Arunava about Football

India forced to cancel Philippines & Malaysia friendlies due to SAFF Cup

2013-06-19T01:10:00.000+02:00

The Indian national football team will play the South Asian Football Federation Championships which have been rescheduled to September 1 to 11 in Kathmandu, Nepal; which has forced the AIFF to cancel two international friendlies for Team India which they had planned and organised earlier.

As per the plans Team India were scheduled to play two away ties on FIFA international match dates against the Philippines on September 6 and against Malaysia on September 10.

Originally the SAFF Cup had been planned to be played in late-September/early-October, three weeks later than now, but with clubs from India and the Maldives making it to the AFC Cup quarterfinals the tournament was advanced and it once more is showing the problems of the Asian football calendar, which isn't always in-sync with the rest of the world.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das told agencies, "It is unfortunate but then we had no option."

"Due to a cramped Asian calendar we couldn't postpone the SAFF Cup. The option of moving the SAFF Cup was explored but a few teams from other countries are playing in the AFC Cup," he added.

The AIFF now hopes to finalise a friendly against Tajikistan on August 14 after in recent month numerous friendly matches and tours of Team India had to be cancelled.

UEFA European Under-21 Championships: Spain retain their title!

2013-06-18T23:33:00.001+02:00

The Spanish Under-21 national team retained their UEFA European Under-21 Championships title by defeating Italy 4-2 in an entertaining final at the Teddy Malcha Stadium in Jerusalem, Israel.

FC Barcelona's Thiago Alcántara, also the Spain U-21 captain, was the hero on the night with a first half hattrick as Isco scored the other goal for Spain, while Ciro Immobile had equalised in the first session and Fabio Borini reduced the deficit after the break.

Spain had the perfect start as Thiago Alcántara gave them a sixth minute lead and one expected things to go as per expected lines, but Italy equalised against the run of play through a Ciro Immobile chip in the 10th minute. Thereafter things were more even as the Italians believed that they could pull off a surprise, but Spain still continued to be the better side with more ball possession. And after missing a few chances it was again Thiago Alcántara in the 31st minute who once more gave Spain the lead. Thereafter Italian defender Guilio Donati brought down Cristian Tello and Thiago Alcántara put the ball into the net for his third of the night on 38 minutes. It remained 3-1 for Spain at the break.

The match remained to be high class, but Italy wasn't able to get back into the game as Spain sealed the match as Isco scored another goal from the spot in the 66th minute. Things slowed down with Fabio Borini reducing the deficit with a long-range effort in the 80th minute. Italy wanted to push for a third, but the experienced Spaniards didn't allow them any further chance.

The match ended 4-2 in favour of Spain, who remain the best side in Europe in the Under-21 category.

Maharashtra conduct successful AIFF 'D' Licence course!

2013-06-18T20:11:00.001+02:00

The Western India Football Association, the Maharashtra state body of football, conducted an AIFF 'D' Licence course from May 27 to June 1 which was held at the Cooperage Football Ground in Mumbai.

The Course Instructors were Faruk Ahmad and Augusto D'Silva with a number of former I-League players taking part in the course.

WIFA have released the results of the 23 participants. As pro-pass have passed out Nishant Rana, Aloysius Lawrence, Rakesh Tulsiram, Vernon Saldanha and Ajay N. Kajania.

The others who have passed the course are Amith Mukherji, Ajeya Row, Joel Sequeira, Chirag Thakkar, Nirav Bharat Shah, Benoy Tom Kuruvilla, Paschal Simon D'Souza, Hema Fernandes, Crystal John, Peter Siddiqui, Utkarsh Parasrampuria, Sandeep Singh, M.A. Nahdi, Manish Kajania and Swapnil Khanolkar.

Rurka Kalan's YFC representative to attend FIFA Football for Hope Forum in Brazil

2013-06-18T16:07:00.000+02:00

Sanjeev Parmar as representative of Youth FC from Rurka Kalan in Punjab will be attending the FIFA Football for Hope Forum being held in Brazil from June 26 to 29, 2013.

