JOGA BONITO

"football does not build character,it eliminates the weak"

Some call it soccer,some call it fussball,he(Edson Arantes Do Nacimento) called it JOGA BONITO.To few it is bunkum,a mere game.To few others its RELIGION,LOVe and all those good things crammed in a beautiful sport concept-"FOOTBALL/SOCCER".The roots of the concept,the place of origin is unknown,though modern Association football was codified in the year 1863 in England.Now,the 'phenomenon',the 'Love' is worldwide and it is 'general knowledge' that it befits the phrase "the world's favourite game".The effect it can have on the players is magical.To them,the field is a ballroom,the ball,the "belle of the ball",the most sought after and the most beautiful girl.The strikers,the midfielders,the defenders,the goalkeepers,invariably lose themselves in the high that it gets them for a regulation time of 90minutes.Intoxicated,inebriated,thier feet dance with the 'belle' and to the tune of their crave for victory.The only thing that could get Diego Maradonna high (apart from Marijuana) was this,The only sport which has the high-est potential to unite people is this(soccer cuts across class,religion and knows no boundaries).To the players-there's a goal,there's a ball and its success when the ball hits the back of the net of the goal.

'Moshing' is a term synonymous to rock concerts.Audience at Live Concerts aggressively push or slam into each other in an area in front of the stage called a 'mosh-pit'.A soccer match is very much like a Rock concert in this sense,only in its case players are the band members,their soccer it's music and the gallery,the 'mosh-pit'.The sheer popularity of soccer around the world and hooliganism are to be blamed for the major disaster that can befall soccer matches.Soccer attracts people like moth to flame.The moths(read people) get intoxicated by it and indulge in verbal warfare,which is only a prologue to brutal 'physics' that follow.The 1984 Heysel Stadium disaster is an epitome of this malaise.The tragedy goes hence-Liverpool won the cup against Roma on penalties.After the game,Roma fans assaulted Liverpool fans.It was so bad that Liverpool fans going back to their hotels required police protection.Such intensity and problems such as these arising out of the same are not foreign to football,but these are inevitable in a sport like football,where the fans dont just watch it for leisure but worship the game!.

It is a shame that a country like ours,which is very much in the silk route of modern Globalised world,has insulated itself from the world's most popular sport.The Denizens of India 'suffer' from an "axiomatic assumption" that Cricket is a better game(some think it's the best),and is unwilling to accept that soccer is, in fact,a much shorter,sweeter,simpler and beautiful sport.Ironically,these 'chauvinists' have rarely,even watched a game of soccer!.It is hence,no surprise that the robust,developing and the 'most promising' country in the world is still a haven for prejudices such as patriarchy,casteism,communalism et al.The football cognoscenti finds it surprising that a diverse country like India,with a large population and plural ethnicity finds it hard to form a professional team which can break into the top 100 in the FIFA world ranking.Probably,they would not be so astounded if they come to know about the REAL India,an India where people are ardent cricket fans,an India where very little has been done to spread awareness/beauty of the game and therefore finds it impossible to tap the latent talent,the Indian mind which is prejudiced to the brim and is blinkering.All India Football Federation has a trophy case with a 'silverware' tally of zero.Bhaichung Bhutia,Sunil Chettri,Pappachan Pradeep,Climax Lawrence are less known people in India (members of the Indian Football team)whereas Sachin Tendulkar,Dhoni,Dravid are demi-gods.The reasons for this ineptitude and less-familiarity of the team are simple,comprehendable-when the cricket officials spend whopping amounts for the maintenance and building of stadiums(BCCI spent around$120 million on a new stadium in Rajasthan),their football counterparts are reluctant to spend even on very basic football infrastructure,skewed Indian minds (cricket-only people) and inability to recognise and tap latent 'footy' talent.Compare all this to the western scenario where coaches vist the remotest areas in search of Football talent(Latin America),where the government takes initiative to set up soccer schools (England).One could argue that the AIFF lacks funds,but hey! traveling to remote areas in search of talent requires only job-sincerity and commitment to the job,not much money.Once,talent has been efficiently tapped and atleast one soccer-training facitlity,set-up,the team tastes victory,funds grow,players improve.This will inturn encourage people to aspire for a place in the team and thereby sow the seeds for the growth of soccer in INDIA.when I lament that soccer has failed to find a place in the hearts of Indian sport-aficianados and would find it difficult to do the same in future,it is not maudlin,its real.

There is no greater game than soccer that exemplifies team spirit,along with skill,stamina,persistence and endurance.This could be a reason to soccer's improving popularity in India.More people have started playing soccer in India.Soccer teams have started becoming more popular amongst the young polulation.Cricket indeed has earned his position in the hearts of the Indian people,but for the 'tree of soccer' to grow in India and spread its branches,it is a sine qua non that Indians give it a status atleast equivalent to it.Every sport is a discipline and to relegate its status by any means is crime.Cricket is a discipline and so is soccer.

Paradoxically,Soccer's 'arch-adversary' in India, finds itself powerless,enervated in front of the sport-colossus,almost like Superman exposed to KRYPTONITE.Soccer is undisputedly one of the richest sports in the world and comprise the richest sports teams in the world(Manchester United,Real Madrid etc.).There are hundreds of International teams,thousands of professional players and miliions of rookies who play soccer.It is also impossible that a sport like cricket,(less followed,less loved worldwide) will purloin this status from 'Futbol'.I belong to that exiguous population of soccer-lovers in India.Soccer,therefore is one of those raison detre's' to me.There is a lacuna in brand "global India",this can be filled only by the inception of soccer in India.It is encouraging,though,to see a 'bullish' trend in the numbers of soccer-lovers in India and wise defectors (cricket to soccer) among the Indian Population.AFC challengers cup trophy 2008 found it's place in the hitherto-null trophy case of AIFF.This has provided a fillip to the mission of spreading 'SOccer LovE'.Some business giants have also joined the AIFF in funding district and state level tournaments,which is a decentralisation strategy for the familiarising of soccer.I stand as a pars pro toto of the soccer cognoscenti,soccer loving population and wish that some force would bring the popularity of the game up in future so that we wouldnt have to shamefully hang our heads in pique when someone says "hey!the Indian national soccer team are a bunch of rookies".i wish that someday we can hold our heads high and boldly shout "India's is the best soccer team!".I believe "YES WE CAN!".