Bojan Djordjic, captain of Chennaiyin FC, is surprised that populous India are ranked 158th in the world and offers ways to improve the sport in the country
"I can't believe that your country (India) has a population of 1.2 billion and cannot put together a football team of 11. Forget 11, you should have been able to produce at least five great players."
That was captain of Chennaiyin FC, Bojan Djordjic's reaction when he first heard about the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL).
"How can India be 158th in FIFA rankings? There must be some problem."
After reaching India and training with his team for a couple of weeks, Djordjic realised what the real problem was. "What I see is that Indian players have talent but are very raw. That means that nobody has worked with them at the right time and it is purely on talent that they have come so far," he said at the launch of Chennaiyin FC's jersey here on Thursday.
His solution: "Develop a youth football culture and concentrate more on grassroots development programmes. Also, take some help from teams abroad. They have tremendous expertise in setting up academies. These steps will see India slowly pick up."
Djordjic, who has represented teams like Manchester United and Blackpool, said that the Indian players are very shy and need to come out of their shell. "I'm a foreigner here and I have to approach the locals and ask them if they have any problems. Initially, they didn't even say when something was wrong. But slowly they are coming out of their shell and asking us (foreigners) questions."
Chennaiyin FC was the last team to come on board the ISL. They were formed after the Bangalore franchise pulled out, giving the players that much less time to know each other.
However, Djordjic did not feel that was an issue. "The good part about this team is that we're together all the time. International players and Indians eat together and are always having fun together. So, we've gelled a lot. I think that's a very positive thing for us. Also, if you look at our squad, you'll see that we have a relatively young and fit squad. We are good on paper and I think we'll be the dark horses of the tournament."
The only part that the former Sweden U-21 player is sceptical about is the fact that the team has to play 14 games in a quick span. "I've never played so many games one after the other. That's why I think fitness is going to play an important role. That's why the entire squad of 25 players is important, because frankly, one player cannot play 14 games in a row."
The team from Chennai has signed up Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi as their manager. Djordjic has only words of praise for his manager. "Marco is a born winner. He has a fighting spirit. I mean, look at what all he's done. He's won the World Cup, he's won the Champions League. Like him, even I hate losing. I'm not here to fill my pockets (with money). I'm here to win the league."
Experts felt that for football to develop and grow, there needed to be a full season league (nine months). However, Bollywood star and co-owner of Chennaiyin FC, Abhishek Bachchan, did not think that can happen immediately. "The eventual aim is to extend it to a full season. But I don't think that will happen soon. I mean, though the league is passion driven, there's also a lot of finance involved. I'm sure in a few years, we'll have a full-fledged league," Bachchan said.
Hrithik fills in for Salman
Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan is the latest to join the ISL bangwagon by becoming the co-owner of FC Pune City. Sources confirmed on Thursday that Roshan stepped in after Salman Khan pulled out.
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