs Bangalore Kickers
Friday, March 02, 2012, 3:30 PM: Oriental Vs Young Muslims
Saturday, March 03, 2012, 2 PM: Jawahar Union Vs Royals
Saturday, March 03, 2012, 3:30 PM: Sri Gajanana Vs Jupiters

BDFA B Division starts from Friday

2012-01-17T23:38:00.000+05:30

BDFA B Division starts from Friday, January 20, 2012. All the matches will be played at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

The following teams will be participating in B Division:

1. Government Press
2. BWSSB
3. Oriental
4. Royals
5. National
6. Young Muslims
7. Bangalore Kickers
8. Jupiter
9. Sri Gajanana
10. Minerva
11. Jawahar Union
12. Goans
13. Sun Rising

Out of thirteen teams the top two teams on points will be promoted to A Division for the 2012-13 season and the bottom four teams on point will be relegated to C Division.

All the B Division matches will be played for 70 minutes duration - 35+10+35.

In case of two or more teams having secured equal number of points, the winner will be decided on the basis of number of goal difference of for and against. Even then it is equal, the team that scores more goals for of
the other team will be the winner. Still it is not decided, the winner will be decided by a toss or a lot.

Sub-Junior National Football Championship, 2011-12

2012-01-16T19:11:00.004+05:30

South Zone fixture of the 34th Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, Sub-Junior National Football Championship, 2011-12.

Friday, 20 Jan, 2012 Tamilnadu Vs Pondicherry
Friday, 20 Jan, 2012 Karnataka Vs Kerala
Sunday, 22 Jan, 2012 Pondicherry Vs Karnataka
Sunday, 22 Jan, 2012 Kerala Vs Tamilnadu
Tuesday, 24 Jan, 2012 Pondicherry Vs Kerala
Tuesday, 24 Jan, 2012 Karnataka Vs Tamilnadu

Junior National Football Championship, 2011-12

2012-01-16T19:08:00.000+05:30

The 48th Dr. B C Roy Trophy, Junior National Football Championship, 2011-12, Tier 1 & 2 will be held simultaneously at Siliguri, West Bengal and Cuttack, Orissa. The Championship will be played from January 18th to 29th 2012.

Karnataka have been placed in Tier 1. The winner from each tiers will make to the Championship round.

Matches:

Thursday, 19 Jan, 2012: Karnataka 2 Vs Assam 0
Saturday, 21 Jan, 2012: Vs Delhi
Monday 23 Jan, 2012: Vs Manipur

I-league Division 2 qualifiers

2012-01-15T23:25:00.000+05:30

The only Bangalore connection in I-League other than HAL, BEML, is all set to take part in the qualifiers of I-league Division 2.

The latest is that the public sector team has been rebranded as KGF Academy - keeping aligned with the AFC guidelines, they’ve dropped their company name. Certainly a positive step in long run and KGF Academy is the first public sector enterprise to achieve this feat.

KGF Academy (erstwhile BEML) had a disappointing outing in the local league last season. They came in 6^th position in a 12-team Super Division League. However, since then, the team is under the tutelage of former star striker, Raman Vijayan. The AFC coaching license B holder, Raman, is trying to build this new team with the promising players. He has retained only 6 players from last season.

KGF academy is placed in Group C along with Mohammedan Sporting, Vasco, Golden Threads, Luangmual FC, Simla Youngs, Langsing FC, and PIFA Colaba.

All the matches in the group leg will be played in Delhi.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the final round. The final round will be played in one of the two venues – Siliguri and Gangtok. After relegating from I-League Division 1, ONGC have been directly seeded into the final round.

Round 1: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Vs Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata
Round 2: Saturday, February 4, 2012 Vs Simla Youngs, New Delhi
Round 3: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Vs Vasco, Goa
Round 4: Friday, February 10, 2012 Vs Langsing Sports Club, Meghalaya
Round 5: Monday, February 13, 2012 Vs Golden Threads, Kerala
Round 6: Thursday, February 16, 2012 Vs PIFA Colaba, Mumbai
Round 7: Sunday, February 19, 2012 Vs Luangmual, Mizoram

Help - looking for an Indian striker

2012-01-14T20:23:00.001+05:30

That Alexander Sudovich is gone, just like a goner, HAL has a vacant spot.

Neither HAL has utilized much of his service, nor could Alexander display much when he was seen for few minutes at the Ban galore Football Stadium. Creating much embarrassment, the highest paid player of Aircraftmen was barely seen playing.

