Manipur Breeding Ground of Top Footballers

Six Manipuri footballers in India squad:

New Delhi: Renedy, Surkumar and Gouramangi Singh have become vital cogs in the Indian football team but the Manipuri trio feel that they were lucky to get the break at a young age in big clubs of Kolkata, Goa and Mumbai.
All three hail from nondescript places in Manipur but thanks to age group tournaments and TFA talent scouting they rose to become key members of the Indian team which booked an 2011 Asian Cup berth after winning the AFC Challenge Cup.
"Six Manipuris were in India's AFC Challenge Cup squad of 23 and lots of Manipuris are playing in other top clubs of the country. But in absence of corporate sector to sponsor clubs in Manipur, you have to play outside the state to get noticed. The passion for football and chance spotting by talent scouts had taken me this far," said Renedy, the seniormost India player after captain Baichung Bhutia.
Born at a football family at Sekmai near state capital Imphal, Renedy tried his luck at the U-12 National Talent Search tournament in 1989 where he caught the eyes of TFA talent scouts which changed the course of his life.
"I was a bit lucky to have got the breakthrough at a young age without much difficulty. I owe my success to TFA in a big way," said the 29-year-old, the first Manipuri who played regularly for India.
He spent six years from 1990 at TFA and got the break in a big club when he joined Mohun Bagan in 1996 as a 17-year-old before spending three years from 1997 with East Bengal. He debuted for India senior team at the age of 20 in the Asian Cup qualifiers in 1999 against UAE.
India right back Surkumar's tryst with stardom began at 14 when he was scouted by TFA after a national U-16 tournament in Allahabad in 1997 and he confessed he was initially not considered a good prospect in Jamshedpur.
He spent three years at TFA before joining East Bengal in 2000. He returned to the same club in 2003 and is playing for the club since last season. In between he was with Mahindra United of Mumbai for five years and debuted for India in the World Cup qualifiers against UAE in 2001 when he was just 18.
"My uncle was instrumental for my making it to state squad for U-16 Nationals in Allahabad and there TFA scouts spotted me," said the 25-year-old Manipuri from Khurkhul near Imphal.
Surkumar now feels that youth of the country can now take up football as a career with the players getting good salary these days.
"A footballer's career is short no doubt, but with 35-40 lakh salary a year we can also have a career. Some other footballers are getting more than this," he said.
Young India central defender Gouramangi Singh, who hails from the same place as Renedy, was picked by a TFA talent scout team in 2000 when he was just 14 years of age.
From TFA, he went to Dempo in 2004 where he spent one year and was with Mahindra in 2005 and with Churchill Brothers since 2006-07. He debuted for India as substitute against Indonesia in 2003 in a friendly match.
Gouramangi was not a India regular for a couple of years and he shot into limelight in the Nehru Cup last year and in the recent AFC Challenge Cup with he and Anwar doing a fantastic job at the backline in the absence of seniors Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal.
"If you are in TFA and you have the talent you can make it big. It happened to me and I am indebted to TFA for my achievements," said Gouramangi who is now 22.
Having tasted success, the youngster now wants to play abroad if any such offer comes, an idea coach Bob Houghton had been encouraging his charges.
"The Asian Cup in 2011 would be a big stage, we will be watched by the agents of top clubs of Asia and I will be game to join one of them if offered though I have to take advice of seniors," said Gouramangi, the youngest of the trio.
All the three have one more common thing -- they spoke highly of coach Bob Houghton.
"I have been in Indian team for nearly ten years and played under different coaches but he is the best. Frankly, many a times I don't want to go for training for my clubs but not for a single day I had not felt like that under Bob," Renedy said.

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Bayern Munich vs Mohun Bagan

German coach Hitzfeld Praises Lalwampuia:
Kolkata: Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld picked out Lalwampuia, Lal Kamal Bhowmick and Ishfaq Ahmed and amongst those who shined from the Mohun Bagan side in May 27 match against the German giants.
“They played well and were certainly better than the Indonesian team which we took on a few days ago.
“It’s difficult on judge the players after seeing them for only one game but Bagan’s number seven (Lal Kamal), nine (Lalwampuia) and 11 (Ishfaq) played well and seem to be good players.”
The 60-year-old ended his second stint with Bayern last evening and said, “It was an emotional match and it was not only my farewell but Oliver Kahn’s. It is great that it took place in Kolkata.”
Hitzfeld who would now join the Swiss national team didn’t have much to say on the sending off incident involving Bayern’s Breno and Bagan’s Cardozo.
“I was very far away so I cannot comment on the incident.”

