Indian Football Team's New Mantra – Nothing is Impossible

Cameroon, Syria, Maldives, Nepal – These were the opponents lined up alongside hosts, India for the Nehru Cup, last month. All higher ranked. Some boasting of World Cup experience. Some boasting of a rich footballing history. Some with a vociferous fan backing. But all of them with rankings higher than that of India's. The sight of Cameroon in the list, even if it was one without the names you'd normally associate with the The Indomitable Lions, would have lead many to believe that the result of the tournament was a foregone conclusion. Cameroon to take the honours – the rest to fight for whatever glory there was left to take!

The above feeling was one not only shared by many fans (India fans have grown up fearing for the worst whenever India plays) but also by the Cameroon side, including their coach Emanuel Bosso – who proudly professed before the final: “We have come here to win the cup and our boys will do that. We won the group league match by one goal; maybe we will win the final by a bigger margin.”

Taking a side lightly is one of the cardinal sins in sport, but even then there are a few things you get away with. Especially, when your team is ranked 109 places above the opponent. What Bosso did not account for however, was the Indian Football Team's new found attitude – Nothing is Impossible!

Apparently, those were the first words told to the team when new coach, Wim Koevermans met them for the first time. He couldn't have got the lads to believe in that statement more, having delivered what he promised with a stunning defeat of a heavy-weight side to help India lift the prestigious Nehru Cup for the 3^rd time in a row.

Koevarmans is still new to the India job, but he has started off on the right note and the players believe so themselves. In an exclusive interview, India defender Denzil Franco gives the coach much credit for their performance saying he has helped instill belief and also motivates the players to perform better.

“Wim Kovermans has been to a lot of places and he is a very experienced coach. He is also a very calm person and understands the players well. He was always the person who kept motivating us saying anything is possible. Even when we started the camp, he seemed impressed with the camp and told the players that he's sure we'd go far as a team and that pumped up the team. It was great working under him and I want to continue doing so,” said the 26 year old.

Koevermans has brought into the side what one would normally not attach to Indian football – Pre-planning and execution. Many, including me, expected the final to be a repeat of the dress-rehearsal(during which India lost 1-0), but Franco revealed that the team actually were made to sit and chalk out a plan based on what happened in the previous game.

“The final before the final did help us quite well. For every match, you always go in with a plan – what their plus points are, what their weaknesses are. The match(before the final) helped us to locate their weakness and where we can stop them. The match gave us a good understanding as to what we can expect from them in the final. Our coach had a good plan and he gave us good instructions and that helped us a lot.”

One worrying factor for many fans over the years has been India's seemingly undying love for using the long-ball tactic even if the move hardly ever paid dividends. There has been a marked difference in India's play recently and that, more than the results, has given the Indian football aficionado more reasons to cheer.

The players themselves get a chance to express themselves and play true to their potential. Franco said that as a footballer he enjoyed building attacks patiently rather than going for long balls and hope for the best.

“People who come to watch us should go back thinking the game was worth the money that they paid. I think, the Indian team tried to entertain their fans and win during the tourney. The coach also was very sure about the tactic he was going to use. In fact, on the very first day he told us – No Long Balls! Previously it has been about too many long balls for us and it was necessary for us to keep the ball at our feet and play,” the Churchill Brothers player said.

He was also of the opinion that playing this brand of football would ensure India take big strides in football and judging by people's reaction to Koevermans' India, he could be spot on.

“It was amazing to see the way the guys played from the stands and even from the bench. For me as well, it was nice to play passing football and I hope we carry on playing this way and we'll go forward.”

The defender also stressed on the importance of India having to play higher ranked teams on a regular basis so they get more exposure. Franco also felt the need for the young team to stick together for sometime to come as that would bring out the best in everyone.

“We were the lowest ranked team in the tournament and we ended up winning the Cup. I'm not underestimating our opponents, but I feel we were really good and that all this rankings hype did not affect us. If we keep continuing to play the way we are playing, we will automatically climb up the ladder. 

I feel the team is also ready to take on teams like Kuwait, etc. That will give us an opportunity to show what we are capable of. They have to stick with the same team for some time to come. This is young team with a few experienced folks and the more the teams spends together the results will start to show.”

Of course, apart from the hat-trick of Nehru Cup wins and the good press for the same, what made Franco and the team really happy was the turn-out for the India games. Franco says the crowd support was so good that it egged the players to give it their all.