Rurka Kalan's YFC is very excited to receive the invitation for the official event of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup named as Football for Hope which will be organized by FIFA, the 2014 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee Brazil and the Host City of Belo Horizonte. Out of 200 teams from around the world who applied, only 32 of them have been selected.

The FIFA Football for Hope Forum is a unique opportunity for the young football communities to interact and exchange experiences with the world's leading professionals in development through football - from grassroots organizations working at community level to sports governing bodies, global corporations and development institutions. FIFA's FFH programme will include presentations, workshops and training sessions covering the most important issues related to football's contribution to social development as well as the legacy of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

The Youth Football Club in Rurka Kalan is a social service organization which is working selflessly since 2001 to contribute to the society in terms of 'Youth for Change'. Defender Anwar Ali is a YFC alumni and the YFC youngsters had won the 2010 Street Child World Cup held in Durban, South Africa.

YFC is fulfilling its goals through working hard in the fields of sports for development, drug de-addiction equality, improving employability and quality education.

Every year about 1,000 youngsters are nourished under YFC at 10 regional centers across Punjab located in the Attari village near the Indo-Pakistan border, Allona tolla (near Khanna), Jalandhar coaching centers including the villages of Rurka Kalan, Bhodey Saprai, Kahna Dhesian, Chak Muglaani, Shankar, Jandiala, Bundala and Bilga.

For empowerment of females YFC is running computer centers for about 100 students, supporting government primary schools and all of these services are provided to the underprivileged without any fees or distinction on basis of caste, religion, creed and race.

Mohun Bagan sign Dempo's Anthony Pereira on one year contract

2013-06-18T13:34:00.000+02:00

Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan AC have added pacy winger and Indian international Anthony Pereira to their midfield. Anthony joins the Mariners like team mate Rowilson from Dempo SC on a one year contract.

After signing the contract with the Mariners Anthony said, "Mohun Bagan is a big team and I am extremely happy to have joined this club. With whatever quality I have, I will give my best and will try to bring success to my new club."

Anthony Pereira started his professional career with Vasco SC in 2004 and two years later joined Dempo SC where he played seven successful years winning amongst other trophies four NFL/I-League titles.

With Armando Colaco leaving Dempo SC and the club looking to bring in younger players, 31 year old Anthony was released by Dempo's. Anthony also held discussions with East Bengal Club, but in the end decided to sign for Mohun Bagan AC.

Sunil Chhetri, Nirmal Chettri & Sanju Pradhan to attend Pedong Football Academy launch

2013-06-18T12:23:00.000+02:00

The formal launch of the Pedong Football Academy at Pedong, which is near Kalimpong in the Darjeeling hills, will see an exhibition match on Tuesday, June 25 as part of the launch festivities.

The star attractions of the exhibition match will be India captain Sunil Chettri alongside internationals Nirmal Chettri and Sanju Pradhan from the neighbouring state of Sikkim.

Also expected to play are I-League players Israil Gurung, Robin Gurung, Nadung Bhutia, Bikash Jairu, Nilendra Dewan and Bipen Thapa.

Further other professional players from the Darjeeling hills and neighbouring areas are expected to play or attend the function.

AIFF Elite Academy boys script impressive friendly win

2013-06-18T10:58:00.001+02:00

The AIFF's Elite Academy registered a comprehensive 2-0 victory over the Goan Lusofonia Games Team in a friendly Match played at the Duler ground in Goa. Souvik Das and Daniel Lalhimpuia scored for the Academy boys in the 37th and 46th minute respectively.

The AIFF Elite Academy consists of Under-19 boys who are presently preparing for the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers to be held later this year.

This is their second consecutive win. The boys under head coach Colm Joseph Toal came back from behind to win 3-2 in their last game against Margao XI.

Colm Toal said, "We played well against a strong opponent. It was a very encouraging performance and the victory would have been a good deal more convincing if we had not missed a host of goal chances in the second half."

"The Lusofonia Games Team are in the early stages of their preparation. We look forward to playing them again later in the monsoon season when they will be a lot stronger," Toal added.