Mohun Bagan vs Bayern Munich

Four NE players rub shoulders with Oliver Kahn:

Two Mizos and two Manipuris had the opportunity to play against legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn in his last competitive match on May 27 at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
Lukram James Singh, Sagolsem James Singh, Henry Gangte and Pachau Lalam Puia donned Mohun Bagan colours in their match against the famous Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.
In the first half, Sagolsem James Singh wasted an easy chance off the corner kick of Lal Kamal Bhowmick and Lalam Puia shot straight into Kahn a minute before the breather. Bayern won the match 3-0 and Kahn was given a standing ovation by more than a lakh crowd when he left the field after being substituted in the 56th minute.
Mohun Bagan skipper Baichung Bhutia missed the match and the Sikkimese sniper was playing as captain for India against Chinese Taipei in an international friendly in Chennai today (May 27).
Mohun Bagan: Sangram Mukherjee (90' Chirodeep Chattopadhyay), Rahul Kumar, Rakesh Masih, Anand Vasim, Habibur Rehman Mondal (71' S Naveen Kumar), Lal Kamal Bhowmick, Sielphaw Henry Gangte (60' Tapan Maity), Sagolsem James Singh, Lukram James Singh, Ishfaq Ahmed, Pachau Lalam Puia (64' Branco Vincent Cardozo).
Bayern Munich: Oliver Kahn (56' Michael Rensing), Christian Lell, Andreas Ottl, Breno, Uwe Schlottner (82' Diego Pizarro), Mark Van Bommel, Ze Roberto (77' Taygun Kuru), Viktor Bopp (68' Gianluca Simari), Toni Kroos (74' Dominik Rohracker), Jose Ernesto Sosa (Diego Contento), Jan Schlaudraff
Yellow Cards: Sangram Mukherjee (36' Mohun Bagan) and Jan Schlaudraff (76' Bayern Munich)Red Cards: Branco Vincent Cardozo (84' Mohun Bagan) and Breno (84' Bayern Munich) Attendance: 1,20,000

62nd Santosh Trophy

International stars from North East to miss action:

Seven international footballers from the north east, including three regular India senior players, will not take part in the Santosh Trophy in Jammu and Kashmir (May 25-JUne 15).

Renedy Singh, Surkumar Singh, Gouramangi Singh, Sushil Kumar, Bungo Singh, Govin Moirangthem (all from Manipur) and Nirmal Chhetri (from Sikkim) are in the Indian team which is playing two friendly games against Chinese Taipei (May 24 and May 27) in preparation of the SAFF Championship in Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Three others Robert Lalthampuana (Mizoram), Chandam Chitrasen (Manipur) and Naoba Singh (Manipur) were also included in the pre-national football coaching camp in Goa but later left out of the main camp.

Lalthampuana will lead Mizoram in the national championship, Naoba Singh is in the Assam Squad while Chitrasen will not play for Manipur.

Sikkim's Ashish Chhetri and Bigendra Rai will also miss the championship due to national camp for the AFC Under under 16 tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from October 4-8.

Some north east players in the big clubs of the country will, however, be seen action. They include Dharamjit Singh (Mohun Bagan), L. James Singh (Mohun Bagan), Bijen Singh (Mohammedan Sporting), Uttam Singh (Air India) and Lalit Thapa (Churchill Brothers) of Manipur, Pachau Lalawmpuia (Mohun Bagan), Henry Gangte (Mohun Bagan), Lalramluaha (Mohun Bagan), Khanthang Paite (Churchill Brothers), Lalhlimthara (JCT), F. Lalrozama (Pune FC), F. Lalmuanpuia (ONGC, Mumbai), JeJe Lalpekhlua (Pune FC), Malsawmdawngliana (Amity United, Haryana) and Buangpuia Ralte (New Delhi Heroes) of Mizoram, Bilifung Narzary (ONGC, Mumbai) and Marcus Basumatary (Salgaocar) of Assam and Sanju Pradhan (Air India) of Sikkim.