“The crowd support was a big plus point for us. The support came from all corners of the crowd, and such boisterous support was a big help for us,” he sums up.

The team has done its bit in living up to its motto by upstaging one of the more accomplished teams in world football, lets hope it is a precursor for things to come in Indian football. Nothing is Impossible indeed!

If juju works in football, India will be winning every World Cup. Trying to understand juju in African football

Superstitions are not uncommon in sport, and football and its players are no exception to this rule. From the greatest in the sport to the myriad others hoping to become so, weird practices/routines before, during or after the game are as much as a part of playing the game itself. But, does the practice take so much predilection that players concentrate more on persuading supernatural powers to help them out rather than putting their hard work on the field? Apparently, yes!

Africa: Where beliefs lord over ability and hard work?

In Africa, where Juju is common among local people, the footballers are not that much different. According to Wikipedia juju is An object of any kind superstitiously venerated by West African native tribes, and used as a charm, amulet, or means of protection; a fetish. Also the supernatural or magical power attributed to such objects, or the system of observances connected therewith; also a ban or interdiction effected by means of such an object. African footballers have been known to go to great lengths in getting juju to work for them as they believe charms and spells help them become victorious and at times even work against their opponents. 

Not long ago, Goran Stevanovic, former Ghana coach, attributed his team failure to win the AFCON 2012 to players who try to outdo each other using black power or Juju. In his report after the tournament in which the Black Stars finished fourth, Stevanovic said, “We all need to help in changing some players’ mentality about using black power to destroy themselves and also make sure we install discipline and respect for each other.”

Player and administrators too strongly believing in juju could spell doom for African football

Ask former Nigerian footballer and Mohammedan Sporting(Bangladesh) coach, Emeka Ezeugo about juju and he is quick to say that all that will not work. “If juju worked for some players, why did we not win the World Cup with it?” It was reported that his team-mate Taribo West spent a large chunk of money on juju but Ezeugo did not want to delve too much on the topic saying, “I will let Taribo answer any question related to him.”

Not long ago, Ezeugo is reported to have spoken to the media about his time with the Super Eagles and how most of the players used juju to keep their places in the team. Ezeugo is supposed to have said during the disclosure that there are players who believed in juju and when he came to the national team in 1987, there was juju everywhere with players hanging all sorts or amulets to curry favour with the powers in their changing rooms. 

Even if the claims may not surprise many, Ezeugo squashed these reports saying it was only by a journalist who was trying to take the short-cut to success and that he never made any of those claims. Speaking exclusively, the former defender said “I began playing for Nigeria in 1987, that was different time all-together. Any player who believed in such rubbish quickly lost his place in the team. Juju doesn't play football.”

Even if juju was not prevalent in the team Ezeugo was a part of, African football is rife with practices that often border on the extreme. Randy Joe Sa'ah reports for the BBC that it is quite common in Africa to find teams camping out nights in a graveyard before an important match. Teams... International teams have gone as far as not using the host country's facilities such as rooms or vehicles as they fear they could be contaminated by harmful charms. 

Of course, ridding the country of such practices would be so much easier if the people who claim to have powers and the people who believe in them reduce, but that seems unlikely as even top administrators try to help their team ride their luck by sending out witchdoctors as members of the federation.

Former Technical Director of Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Kashimowo Laloko, once told the BBC World Service programme that he believes juju can change the course of a football match. "I believe it does exist (juju). As an African, we have our customs and tradition."
In 2002, the BBC reported that the Ivory Coast government had to settle a 10 year dispute with witchdoctors who claimed that they had a hand in the team's triumph in African Nations Cup in Senegal in 1992. The doctors were apparently hired by the Ivory Coast Sports Minister.

Cameroon's then minister of sport and physical education, Michel Zoah also clearly indicated that the government was sending out witchdoctors as team staff as he said during the press conference that the team's failure was due to many things, one of which being witchcraft not being effective.

Reports all over the net indicate the lower leagues are plagued by such practices.

With so many people at the very top also believing in juju helping their teams in winning, it would be tough for Africa to rid their lower leagues of such practices. Reports all over the net indicate the lower leagues are plagued by such practices and teams openly take part in them. But had juju worked, African would have been raking in the money and swimming in glory ages ago. Alas, they still have a lot to do. Before long, could become a disease and affect player/team performance like none other.


Ezeugo sums up everything brilliantly with the quote of the interview. In his own words: “If juju works in football, India will be winning every World Cup. India has no rival in jadu(magic).”