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

VIDEO: Champions League winners Bayern Munich - Road to Glory

2013-06-18T09:00:00.000+02:00

The following video is something I came across about Bayern Munich winning the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League final. A look back at the clubs big defeats and then a review of this season with the finale in Wembley.

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup: Nigeria trash Tahiti 6-1

2013-06-17T23:33:00.000+02:00

As expected the Pacific islanders from Tahiti suffered a heavy 1-6 defeat at the hands of African champions Nigeria in their opening Group B match at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.

This match was the first-ever official game outside of their Confederation for Tahiti and initially one could feel that the number 138 of the FIFA world rankings were nervous.

On the other side Nigeria didn't have the right preparations coming into the tournament, but as expected the Nigerians had an easy outing against the islanders.

Tahiti were unlucky to be behind after only five minutes. Referee Joel Antonio Aguilar Chicas deflected the ball to Uwa Echiejile, whose shot hit defenders Jonathan Tehau and Nicolas Villar before taking a route past a stranded Xavier Samin in goal. Nnamdi Oduamad then scored a brace in the 10th and 26th minute to officially seal the match for Nigeria. Though conceding three goals in the first session, Tahiti was fighting against the inevitable.

After the break came the moment of the game for the islanders as Jonathan Tehau headed in a Marama Vahirua corner in the 54th minute to the cheers of the partisan crowd in Belo Horizonte. Tahiti lost key player in captain Nicolas Vallar and only professional Marama Vahirua due to injuries, which made it even more difficult for them as Nigeria added three more goals, first Jonathan Tehau put the ball into his own net in the 69th minute, then Nnamdi Oduamad scored his third of the night on 77 minutes and three minutes later Uwa Echiejile made it 6-1 for Nigeria. They could have added a few more, but Nigeria was far from convincing while Tahiti defender Jonathan Tehau had another chance for a goal, but his header went wide.

Nigeria now face Uruguay in their second match to decide, who will join Spain from Group B in the semifinals; while Tahiti are set to play the biggest match of their history against the World and European champions Spain.

MATCH STATS

Tahiti 1-6 (0-3) Nigeria - Goals: 0-1,1-6 Uwa Echiejile (5',80'), 0-2,0-3,1-5 Nnamdi Oduamadi (10',26',77'), 1-3 Jonathan Tehau (54'), 1-4 Jonathan Tehau (69' own Goal)

Tahiti
Xavier Samin - Teheivarii Ludivion, Nicolas Vallar [C] (54' Stephane Faatiarau), Jonathan Tehau - Vincent Simon (77' Edson Lemaire), Ricky Aitamai - Heimano Bourebare, Henri Caroine, Marama Vahirua (69' Stanley Atani), Steevy Chong Hue - Alvin Tehau

Nigeria
Vincent Enyeama [C] - Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo (74' Azubuike Egwuekwe), Uwa Echiejile - Fegor Ogude, John Obi Mikel, Sunday Mba (57' John Ugochukwu) - Nnamdi Oduamadi, Anthony Ujah (51' Brown Ideye), Ahmed Musa

Referee
Joel Antonio Aguilar Chicas (El Salvador)

Borussia now say Lewandowski will stay the coming season in Dortmund

2013-06-17T19:45:00.001+02:00

Polish star striker Robert Lewandowski is set to remain with German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund until the end of the 2013/14 season according to general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke and not move to another club outside of Germany as many had speculated in recent days.

Hans-Joachim Watzke had told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, "Robert (Lewandowski) will definitely be playing for Borussia Dortmund next season. We need this security to be able to plan (for the season)."

This is the latest twist and turn in the BVB - Lewandowski saga with the question, will he stay or not, and if not will he be allowed to be transferred to Bayern Munich or another European giant this summer?

Indications over the weekend had been that Dortmund is realising that 24 year old Lewandowski wants to leave the club 100% this summer, so it is better to try and get a good price in the transfer market with clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and others interested.

But Lewandowski seems to be adamant that there can only be one transfer destination for him, FC Bayern Munich. If not this summer, then in 2014 on a free transfer with Borussia Dortmund not getting any transfer fee and having to cope with an unhappy player all season long.

