The 38-year-old was one of the most skillful and attacking midfielders, who was one of the architects in Salgaocar's maiden National Football League title in 1998.
Indian football's roadmap to achieving success is still unclear, but India's assistant coach Shanmugam Venkatesh believes that bashing the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will not lead to a solution.
"India is a huge country. It's practically impossible to monitor from the Football House in Delhi as to who's doing what. It's the responsibility of the respective states to mobilise youth programmes and encourage the juniors," said the former India captain, who joined in his new role in 2015.
The 38-year-old was one of the most skillful and attacking midfielders, who was one of the architects in Salgaocar's maiden National Football League title in 1998.
"All the 29 state associations have a role to play in Indian football's growth. What have they done to develop the sport in their respective states?" he asked.
"We'll still find over-hill footballers in some of the state leagues today. One of my relatives plays in a lower division league in Bengaluru. The state associations must give priority to junior leagues and encourage them. Only then can we have a national talent pool," added Venkatesh.
Behind his soft-demeanour and calmness lies a sharp footballing mind, which has helped in the national team selections.
"We had to face a lot of criticism when we replaced some seniors with junior players, but the team's recent results have completely shut them," said Venkatesh, who also had playing stints at Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mahindra United.
Venkatesh wants state associations to get more former players into the system.
"States like Bengal and Telangana should have used the services of eminent coaches like Syed Nayeemuddin and Shabbir Ali. I personally feel they're very good when it comes to grooming talent. They've produced so many players during my time," said Venkatesh.
"Each state associations should have technical directors who'll report to national team's TD Savio Medeira on grassroot activities. This way, a healthy supply line can be created and the national coaches can pick the right players for the right positions," he added.
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 "Shanmugam Venkatesh")
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