Shame on the team management!

The latest however is that the Serbian has been released from the team. That does not mean that HAL will get a replacement of Sudovich in a foreigner (and one doubt team management would be really interested to get one).

The replacement was only possible on medical ground, that too after medically checked by an AIFF appointed doctor. Sudovich was out sick last month due to chicken pox.

HAL is desperately looking for an Indian striker will pair (or interchange) excessively used Hamza!

A point from Kolkata

2012-01-14T20:11:00.000+05:30

HAL held Prayag United to a goalless draw at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan today evening. In a match that lacked any bite only HAL missed a couple of scoring opportunities in Malemn and Vinoth Kumar.

For Prayag, Josimar Da Silva Martins and Yusif Yakubu came close both once each in the first half, but failed to provide any breakthrough in the second half as both teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw.

Only a point in an away match, but HAL can take lot of positives from today’s match. HAL will go home the happier of the two sides. Prayag United Coach Sanjoy Sen, will be disappointed that his team could not capitalize on an easier opponent at home.

The draw means HAL picked up only their 3rd draw of the current I-League campaign to take them to 3 points from 14 matches and they remain at the rock bottom on the table. Prayag United SC have 22 points from 14 matches.

Denson Devdas of Prayag United was adjudged man of the match.

A point after 10 rounds, finally!

2012-01-04T21:19:00.000+05:30

11th placed Sporting Clube de Goa played a 2-2 draw against bottom placed HAL at the final round of the first leg of I-league.

Is it the different home color in classic diagonal white line or the return of Rohit Chand that helped HAL to collect a point in Round 13 and that came only after a draw they played against Pailan Arrows in Round 3.

In all fairness folks, I’ve have stopped counting all the footballing reasons for HAL’s losses! For sure they played the 2nd half first, and I see that to be a good reason for this result.

As a matter of continuity, striker Hamza carried on his form, my match note says:

19’ good cross from Vinoth from the right flank for Hamza, the later attempts a meek backhead.
31’ Unbelievable miss by Hamza! From left flank, Malemn backheals to Rohit, cuts through the penalty box, and sets up an excellent cross. Hamza's header goes out.
40’ Hamza is all alone inside the penalty box, fumbles bigtime, he had no clue whatsoever.

I’ve few more on my note, but hey, football is not about an individual player.

Young medio Anthony D’Souza gave a lead to the Flaming Oranje in the 33rd minute of the match. RC Prakash quickly restored parity for the host from a defensive lapse in 38th minute.

HAL made several forays from the flanks, however, the strikers could not take the aerial advantage, they could not convert to goal from the deft crosses.

After changing ends, HAL looked more determined, they took the lead in the 50th minute from a beautiful 25-yard long range from Gautam Debnath.

Accurate long ranger from Gautam Debnath

53rd minute and It was again the talented Anthony D’Souza who leveled for the Goan team. Antony was given enough free space by HAL defense, he nicely dribbled past a couple of defenders, and scored a brace for his club.

Sporting coach Ekendra Singh appeared unhappy due to the match result, he thought his team deserved to win this match.

Anthony D’Souza was declared the man of the match.

Can HAL overturn the second-half script?

2012-01-03T20:46:00.000+05:30

The script has been always perfect for the Aircraftmen till the first half - they put up a brilliant show, and dominate proceedings. Come second half, they concede an early goal, and everything goes haywire. From the close quarters, it is nothing but a known chronic illness!

The start was ideal for the Flaming Oranje after getting promoted to the top tier of I-League – unbeaten till Round 6. Then came the sudden slump – one point from the next 6 outings. The 12th round, a 5-goal humiliation in the hands of Dempo SC!

Sporting Clube de Goa (SCG) would definitely like to turn the table on, and why not as they have an ideal opponent in HAL, who could only manage a draw in 12 rounds played so far.

Rohit Chand, the star performer of last season, makes a comeback for HAL. He will be filling the Asian player quota that was left vacant till now. Rohit’s return would definitely bolster HAL defense, which has been conceded a walloping 33-goals so far. Another defender, Nigerian Femi Joseph Adeola looks to be doubtful starter for tomorrow’s campaign. He has been injured and kept out for last few matches.

HAL manager Muralidharan seems to be aware of his opponents descend. In his cautious approach, he too is looking for a win, “We’ve to get it straight this time, we will be playing in 4-4-2 combination.”