It seems this saga is far from over yet with now again an answer from Lewandowski and his management expected.

Manipur to witness Baichung XI take on Renedy XI on June 30

2013-06-17T15:15:00.000+02:00

The Manipur state capital Imphal is set to witness a high profile Allstars match on Sunday, June 30 with a number of current and ex-Indian internationals set to take the field.

In the match a Manipur XI led by Renedy Singh will take on a FPAI All-Star XI under the name of MDS Charger XI to be led by ex-India captain Baichung Bhutia.

The Manipur XI is set to feature Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, P. Renedy Singh, Sushil Kumar Singh, Thokchom Naoba Singh, Chitrasen Singh and many others top level players.

Meanwhile the FPAI XI will feature ex-India captain Baichung Bhutia, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Subrata Pal, Nirmal Chetri, Sanju Pradhan, Clifford Miranda besides FPAI 'Indian Player of the Year' and many others.

The match is being organised as the finale of a two-month long Manipur football development programme under two foreign coaches, which had been organised and funded by the Manipur Development Society. The match tickets for the game are being sold at INR 500 for the VIP Stand and INR 100 for the general gallery of the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal.

Prior to the Allstar match the 30 young Manipuri players who recently underwent the MDS sponsored programme will also play an exhibition match.

The match is being promoted by the Manipur Development Society while the FootballEdge is organising the event and matchday proceedings.

Salgaocar FC Juniors with Under-18 GFA tournament

2013-06-17T13:32:00.000+02:00

The Salgaocar FC Under-18 boys thrashed Panchwadi United SC 4-1 to emerge champions of the GFA State-level Under-18 First Division football tournament at Duler ground on Sunday. A brace by Snako Dias and a goal each by James Fernandes and Austern Fernandes gave Salgaocar FC a comfortable victory.

Salgaocar coach Joaquim Crasto fielded James Fernandes and Steven Fernandes in the striking role while Panchwadi coach Planton Fernandes started with Mensano Rodrigues and Avron D'Costa upfront.

In the 33rd minute, Salgaocar's Austern Fernandes beautifully curled the ball past the rival-wall from the edge of the box and Panchwadi goalkeeper Neveel D'Costa fumbled in his collection as Salgaocar took the lead. Salgaocar could have doubled their lead before half-time after Godfrey Mascarenhas cleverly set up James inside the box but the latter ballooned over with only the rival custodian at his mercy.

After the lemon break, Panchwadi were a transformed side and played with purpose as they tried hard to score the equalizer. They restored parity in the 62nd minute after Avron chested the ball off a cross from Mensano and bulged the nylons with a powerful volley that beat goalkeeper Aliston hands down.

Salgaocar regrouped and scored two quick goals. First, Snako Dias struck from 20 yards in the 73rd minute and then two minutes later, James Fernandes made it 3-1 with a stiff grounder. In injury-time, Salgaocar were awarded a penalty by referee Sunil Nanodkar after Panchwadi defender Eliston Carvalho brought down Salgaocar substitute Domnic Soares inside the box. Snako stepped up for the spot-kick and sent the rival custodian the wrong way to score his second goal.

With this win, Salgaocar FC has snagged the majority of the age group tournaments, with the GFA Under-16 and the GFA Under-20 titles also under their belts. Youth Development in Charge Swati Salgaocar said, "The success of our U18 team makes me very proud. Not just the team but also the officials have worked really hard all season, so this is a perfect end. Combined with the success of our U14 and U20 teams this victory has further validated our long-standing commitment to youth development of football in Goa."

Trinidas&Tobago striker Cornell Glen signs for Shillong Lajong FC

2013-06-17T12:24:00.003+02:00

I-League side Shillong Lajong FC have signed Trinidad and Tobago international striker and World cupper Cornelius 'Cornell' Glen for the upcoming 2013/14 season.

31 year old Cornell Glen, born in Port of Spain, has been a regular for Trinidad and Tobago national team since 2002, with 66 international caps and 23 goals to his name.

Glen Cornell was part of the legendary Soca Warriors squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he appeared in all three of Trinidad & Tobago's games.

