Twenty two years ago at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai, a gawky teenager caught the imagination of the football fraternity by scoring a bunch of goals and helping Bengal lift the Santosh Trophy title.
The 18-year-old - Baichung Bhutia - later went on to became the India’s best known footballer and Santosh Trophy was the platform where he had initially showcased his talent. Now the country’s premier football tournament is struggling for identity and is highly devalued with absence of I-League players and national team stars.
However, this year, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) made it mandatory for teams to include five Under-21 players in Santosh Trophy squads and field three Under-21 players in the playing XI for the tournament. The idea was to provide an avenue for Under-21 players - who after national Under-19 championship did not have a platform to perform. The AIFF also sent its selectors to pick talent players for the Under-23 squad.
Two of Goa’s best known footballers Bruno Coutinho and Brahmanand Shivalkar disapproved of the AIFF move and wanted the national body to bring back the lost glory of the tournament.
‘Junior Tournament’
Arjuna Awardee and former Indian captain Coutinho was critical of Santosh Trophy losing its relevance. “During my career all the top players, including internationals, [played] in the Santosh Trophy. Almost all teams had internationals. Vijayan, Ancheri, Baichung Bhutia regularly took part in the Santosh Trophy. Look at this tournament, there is hardly any player of star value. The new AIFF rule has made it more of a junior tournament,” he said.
“If it is a national tournament, I believe the best players in the country should take part in it. The standard of football in the national championship has come down drastically now. I always held the view that stars are born from tournaments. But unfortunately, I didn’t see a single player in this tournament who one day would become a star,” said Arjuna awardee Shivalkar, a former India captain and the country’s greatest goalkeeper.
However, Satheevan Balan, one of the selectors and coach of Calicut University football team that won the All-India inter-university championship earlier this year, welcomed the AIFF move to include Under-21 players in the Santosh Trophy. He said the national championship could act as feeder tournament for the national team.
“AIFF scraped the Under-21 tournament from its calendar some time back and it was big blow for players graduating from Under-19 category. For them, the next big opportunity was to figure in the Under-23 Olympic team. But Olympics comes once in four years and unlike the national squad, the Olympic team is picked only when the qualifiers start. Most of the players drift away for want of opportunities. Some end up playing in I-League but the rate of attrition is very high. So I think it is a commendable move by AIFF and gives another opportunity for these players,” he said.
“Take the case of Kerala, we saw glimpses of talent from Jishnu Balakrishnan, Muhammed Parakkottil and Asharudeen. In normal circumstances they would not have been picked for the Santosh Trophy as Kerala had enough experienced players in their positions. But the KFA was forced to include them because of the AIFF rule. The youngsters proved that they can play. I am sure it is the case with all other teams as well,” added Balan, who was coach of the India Under-13 squad which won the Ian Rush Trophy in 2003.
“The tournament may not have produced many extraordinary players. But there are some good players who can be groomed and if they willing to work hard, they can become good footballers who can be assets for the future,” added Balan.
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