SCG coach, Soibam Ekendra Singh feels his team has been weakened with the absence of key players Rojen Singh and Bisheshwor Singh. Also, several of his available players are not fully fit or on recovery mode. Bangalore connection and TFA product Niroshan Mani will be in contention against HAL.

Singh quips, “We’ll start with 4-4-2 combination and then might change the game plan according to the situation. It would be a difficult task for us alright!”

Match is slated for tomorrow, January 4, 2012, 3 pm.

Football is not a 45 minutes game

2011-12-28T21:13:00.002+05:30

If only the Aircraftmen would have realized that football is not a 45 minutes game and game does not get over in first half, then they could’ve easily avoided relegation.

If only the Aircraftmen would have realized that the importance of missing a scoring chance, then they could’ve easily avoided relegation.

Dempo defeated HAL 3-0 at the Bangalore Football Stadium today and continued their dominance in I-League. Dempo maintain their lead in the points table with 27 points, followed closely by Churchill Brothers with 26 points.

Playing on the Bangalore Football Stadium artificial turf for the first time, Dempo started tentatively. They had some early exchanges, however, HAL were seen to be making maximum purchase in their known front. They could have easily gone ahead in the 11th minute, only if striker Abdulla Hamza not missed an easy opportunity.

None from HAL’s striking force could do justice from the deft crosses that came from the right wing.

Dempo took the lead in the 55th minute by a penalty. Central defender, Biju Kumar committed a handball from a perfect kick from the top-right of the penalty box – that had goal written on it. Referee Pratap Singh out rightly awarded a penalty to Dempo and booked the offender. Ranty made the score tally 1-0.

Next goal came after 12 minutes. Antony Pereira’s free-kick was commendably saved by HAL keeper P Pramod. However, no one from the defense came for clearance, Ranty Martins latched on the ball that ricocheted to him, and took his goal tally to 13.

The third goal came in the added time, when Climax Lawrence getting behind HAL defense and looped the ball accurate to the goal.

A fight between David and Goliath - HAL vs Dempo

2011-12-27T18:28:00.001+05:30

News from the camp today:

Dempo - Ranti, "Will score a three tomorrow!"

HAL - Muralidharan, coach, "We will missing two key players tomorrow. Have to play a defensive game. With the missing players, we would've surely played a 4-4-2 formation."
The mood can set the fate of the match, one can surely guess! The only good news from HAL is the return of dependable Rohit Chand. However, we've wait till January to see the talented Nepalese player in action.

It might be termed as a fight between David and Goliath – round 12 and top in the points table, Dempo taking on bottom-rung HAL.

After keeping a clean slate till the first seven rounds, Armando Colaso’s men went down with defeat in the next three rounds, and then finally on a recovery mode by winning against their last match against Sporting Clube de Goa.

Dempo is not taking HAL lightly, “Though, they’ve been on the receiving end, but this is a home match after all – known territory. Hope they won’t choose this one as their comeback match”, grins coach Colaso.

Coach reckons, “We started quite well, boys went tad complacent, and as a result lost those three matches. The artificial pitch here is relatively new and seems to be settling down, quite an unknown territory for Dempo. It might play a role in tomorrow’s match!”

“All we need is to collect three points from here”, sums up Armando Colaso.

11 goals and leading the top scorers list, Nigerian Ranty Martins is eager to add to his goal tally, especially when the likes of Tolgay Ozbey, Odafe Okolie, James Moga are closely breathing down his neck.

Ranti is leading the pack, "will score a three", said confidently!

With 8 eight internationals in their ranks, Dempo looks to be fielding a strong team against an out-of-sorts HAL.

Adding misery, HAL will be missing the services of two key players owing to injury - defender Femi Joseph and mid-fielder Sudheesh Muttath.

International Debabrata Roy is playing for Dempo, however, there's no Rohit Chand to thwart the attacks from right flank

Match is slated for 3 pm on Wednesday, December 28, 2011.

Morale boosting win for Salgaocar

2011-12-18T19:24:00.001+05:30

Questions galore, yet again...

Why do you replace a central midfielder with a side back, just when the team is down by a goal?

Need big bodied central defenders, alright agreed, why not the same in the strike force?

Especially, when you have huge Luciano and Khelemba! Introduce Sudovic in the attack along with Hamza, the later could never trouble Salgaokar defense.

Same script for the Garden City team – failed to collect any point from their home games and 9^th loss from the 10 rounds played so far.