Glen's impressive run with San Juan Jabloteh dominated the T&T Pro League, leading the club to two consecutive league championships in 2002 and 2003, while registering 12 and 26 goals in the respective seasons paving his way to MLS NY Metrostars and there upon to other MLS clubs including FC Dallas, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids and the LA Galaxy before returning to T&T in 2006.

Before his signing with Shillong Lajong FC, he was with T&T Pro League Club North East Stars FC.

Shillong Lajong FC General Secretary Larsing Ming said, "We are extremely pleased with the signing of Cornell Glen and thank Libero Sports India who facilitated the transfer. I am confident Glen will gel well with the rest of the team and we look forward to him joining us."

Arvind Narayan, Libero Sports Partner and Glen's FIFA Licensed player agent said on his client's appointment with Lajong FC, "Glen will be a great addition to Shillong Lajong. With his vast experiences internationally, he will help Shillong Lajong in their quest for winning titles on all fronts. We wish him all the best."

Bayern Munich to present new coach Pep Guardiola on June 24

2013-06-17T11:05:00.000+02:00

German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich will present their new star coach Pep Guardiola at a big press conference on Monday, June 24 at the Allianz Arena, which would be two days ahead of official training start into the new season.

Besides Pep Guardiola the press conference will also be attended by FCB president Uli Hoeness, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Director of Sports Matthias Sammer.

Munich has one week to prepare itself before the Pep Guardiola hype reaches its next climax, which will also be a new dimension for Bayern Munich who are already used to a lot.

Meanwhile the era of Jupp Heynckes had ended earlier this month with FC Bayern Munich winning their first-ever triple of UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup titles. Now Guardiola takes over to take the club to the next level.

VIDEO: Andrés Iniesta - When Football becomes Art

2013-06-17T09:00:00.000+02:00

The following video is something I came across by-chance on YouTube and really liked it, so am putting it up on my blog for you all to see. It shows Spain and FC Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta in action and the video is correctly called 'When Football becomes Art!'

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup: Spain score convincing 2-1 win against Uruguay

2013-06-17T01:56:00.001+02:00

FIFA World Cup and European champions Spain started their 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup campaign in Group B with a 2-1 win against South American champions Uruguay. Pedro Rodrigues and Roberto Soldado scored for Spain, while Luis Suarez reduced the deficit for Uruguay.

La Furja Roja were in control of affairs from the start as they controlled the ball and their opponent as Uruguay seemed unable to cope with the Iberians. Spain had their first chance of the match in the 10th minute when a Cesc Fabregas shot hit the left post and came back into play, but the world champions made amends in the 20th minute as they took a deserving 1-0 lead after a corner which falls for Pedro Rodrigues and his shot is deflected by captain Diego Lugano into his own goal past Fernando Muslera. Uruguay had their first chance in the 29th minute, when a Luis Suarez free-kick was headed goal-wards by Edinson Cavani but straight into the hands of keeper Iker Casillas. But only three minutes later Spain doubled their lead with a Roberto Soldado strike off a brilliant through ball from Cesc Fabregas. Spain could have added a third before the break, but Uruguay were lucky to go into the break with the score only reading 2-0 for Spain.

Spain continued in the second session were they left off at the break as Uruguay continued to be unable to cope with their opponents. Soldado could have added his second of the night in the 50th minute but he couldn't get to a cross, while Andres Iniesta in the 56th minute showed his class as he beat the Uruguay defence but his shot went wide. Spain had another chance in the 64th minute again created by Cesc Fabregas with Pedro's shot finally going wide.

Thereafter Spain pulled back a few gears as Uruguay was were just not dangerous enough, which resulted in fans at the stadium booing both sides as Spain often played around the back and didn't push for a third goal. In the 88th minute Luis Suarez did reduce the deficit with a nicely curled free-kick, but it didn't change anything as Spain went on to win the match 2-1.