Opinion Piece

Manipur should be allowed to play as state team in I-League:
The All India Football Federation has decided that the second edition of the I-League will consist of only 12 teams and matches will be played only on weekends from mid-September till March 2009. I-League means India league but sadly the 12 teams represent just four states in India. Eleven of the clubs come from just three states.
There are four from Bengal — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and the newly promoted Mohammedan Sporting and Chirag United. Goa also has four teams, holders Dempo, runners-up Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube de Goa and promoted Vasco. The trio from Mumbai are Mahindra United, Air India and 2nd division champions, newly formed Mumbai FC. The 12th team in the fray is north India’s lone representative, JCT.
So the I-League is not really representative of Indian football, as it involves people of only a few cities, barely 10 per cent of India’s estimated population of 1.2 billion. Instead it reflects the fact that club football in India has so far developed only in three states. There are no easy solutions. Promotion of more teams will only make the I-League more lop-sided, as there will be more representatives from Bengal and Goa.
Current Indian captain Baichung Bhutia’s remedy is that states like Manipur and Kerala where the game is popular but lack a tradition of club football should be allowed to play as state teams. Baichung cites the example of Malaysia where state teams like Perak and Selangor feature in the Malaysian league. Of course if Manipur play as a state team it could create a quandary for several of their internationals Surkumar Singh and Renedy Singh who play for East Bengal or Gourmangi Singh (Churchill Brothers).
Baichung’s idea is meritorious as in this way the I-League will be more representative. Both Kerala and Manipur are beneficiaries of the Vision Asia programme and are vigorously promoting football amongst the youth. The state teams of Kerala and Manipur have invariably excelled in the Santosh Trophy as they play with great pride. Another important factor is that both these teams receive massive support in other states also from migrant Keralites and Manipuris. This was evident when the Santosh Trophy was held in Delhi in 2004 and Gurgaon in 2006. Kerala and Manipur received the maximum support.
The I-League is modeled on the J-League in Japan. But in Japan, football has spread all over the country. The J-League first started in 1992 with 10 teams just like the I-League. However the ten teams as can been from the list are from nine different cities, Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds, JEF United Ichihara, Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Marinos, Yokohama Flügels, Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Gamba Osaka, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Only Yokohama had two representatives.
The 15th edition of the J-league in 2007 had 18 clubs and they represented 17 different cities, each with their own stadiums. Japan succeeded in spreading the game all over the country because of their visionary approach. The J-League encouraged clubs to promote football or non-football related sports to acquire local sponsorships, and to build good relationship.

This article was written by noted football commentator Novy Kapadia

Santosh Trophy

Manipur team selected:
Imphal, Apr 28: To represent Manipur in the 62nd National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2008 to be held in Jammu from May 25, the following players have been selected.
Goalkeeper: S Basanta (NEROCA); Defenders: Benjamin Kamson (NEROCA), H Devan (TRAU), S Thomas (NEROCA), Y Raju (NISA); Mid-fielders: Charan Rai (NISA), W Ngouba (NISA), W Ajitkumar (NISA); Strikers: N Jimmy (SSU) and I Nilakumar (MPSC), informed an AMFA release.
Moreover, those players who are playing in clubs outside the State but available in Manipur at present have also been intimated to AMFA joint secretary L Jyotirmoy Roy at 8 am of April 30 at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium.
Those players include: Goalkeeper: Lalit Thapa (Churchill Brothers); Defenders: L Dhanachandra (Air India), L Uttam (Air India), Khelemba (Viva Kerala); Mid-fielders: S Dharamjit (Mohan Bagan), L James (Mohun Bagan), M Bijen (Md Sporting Club), Zenith Tangkhul (Churchill Brothers); Strikers: Jotin (Viva Kerala) and K Samson (Air India).
Meanwhile, AMFA executive council has appointed AFC 'A' licencee S Ekendra as the coach of Manipur team for the 62nd Santosh Trophy.
Source: The Sangai Express

Football in Northeast

No dearth of talent in NE: Aloke, Atanu

Guwahati, Dec 8: Two former India internationals Aloke Mukharjee and Atanu Bhattacharjee have expressed the view that there were good talents in the North-east but that the players of the region should motivate themselves.

Both the former stars, who are employee of FCI, were in the city to attend a coaching camp organized by the FCI for its football players of the North-east. The camp which concluded at the SAI complex on Saturday was attended by 27 footballers.

Both Atanu Bhattacharjee and Aloke Mukharjee had no doubt that the North-east was full of football talent.

Aloke, who was once the assistant coach of the Indian team at the time of Stephen Constantine, said: “The main advantage of the players of this region is their physical fitness”.

Atanu, who was India goalkeeper for a long time and then national team goalkeeper coach, expressed the same view while advising the players of this region to get ideas about motivating themselves.

Replying to a query he said: “I have seen many footballers form this region in different big clubs of the country and during the initial stage they performed exceptionally well. But what happens I don’t know that after two to three years their performance level start dropping and it could probably be that they fail to bear the pressure that comes about in different ways.”

It may be mentioned here that Asom lad Bilifung Narzary, currently representing the ONGC team, played for Mohun Bagan in one season a few years back and during those days it was Atanu who was the goalkeeper coach of the team.

Thus the former goalkeeper of the Asia All Star XI had the opportunity of having a close look at Bilifung. Commenting on a query on Bilifung, Bhattacharjee said: “He is a very good goalkeeper and I am optimist that in the coming days his performance level would be much high if, of course, he sincerely continues with his efforts”.

Source: The Sentinel