It was a moving sight for the last season’s champion and this season’s Federation Cup winner Salgaocar Sports Club when they scored the only goal for match. A much savored moment enjoyed by the entire team that was eluded in the last four I-league encounters!

The same script almost repeated here for them – hit the target without any fruitful result. However, in 65th minute, Ryuji Sueka’s goal from a pass Chiddi Edeh broke the jinx for Salgaocar Sports Club.

This morale-boosting win will help Kareem’s wards to display a better game when they take on MohunBagan in the next round.

Round 10 - HAL Vs Salgaocar

2011-12-17T18:17:00.002+05:30

Nine points from as many matches and resting at the bottom half of the points table. Not an ideal way to see the champions of last season Salgaocar Sports Club. No win from the last four encounters – matter of great concern! However, things might not look that apparent when you have the likes of Karim Bencherifa managing the team.

As his usual way of looking at things, he is taking positives out of it, “We still got nine points, we have won Federation Cup this season, and we are leaders in Goa Pro League. These to me are the positives, and I’m trying to inculcate this to my boys.”

“Who cares about the 26 games we will be playing in I-league. To us, we’ve only one game, the most important one for now, which we need to win tomorrow,” Adds the Moroccan.

Salgaocar would be going with Chiddi Edeh on upfront, Ryuji Sueka on the middle, and Luciano Sabrosa on defense, leaving out the other foreigner Elijah Junior in reserve.

Task cut out for HAL defense, they are getting goals alright, but failing to defend them. Conceding four goals after leading 2-0 till 60 minutes against Mohun Bagan is the biggest example. They have to plug-in their defense right away. However, central-back Femi Joseph Adeola’s injury can hinder their attempt.

Match is slated for a 3 pm on Sunday, December 18, 2011.

Bagan rally to beat HAL

2011-12-14T23:06:00.001+05:30

An ardent HAL fan questions?

Why did HAL go defensive right from the 46th minute, even before Femi went out.
Why was RC replaced, he played his best game after many years.
Why did Hamza came down in defense?
HAL looked best when they were attacking, even in patches in 2nd half, why this defensive mindset?
What is the count of I-League matches in this season when HAL took the lead and then squandered big time?

The Aircraftsmen yet again failed to hold a lead. With just a point from 9 matches, HAL is simply losing the plot!

Putting up a spirited show in the later half, Mohun Bagan came back from a two-goal deficit, pumped four, and a registered a morale-boosting win in their 9^th round match. For the Aircraftsmen, same saga repeated, could not hold to a comfortable 2-0 margin, and paid the price for instilling over-cautious approach in the second-half.

Bagan could have taken the lead right in the 18^th minute. Left flank was operating very smoothly, Snehasish Chakrabarty’s cross for Barreto, created a one-on-one situation with HAL keeper. The latter's left footer was magnificently saved by Gautam Debnath. Otherwise crafty left half, Snehasish Chakrabarty was responsible for couple of misses after holding the ball for more than the needed time.

25 minutes to the game, hosts took the lead thru a Malemngangba Meeti neat header from RC Prakash cross. 6 minutes later, another one, this time from striker Hamza! Bagan keeper, Sangram came out of charge and took no time for Hamza to place the ball to the goal.

Post lemon-break, everyone thought HAL set to pocket full-points for the first time in this season. However, their skipper Femi Adeola came out of the pitch injured, over-defensive HAL paid the price and started conceding goals.

Star Odafa Okolie, latched on a corner from Snehasish to score the first goal for MohunBagan in the 60^th minute.

HAL got a quick chance to increase their lead. RC Prakash did enough to pass the ball to Vinoth Kumar. With Bagan keeper and defender out of position, all young Vinoth needed was to touch the ball, however, he failed, and missed an open net.

The corner combination of Snehasish and Odafa again worked for Bagan in the 69^th minute. This time from a back header that came via Jewel Raja’s header and gave Bagan the equalizer.

Mohun Bagan took lead in the 89^th minute from a move from left flank orchestrated by Syed Rahim Nabi. Odafa’s shot from Snehasish cross, went to Jewel. The later, using his right footed, gets the ball past the goal.

Substitute Manish Maithani joined the party in added time, his solo left footed effort after dribbling past few HAL players from outside the box, yielded the best goal of the match.

MohunBagan Technical Director, Subrata Bhattachayra looked relaxed, “Forget the game we played, important is that we’ve got full points. We did not play a good first-half, however, during the break, told my boys to play from the wings, and that worked for us today.”