MATCH STATS

Spain 2-1 (2-0) Uruguay - Goals: 1-0 Pedro Rodriguez (20'), 2-0 Roberto Soldado (32'), 2-1 Luis Suarez (88')

Spain
Iker Casillas [C] - Álvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba - Sergio Busquets - Xavi Hernandez (76' Javier Martinez), Andres Iniesta - Cesc Fabregas (65' Santi Carzola), Pedro Rodriguez (81' Juan Mata) - Roberto Soldado

Uruguay
Néstor Fernando Muslera - Maxi Pereira, Diego Lugano [C], Diego Godin, Martin Cáceres - Walter Gargano (63' Nicolás Lodeiro), Diego Pérez (69' Diego Forlan) - Gastón Ramírez (46' Álvaro González), Cristian Rodriguez, Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani

Referee
Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup: Italy beat Mexico 2-1 in opener

2013-06-16T23:31:00.001+02:00

Four-time World Cup winners Italy opened their 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup - Group A campaign with a hard-earned 2-1 victory against Mexico at the refurbished Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The Italians scored through Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli, while Mexico had equalised through Javier Hernandez.

The Squadra Azzurra were the better of the two sides with especially midfielder Andrea Pirlo in his 100th match showing his overall class, but the Italian defence made unusual mistakes which gave the Mexicans their chances, who were solid in defence but once more showed their weaknesses upfront though having players like Javier Hernandez, Andres Guardado and Giovani dos Santos.

Italy had the better start with chances for Balotelli and Giaccherini within the first eight minutes, but Mexico gave them a wake-up call in the 11th minute as Guardado hit the woodwork.

Then came the 27th minute. Balotelli was fouled and Andrea Pirlo curled a beauty of a free-kick over the wall into the left top half of the net past Jose Corona in the Mexican goal. But the lead was short-lived as Andrea Barzagli brought down Giovani dos Santos and Javier Hernendez equalised sending Gianluigi Buffon the other way in the 34th minute. After the equaliser things evened out with no chances at both ends until the break.

In the second session the Italians looked better and more organised again, but chances were very few to come. The best was a Montelivo shot before another Pirlo free-kick just went past the right post. But then in the 78th minute Giaccherini played the ball on for Balotelli, who beat the Mexican defenders to score past Corona. Balotelli tried to make his usual pose, but his team mates got hold of him after he had taken off his shirt. A yellow card followed and coach Prandelli took off Balotelli in the 85th minute to allow him a fitting send-off.

The Balotelli goal would be the winner for Italy as Mexico was able to once more get back into the game. A perfect start for the Italians into the tournament.

MATCH STATS

Mexico 1-2 (1-1) Italy - Goals: 0-1 Andrea Pirlo (27'), 1-1 Javier Hernandez (34' pen), 1-2 Mario Balotelli (78')

Mexico
José de Jesús Corona - Gerardo Flores, Francisco Javier 'Maza' Rodriguez [C], Hector Moreno, Carlos Salcido - Jesús Zavala (86' Raúl Jiménez), Gerardo Torrado - Javier Aquino (53' Hiram Mier), Giovani dos Santos, Andres Guardado - Javier Hernandez

Italy
Gianluigi Buffon [C] - Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Mattia de Sciglio - Danielle de Rossi, Andrea Pirlo, Riccardo Montolivo - Claudio Marchisio (67' Alessio Cerci), Emanuele Giaccherini (87' Alberto Aquilani) - Mario Balotelli (85' Alberto Gilardino)

Referee
Enrique Roberto Osses Zencovich (Chile)

Odisha conducts its Annual Referees Batch & Certificate ceremony

2013-06-16T20:27:00.000+02:00

In the Conference Hall of O.C.A. in Cuttack, the Football Association of Orissa conducted today its Annual Referees Batch and Certificate ceremony.

Present of the occasion were the referees of the different categories who passed their examinations for the new season.

Present at the ceremony were FAO Vice-President Bhakta Ballav Das, FAO Vice-President Ramesh Chandra Mallick, FAO Joint-Secretary Rushinath Sahoo besides Srimanta Sahoo, Susant Chandra Mohanty and FAO H.O.R. Sahadev Rout.

VIDEO: Blunder at German Cup Round 1 draw!

