Punjab’s title No. 8

The Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar had a carnival-like atmosphere. Even the exit of the home team in the quarterfinals did not dampen the spirits of the crowds as they wanted to watch good football, writes Amitabha Das Sharma.

The 62nd edition of the National football championship for the Santosh Trophy, which was held in Jammu and Kashmir after prolonged administrative wrangles, helped instil a sense of nationalism among the people of the embattled valley. They seemed to identify with the spirit of football.

The Santosh Trophy, coming back to Jammu and Kashmir after 30 years, helped people relive the memories of the tournament when it was last held in Srinagar in 1978-79. The 22-day tournament (May 25 to June 15) seemed to have sent a message of peace to the people of the valley. When Punjab lifted the glittering trophy it had no reason to feel away from home. The quaint Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar, the venue for the elite stage of the tournament, responded with a roar to Punjab’s triumph, making one feel as if the home team had won the title.

Srinagar was a neutral venue in every sense. Even the losing finalist, Services, received good support from the stands whenever it mounted an attack. The atmosphere, replete with slogan-shouting and waving of banners, was like that of a carnival. Even the exit of the home team in the quarterfinals did not dampen the spirits of the local crowds as they wanted to watch good football.

The courage shown by the All India Football Federation, led by its president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, who is also the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, to entrust the tournament to the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association proved beneficial in the end. Srinagar responded with warmth and sincerity by extending its hospitality to around 1000 players, officials and journalists who converged for the tournament. In all, 29 teams representing the States and the Union Territories and two institutional outfits participated. Most of the matches, including the elite quarterfinal league games, the semifinals and the final, were held in Srinagar, while Jammu hosted two preliminary group matches and a pre-quarterfinal game.

States with top I-League teams were supposed to make an impact, but they came a cropper. For Bengal, which has won the National title 29 times, it was all over in the semifinals. Goa, which boasts teams such as Dempo, the current I-League champion, and Churchill Brothers, the I-League runner-up, failed to reach even the last-four stage. For a change, the tournament saw the emergence of the so-called modest teams such as Services and Karnataka, which entered the semifinals. Karnataka had won the Santosh Trophy in 1968-69 in Mysore.

In the semifinals, Services outclassed Bengal 4-1 to enter the final for the first time in 38 years. Karnataka, though, was not as fortunate. Its valiant effort against Punjab came to an end in the tiebreaker (4-3).

It must have been a heartbreaking experience for Karnataka’s versatile midfielder Xavier Vijay Kumar, who single-handedly took his team into the last four, scoring against Maharashtra (1-0) and Goa (1-0). The former international, who plays for the Bangalore team, HAL SC, performed with panache, doubling up as a striker in the absence of quality forwards in the team.

Coming through the preliminary clusters, where Vijay Kumar had scored two goals, Karnataka threw open the contest in the Group B quarterfinal league by pulling off two upset victories. The group was a strong one with teams such as Bengal, Goa and Maharashtra — the three states have 11 of the 12 elite I-League clubs in the country.

Karnataka, coached by R. Thyagaraj, became the deciding factor in the group as it ensured the exit of Maharashtra and Goa. Bengal made it to the semis beating Karnataka 4-1.

For Services, its appearance in the final was a big reason to celebrate, for the team had largely remained in the oblivion for the past several years. The Services’ coach, Raghavendra Singh, put together a team of recruits from the North East.

The first sign of Services’ might was evident when the team beat a strong Manipur. It then became a serious threat by drubbing a traditionally strong team like Tamil Nadu (5-0) in the pre-quarterfinals. The match brought to light the talents of the two Services strikers, Shaji D’Silva and Sochungmi Raleng. Shaji scored a hat-trick against Tamil Nadu, while Raleng went one better by accomplishing the feat twice — in the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Raleng displayed superb striking ability and an uncanny sense of anticipation.

After demolishing all the three sides — Punjab, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir — in the quarterfinal league group, Services came up with its best performance against Bengal in the semifinals. Bengal’s coach Krishnendu Roy looked lost and distraught after Raleng, scoring his second hat-trick of the tournament, ended his dreams of regaining the title after a gap 10 years. “My team flopped in all departments,” said Roy, a former international.

In the other semifinal, Karnataka put Punjab, which had drubbed Kerala 5-0 in the last quarterfinal match, under severe pressure. But with Vijay Kumar failing to find the mark and the Punjab strikers remaining wayward, the match went to the tiebreaker after the teams were locked goalless at the end of 120 minutes. Punjab finally won the shootout 4-3.

The victory gave the Punjab coach, Jagir Singh, the scope to rework his strategies. The team also benefited from the ideas of manager Parminder Singh, a former Asian All-Star player.

In the final, Punjab impressed with its tactical superiority as it froze the Services attackers, D’Silva and the prolific Raleng. Arguably the fittest side in the tournament, Punjab made good use of the flanks while attacking. Wing-backs Ravinder Singh and Baldeep Singh stuck to their roles admirably and cramped Services’ moves on the flanks. To make matters worse for Services, Raleng injured himself trying for extra pace to shake off his markers and was replaced in the 84th minute.

Punjab got the decisive breakthrough in the 51st minute. Defender Jaspal Singh converted the penalty to help Punjab to its eighth National title.

Raleng, who scored 13 goals in the tournament, was adjudged the best player.

THE RESULTSFinal

Punjab 1 (Jaspal Singh – penalty 51) bt Services 0.

Semifinals

Services 4 (Sochungmi Raleng 22, 89 & 91, Norgan Lama 79) bt Bengal 1 (Lalkamal Bhowmik 80).

Punjab bt Karnataka 4-3 on penalties. Full time score: 0-0.