Redemption time for Bagan

2011-12-13T23:03:00.001+05:30

Winless in the last two I-league encounters and a loss to the minnows in local league, McDowell Mohunbagan is definitely seeking redemption when they meet the cellar-dwelling HAL. However, still no respite for the Subrata Bhattachayra-managed team, as several players from the starting line-up is out injured.

One again - will you be our savior?

Team is without medio Hudson Lima, Rakesh Masih, striker Sunil Chettri is injured after dishing out a stellar performance in the recently concluded SAFF cup, Chettri’s team mate and steady performer, Syed Rahim Nabi, with 4-stitches seemed to a doubtful starter. The list is endless. Also, compounded Aussie Daniel Zeleny not able to provide solidity in Bagan defense!

Team under the watchful eye of Technical Director (TD), Subrata Bhattachayra had a straining workout at the venue today evening.

Let's hope the football loving people of Bangalore gets to see Odafa magic!

HAL managed to gather only one point from eight rounds, Subrata is not taking his opponent lightly, “No way we’re underestimating them! HAL will get the home support, they are bound to play well. We’re a big team and we always look for full points even in away games.”

With 5 points separating Dempo and Mohun Bagan, who are currently at the 5^th spot in the league table, Subrata sounded confident, “This is marathon league, Dempo will surely loose points in their coming matches, we’re very much in the title chase.” However, what is disheartening for the Bagan TD is the rarity of getting a full-strength team.

The man from the Garden city is all smiles

HAL is looking to bank on the low esteem of their opponent - MB lost their last match in the local league.

Manager Muralidharan said, “This is our home match and we’ll go all-out.” He further said, “We will field a fit team. Do not want to disclose the team now and the decision will be taken only after the team manager’s meeting.”

Match is slated for a 3 PM kickoff on Wednesday, December 14.

Coaching/selection camp for U-19 Nationals

2011-12-01T18:30:00.001+05:30

The Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) is conducting coaching-cum-selection

camp to finalize the Karnataka State U-19 team. The Karnataka State team will be participating in the U-19 junior national, Dr. B. C. Roy Trophy 2Oll-12.

The coaching-cum-selection camp will be held at the Bangalore Football Stadium from December 2, 2011, 7.30 AM to 9.30 AM.

Players born on or after January 1, 1995 are eligible to participate in the coaching-cum-selection camp.

East Bengal maul apart HAL

2011-11-23T20:28:00.001+05:30

After coming back from a hard fought derby that went against their favor, the red and gold brigade put a spirited show and mauled HAL’s hapless defense by scoring a huge 8-1 win. Making a comeback, Aussie striker Tolgay Ozbey notched up four goals, defender Uga Okpara braced with a brace, with strikers Robin Singh and Baljit Saini filling up the rest.

EB's men - cause for our destruction

Few quick attacks and East Bengal struck the right chord. 8minutes into the game, keeper Amar Deb fumbled from a feeble back pass from skipper Femi Adeola, latching quickly onto the lapse, striker Robin Singh placed the ball straight to the goal.

After another 8 minutes, Hamza earned a penalty for his team after Robert Lalthama tripped him inside the penalty box. Hamza made no mistake that helped HAL to restore parity.

East Bengal raided HAL defense repeatedly which was nothing but nerves. Uga Okpara plainly toyed with this defense and scored two goals in a gap of 10 minutes.

Come second half, and Tolgay was just waiting for his share of action. His trademark running down the flank always troubled HAL full backs. However, this time, defense could barely cope with his pace and in no time he scored his hat trick.

Baljit Saini joined the party with a goal within a minute replacing Sanju Pradhan. The 8^th goal came from Robin’s cross - Tolgay, coming from behind a HAL defender, sweetly timed his jump with an accurate header and scored his 4^th goal of the match.

Post match, a visibly elated coach Trevor James Morgan said, “Great response from the boys after coming from a loss. We could’ve added few more, but I’m not complaining.” Also, stated that HAL had a nightmarish time in controlling Tolgay’s power and pace.

HAL to take on East Bengal tomorrow

2011-11-22T18:38:00.001+05:30

Nothing seems to be going well for the Aircraftsmen – lying at the bottom of the points table. Their primary concern was their inability to score. They did score two quick goals in the last match, but conceded three goals in late second half.

Let us see what manager Muralidharan means when he tells "applying fresh attacking approach" for tomorrows match. But he must look for setting defense straight.