2013-06-16T16:35:00.000+02:00

A rare blunder happened yesterday at the draw for the first round of the 2013/14 German Cup. Ex-German women's international Nia Künzer was pulling teams out of two pots, one for amateurs and another for professionals. By-chance the ball containing RB Leipzig jumped from the amateur to professional pot, so RB Leipzig was drawn to face another amateur side in SF Baumberg. The DFB's legal advisor present entered the show and made them redo that part of the draw. A blunder, but saved by a timely intervention!

Where is the Leadership & Vision in Indian football?

2013-06-16T14:44:00.001+02:00

Dear Friends, I am honestly worried about the future of Indian football because I feel there is a lack of strong leadership and even more a lack of vision where Indian football should be heading.

Now I have been indirectly and directly involved with Indian football for over 15 years now, but this feeling of not knowing where we are heading has been there for most of these years. Still I feel things haven't been as unstructured and chaotic as they are now.

And why? Simply said the different stakeholders within the game are pulling Indian football in their own directions, not looking at the overall scenario and not allowing Indian football to grow into something bigger and better; which if allowed would help everyone to prosper.

I personally feel the right leadership and vision are the key ingredients to make Indian football successful! What we need is a strong leader, a visionary who guides Indian football, takes tough decisions even if needed against the will of others, but if it is right for the game then such decisions have to be taken. This is something which simply does not happen in our country.

I have said and written repeatedly over the years that Indian football is at the crossroads. Now it is once more at such a crucial juncture and in the past I feel it nearly always has gone the wrong way. But now if it does, then it will again throw back Indian football not by a few years, but decades for it to recover, then the football world around us is developing every day, every second...

So what needs to happen? There needs to be the right leadership in place to envisage a roadmap for development of Indian football. Be it short-, medium- and long-term across the different areas - national teams, professional clubs football, amateur football, youth development, women's football - to take Indian football to new, unknown heights. But there are no shortcuts for this and it will take years to achieve. But as written earlier, everyone involved needs to play their part rather than be destructive and harm Indian football more than take it forward.

What do you think about it???

Spirited AIFF Kolkata Academy boys play out 1-1 draw in friendly

2013-06-16T11:08:00.000+02:00

The AIFF's Under-15 Regional Academy Kolkata presently preparing for Under-16 International Tournaments played local side Uttarpara FCC, in a friendly match at the Pailan World School Campus, Kolkata. The Bastab Roy coached Uttarpara outfit, who were represented by Under-19 boys, managed to keep the spirited Academy boys at bay with the match ending 1-1.

On a rain-soaked afternoon in Kolkata, Head Coach Goutam Ghosh's wards showed character coupled with skill to beat the odds and stick to the philosophy of passing football as much as possible.

The Under-15 boys were rewarded for their repeated forays into rival territory in the 33rd minute. Substitute Moya scored within seconds after coming off the bench to give the Academy boys the deserved lead. But post the breather, the visitors pulled one back against the run of play. Had it not been for Uttarpara custodian's heroics between the sticks especially after the equaliser, the Academy boys would have had the last laugh.

An elated Ghosh said after the match, "My boys showed character of the highest order. The underfoot conditions were not favourable at all and given their age, the maturity they showed is certainly laudable. I am very happy with the result. That we are improving every match is evident."

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

VIDEO: Total Football's Rob Baan Interview - Part 3

2013-06-16T08:30:00.000+02:00

Total Football in a three part series chats with AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan. In the third part Total Football asks how and in what manner does the overall development in a player is taken care of and Rob Baan's take on the big European clubs opening football schools in the country.

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup: Hosts Brazil open with 3-0 Japan win

2013-06-15T23:55:00.000+02:00

The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup opened with the hosts Brazil winning 3-0 against Asian champions Japan at the sellout Estadio Nacional in the capital Brasilia. Goals from Neymar Jr, Paulinho and Jo sealed the game for the Selecao.

The number three was an important one this afternoon, then Brazil interestingly scored all their three goals in the third minute of the first session, second session and injury-time.

Going into the match it wasn't clear what to expect, then Brazil has been inconsistent in the recent past while Japan are a rising power in world football, but the old hierarchy was maintained.