For East Bengal, must have been a tough job - giving 100% against your arch-rivals, closely losing out on a high-intense battle, and then travel to another city to play the next round. Wonder what must be going in their minds.

East Bengal chief Morgan has job cut out. They should deal with their earlier loss positively. Big relief is Aussie striker Tolgay Ozbey coming to the team after serving a double-booking suspension against Mohun Bagan.

East Bengal had a strenuous workout at their ground today morning, they are reaching late in the evening in Garden City.

The earlier encounter at the same venue was from the previous I-League edition, inaugural match played in the artificial turf in May this year. That fast-paced entertaining match resulted in a 1-1 draw.

Tomorrows match starts at 3 pm.

HAL faces another defeat

2011-11-20T22:20:00.001+05:30

Displaying an attacking game of football, the airmen rally from a one-goal deficit to win 4-2. Air India was down by 2-1 in the lemon break. The second-half was altogether a different story, when they pumped 3 more goals.

The hosts were quick enough to open the account, thanks to a great combination from the flank from Bijoy Das and Vinoth Kumar, the later put up a cross for Malamnganba Meitei, and Malamnganba header made a right connection to the goal.

Air India equalized in the 8^th minute through a Manjit Singh free kick.

HAL again took the lead in the 20^th minute from an attack from striker Abdullah Hamza-Aleksandar Sujdovic duo. With a one-on-one situation, Aleksandar beat the keeper and gave his team a 2-1 lead.

After changing half, both the team started playing attacking football. Airmen were quick enough to equalize, again from an excellent set-piece free kick from Indian international Manjit Singh. Nigerian striker gave them the lead in the 75^th minute from a corner.

It was Sandesh Gadkari, who came in as a replacement put the final nail in the host’s coffin in the dying minutes of the match.

Aircraftsmen to lock horn with Airmen

2011-11-19T17:28:00.001+05:30

The fight is between the only two institutional teams in this I-league, it is the fight between two bottom-half teams - the teams known for the fighting stature and probably not for their flamboyance. It is the fight between the Aircraftsmen and Airmen - HAL Vs Air India!

The airmen might have taken severe beatings in the initial 2 rounds, however, came back strongly in last 3 rounds – defeated Salgaonkar at home and Chirag Kerala away and a goal-less away draw against Shillong Lajong.

For the hosts, it has been all struggles lately! Only 1 point from 5 matches, and more appalling is 3 straight home defeats. “We have nothing but to win this match”, as HAL rightly pointed by coach Thyagarajan, when asked the game plan for tomorrow’s game.

After trying out with a single striker in the last few matches, HAL might come back to the 4-4-2 formation. Veteran RC Prakash likely to take the field and central defender T.V. Biju Kumar sits out due to injury with Liliyan Kenneth replacing the later.

Air India coach, Santosh Kashyap has his task cut out against HAL attack. The Mumbai-team is left out with no option but to try a young defense-line. They will be missing the services of Lamine Tamba, Kali Alaudeen, and captain Napoleon Singh out due to injury.

Kashyap sees no reason to take their opponent lightly, “HAL has been a good side, they play possession football, and always difficult to beat them at home. There’s very less difference between the lower-half teams!”

He has no qualms about the turf-pitch, “the ground is in excellent condition, good to play possession game.”

Former India and ITI footballer commits suicide

2011-11-19T00:00:00.001+05:30

Former national footballer A S Firoz committed suicide on today at Kechery,h Trissur district in Kerala. According to the local police the 34 year old stout defender took this drastic step at his at his residence. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Alleged reports suggest of some family issues behind the suicide. Firoz was found in a serious condition after he attempted hanging. He was taken to hospital, however, his life could not be saved.

ITI's AS Firoz (on the ground) foils HAL's Ishfaq Ahmed's attempt to score, as Raja Baliev Nuralan (left) watches on in the National Football League match at Bangalore on Saturday, Nov 24, 2002.

Picture Source: The Hindu

Firoz played for India in the Pre Olympic qualifiers (U-23). He represented his state, Kerala five times in the Santosh Trophy. Also, he was a member of U-23, U-21 state teams, Kerala Football Association sources said.

Firoz forayed into the domestic scene while playing for FC Cochin, later he turned out for ITI, Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting.

This what Noel Wilson, Feroze’s colleague for many years said:

Just heard about Firoz, very unfortunate! I played the first year of my professional carrier with him in FC Kochin. We were together in Churchill Brothers, then again in Mohun Bagan club, and finally in Mohammedan Sporting.

Noel spent half of his professional career playing with Firoz

He was a defender, a very strong and an intelligent defender. I’m unable to find any reason why he took such decision? Very sad day for me to know such thing happened to a person I was very close. I’ve spent half of my professional club playing with him. Really sad!

He was one of my closest friend, I don’t know what prompted him to do that stupid thing! Really feel sorry for his family members and his wife.

Former HAL captain, Dronacharya Awardee Xavier VijayKumar:

Can’t believe the news. I’ve played against him in several occasions during the HAL-ITI derby, especially in the Puttaiah Memorial tournament. He was a good defender.
My condolences for his family!

Second Mahindra Youth Football Challenge

2011-11-17T17:05:00.001+05:30

After the runaway success of the inaugural edition of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge (MYFC) the garden city will once again have the honor of being one of the cities to kick off the second year’s intense footballing action from November, 2011.

The third Intra-City round, after Delhi and Kolkata, of this unique Under-14 Schools Football Tournament-cum-Talent Hunt will see 32 leading soccer playing schools from Bangalore competing amongst themselves to bag the honor of the “Champion School’ of Bangalore. The Bangalore champions will then lock horns with five other champion schools from Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Delhi and Kerala to decide the winner of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge.

MYFC is the Mahindra Group’s commitment to promote football at the grassroots level. The company has partnered with Scottish football giants, Celtic Football Club, who will take on the responsibility of training and grooming young talent identified through the initiative. This year too MYFC has got on board 92.7 BIG FM, the country’s largest FM network with 45 radio stations across the country, as the official Radio Partner for this edition of the tournament.

The second edition of the MYFC will continue to be played out in six cities, including popular football destinations - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Bangalore and Kerala, casting a wide net to identify the most talented junior football players in the country. The MYFC initiative is being promoted and executed by leading sports management company, Procam International.

The Bangalore leg of the MYFC is being conducted by the Bangalore District Football association of KSFA. The matches will be played at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

Among the top 32 schools invited to participate in the championships are fancied names that include:

Govt. Sports School
Parikrama Center of Learning
Shri Shri Ravishankar Vidyamandir
Christ Academy
Little Flower English
Karanataka Vidyashala
Presidency International School
Ryan International
Mallya Aditi International
Army Public School
St Augustine’s School
Green Hood International School
St Joseph’s High School

The inaugural Inter-City Challenge of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge was won by Sukantanagar Vidyaniketan School, Kolkata, while Govt. Sports School, Bangalore finished runner-up.

Chance to learn from the best

The winning schools from the six cities and their coaches will benefit from a four-day coaching camp to be conducted by a panel of visiting coaches from the Celtic Football Club before the Inter-City Challenge. This same panel will then shortlist 24 players from the Inter-City Challenge who will further undergo an intensive five-day long coaching clinic where two to four of the best players will be picked to travel to Scotland and the Celtic Football Club for further intensive training.

Three footballers, Bishal Harizan and Jayanta Mondal from Kolkata and Mani Maran from Bangalore, emerged the best three footballers from the first season of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge. After intense football action across six cities, involving 32 schools from each city, these three were picked after the Inter-City Challenge and got an opportunity to avail of a ten-day intensive coaching camp in Glasgow with the Celtic Football Club.

Bishal Harizan, Jayanta Mondal and Mani Maran spent fruitful days at Celtic FC, where they got an opportunity to watch a Scottish Premier League game at Celtic Park, involving Celtic FC and Motherwell FC and another at Ibrox Stadium featuring Celtic FC vs Glasgow Rangers. Their training there involved individual technique training, multiple sessions of Sports Science Testing, learning the right warm up techniques with the under-19 team, and daily coaching sessions with the Celtic Under-15 team. Bangalore’s Mani Maran was then selected to represent the Celtic FC Under-16 team to play against the Monash Football Club from Melbourne, Australia, capping a successful and satisfying experience for the three lads.

Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club, had this to say about the three boys who were picked after the inaugural edition of the MYFC to travel to Glasgow and train at the Celtic Football Club Academy, “Celtic Football Club has been delighted with the progress made during the first year of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge. The three players who visited the club’s academy in Scotland were a credit to all involved with the tournament and acquitted themselves excellently. We are looking further to developing this relationship further over the next 12 months and hope to play a substantial role in developing young football players across the country and ensuring a positive experience is had by all.”