Brazil went ahead with their first chance in the third minute as a Marcelo long cross-field pass found Fred, who chested the ball for Neymar, whose perfect half-volleyed effort flew past Eiji Kawashima and into the Japanese goal to the joy of the home fans. Japan thereafter tried their luck, but they were nowhere near their best as they tested an insecure Julio Cesar a few times, but no real chance, while Brazil were happy to control things and push forward once in a while.

Things repeated itself after the break as Brazil again scored on the third minute, this time Davi Alves crossed from the right with Paulinho scoring past Kawashima, who could have stopped the ball. With a two goal lead Brazil where now more composed as Japan looked out of sorts with especially Shinji Kagawa a disappointment. In the end, the third minute of injury time Oscar played a perfect through ball for substitute Jo to slot in as Brazil opened the tournament with a 3-0 win.

MATCH STATS

Brazil 3-0 (1-0) Japan - Goals: 1-0 Neymar Jr (3'), 2-0 Paulinho (48'), 3-0 Jo (90+3')

Brazil
Julio Cesar - Dani Alves, Thiago Silva [C], David Luiz, Marcelo - Luiz Gustavo - Paulinho, Oscar - Hulk (75' Hernanes), Neymar Jr (74' Lucas Moura) - Fred (81' Jo)

Japan
Eiji Kawashima - Atsuto Uchida, Maya Yoshida, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuto Nagatomo - Makoto Hasebe, Yasuhito Endo (78' Hajime Hosogai) - Hiroshi Kiyotake (51' Ryoichi Maeda), Keisuke Honda (89' Takashi Inui), Shinji Kagawa - Shinji Okazaki

Referee
Pedro Proenca (Portugal)

VIDEO: Frickley Athletic's Indy Aujla season highlights!

2013-06-15T23:05:00.001+02:00

Player of Indian origin Indy Aujla is not an attack minded player rather a holding midfielder or defender, but still here come his season highlights at non-League Frickley Athletic FC.

2013/14 German Cup: Draw out for Opening Round

2013-06-15T20:18:00.000+02:00

The draw for the first round of the 2013/14 German Cup (DFB Pokal) was held earlier today. And there are some really interesting clashes to look forward to.

Triple winners Bayern Munich travel to fourth division side BSV Rehden, while finalists VfB Stuttgart have to travel to the capital to face BFC Dynamo Berlin and Borussia Dortmund have a journey up north to SV Wilhelmshaven.

The matches will be played between August 2 to 5, 2013.

ROUND 1

TSG Pfeddersheim - SpVgg Greuther Fürth
SV SCHOTT Jena - Hamburger SV
SF Baumberg - FC Ingolstadt 04
1.FC Saarbrücken - Werder Bremen
SG Aumund-Vegesack - 1899 Hoffenheim
SC Wiedenbrück - Fortuna Düsseldorf
FV Illertissen - Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Trier - 1. FC Köln
Optik Rathenow - FSV Frankfurt
Neckarsulmer SU - 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Darmstadt 98 - Bor. Mönchengladbach
SV Lippstadt 08 - Bayer Leverkusen
MSV Duisburg/Erzgebirge Aue - SC Paderborn
TSV 1860 Rosenheim - VfR Aalen
SC Fortuna Köln - FSV Mainz 05
BSV Rehden - Bayern München
TSG Neustrelitz - SC Freiburg
Preußen Münster - FC St. Pauli
Arminia Bielefeld - Eintracht Braunschweig
1. FC Magdeburg - Energie Cottbus
Karlsruher SC - VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Osnabrück - MSV Duisburg/Erzgebirge Aue
BFC Dynamo Berlin - VfB Stuttgart
Jahn Regensburg - 1.FC Union Berlin
SV Sandhausen - 1.FC Nürnberg
SV Wilhelmshaven - Borussia Dortmund
SC Victoria Hamburg - Hannover 96
1.FC Heidenheim - TSV 1860 München
FC Nöttingen - FC Schalke 04
RB Leipzig - FC Augsburg
Bahlinger SC - VfL Bochum
VfR Neumünster - Hertha BSC Berlin