Awards and accolades

There is plenty to play for in the Intra-City stage, with the winners from each city gaining Rs. 30,000, the runners-up team Rs. 20,000 and the 3^rd placed winner Rs. 15,000. The teams that reach the last eight stages will be provided with kitting, while the winners and runners-up teams will be awarded trophies with each player from these teams getting a kit bag. Similarly, there will be a ‘Star Performer of the Game’ trophy for each match from the quarter-final stage and ‘Best Player of the Tournament’ Trophy to be won.

Going ahead, the champion school of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge will receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000, along with the winner’s trophy, while the runner-up team will win a cash prize of Rs 30,000 and a trophy. There will also be awards such as Star Performer of the Game and individual appreciation trophies for the Best Striker, Best Mid-fielder, Best Defender and Best Goalkeeper.

Each player from the six teams in the Inter-City League will be given two pairs of kitting (Jersey, Shorts & Stockings), while travel, out of pocket expenses during the travel, and lodging & boarding of all the six schools will be taken care of by MYFC.

Third straight home loss for HAL

2011-11-10T20:48:00.001+05:30

Continuing the good run, Prayag United, with a Kayne Vincent brace, handed over a convincing 2-0 defeat to the Aircraftmen. The later, perhaps paid the price of being too defensive, let the way for third straight home loss.

Certainly a great start for Prayag in the I-Leage, who literally struggled in away games in the last edition without a single win. Post I-league Round 5, with 4 losses and a draw, HAL is languishing at the bottom of the points table.

The goal for Prayag United came from a counter move when medio Denson Devdas put an accurate thru to Kayne Vincent, the Kiwi running with the ball managed to shirk the keeper, and placed the ball to the goal.

Even after conceding an early goal, the host managed to play well in the initial part of the first half. They pressed hard through the attacking third. Ajitkumar Singh put an accurate thru for striker Hamza at the right of the box, the later failed to place correctly, and the ball rebounded from the goal post.

HAL coach went more defensive by replacing midfielder Sudeesh Muthath with defensive Lillian Kenneth. Donning the best defensive gloves, today’s Man of the Match, Bello Rasaq did not give much space to Hamza.

Hamza again came close to scoring in the later half - his header missed the goal from left-back Bijoy Das’ curling left footer.

Prayag’s second goal was an outcome of P Pramod’s foul - HAL keeper fouled Kayne Vincent inside the penalty box. Referee Franky Fernandes booked Pramod and awarded penalty. Kayne Vincent’s shot was out of keepers’ reach.

Second-half changes for HAL added some sheen to the attack, however stumbled due to a quality striker.

Prayag coach appeared satisfied with today’s result, “It was an away win after a long time, so result-wise, I’m happy. We had several miss-passes and faltered at the striking zone, however, played well enough to sustain the margin”.

Prayag to continue the good work, HAL seek redemption

2011-11-09T23:35:00.000+05:30

Riding on a big win against Pune FC, confident Prayag United to lock horns with HAL on Thursday, November 10. The Aircraftmen, losing the last encounter after dishing out a competitive game are looking to seek redemption.

Early morning drill at Bangalore Football Stadium

Coming from a big win against Pune FC, Prayag United will be playing with the same 4-4-2 combination - Kayne Vincent and Josimar da Silva Martins on the front and Lal Kamal Bhowmick and Denson Devadas marshalling the midfield.

Lalkamal has been a consistent performer for last 2 seasons, Kayne Vincent to play an important role in Yusif Yakubu absence.

HAL seem to be content with the formation they’ve played in the previous three games - a defensive plot. With five midfielders covering the defense it will provide a solid base, however, the attacking options are limited, with striker Abdullah Hamza often having a lone battle up front.

The worrying factor for tomorrow’s match is the injury of veteran RC Prakash and keeper P Pramod, both the players could not practice today, and appeared doubtful for the match.

A product of DYSS, Hubli-boy Chinta Chandrasekhar Rao turning out for the Kolkata team

Prayag Coach Sanjoy Sen look the least bemused in mainstay Yusif Yakubu’s absence, “we’ve good enough players in the team.” Also, unfazed about missing Abhijit Mondal under the goal posts, “There’s no first choice, next choice in game, players should be competent enough to make it to the team.”

Coming from a hat-trick match, HAL defense need to check big-bodied Josimar

Match starts at 3 pm at the Bangalore Football Stadium.