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International Cuisine Conference on Traditional Asian Diet Panaji, Goa, September 2-5, 2007 - http://www.indologygoa.in Online Media Partner: http://www.goanet.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the end, it was the attitude which made the difference. You seldom come across an Indian football team playing with such vigour against a higher-ranked team in the final of an international event. If India turned the tables on their fancied opponents, and won the ONGC Nehru Cup final by a solitary goal, it was all possible because of their new-found aggro. Bolstered by a vociferous crowd which also included hockey icon Dhanraj Pillay, and cricket star Virender Sehwag, the 'Blues' exemplified a confidence hardly seen in the Indian team. In earlier times, against the big-bodied Syrians, the Indians would have been a little submissive. But after a year with Bob Houghton, their English coach, Bhaichung Bhutia and his band of boys seem to have learned the way a team should play in an international final: wearing your attitude on your sleeve. In a nutshell, if Syria were bold and aggressive, India were bolder. In fact, it was a mental game, well-fought and won by India. Diminutive Sunil Chettri's frequent spat with his well-built marker Khaled Albaba or Bhutia's I-will-take-care-of-things attitude tells a tale of a team desperately wanting to win. Houghton and his boys knew that if they won, it might herald a new beginning for Indian football. The good thing about this team was that they never played defensive. Hence, Chettri got two clear chances in the first quarter itself which set the tone as the Syrians felt the heat. If Chettri, Delhi's own, missed those early sitters, he made amends by helping India take lead minutes before the break. Chettri's quick cross from the left was met with an unsuccessful back-volley attempt by Bhutia. However, the rebound was picked up by NP Pradeep who slammed it home in a flash to sent the capacity crowd into ecstasy. The goal rattled the Syrians so much that they resorted to reckless fouls. And the West Asians paid for that in the final moments of the first half when Wael Ayan was given the marching orders after he deliberately kicked Surkumar Singh in the groin. With Syria reduced to 10 men, India became even more dominant. With Syria's key man in the middle, Maher Al Sayed being bottled by Surkumar and Steven Dias, the winners had already scored some brownie points in the midfield. Though Sayed tried hard to evade his markers, the Syrian skipper's good work came to a nought, thanks to goalkeeper Subroto Paul who revelled under the bar with some fantastic saves. Even the Indian back four, well-led by Man of the Match - Mahesh Gawli, lived up to expectations. Impressive tackles, both on the ground and in the air, and latching on to their opponents ensured the defence was in the thick of action, particularly in the second session. After the match, it was gratifying to see Bhutia and Co. running a lap of honour with the tricolour in hand as the fans gave them a standing ovation. The memory will linger. One hopes, the good work continues. There was not a single empty seat in the 23,000-capacity floodlit Ambedkar Stadium. Scenes of a packed house bringing the house down with "India, India" chants is rare in Indian football. But then it is not often that the Indian team topples a team ranked 40 places above it in FIFA ranking. It was indeed a heart-warming to see the home side succeed in an international football tournament, their first Nehru Cup success in the 13th edition of the event. And it was made even more memorable by the response from the national team got from Delhi's football lovers. The entire tournament had witnessed a good turnout but the final definitely exceeded expectations as people began filing in more than an hour before kick-off and stayed on till the presentations were made. This was Indian senior football team's 10th title in an international tournament in the last 20 years. In 1987 India won the SAFF Games in Kolkata with a lone goal victory against Nepal in the final. Mohammed Farid struck the winner. Then after a span of seven years, in 1993, Indian seniors clinched the SAFF Cup title in Lahore despite its draw against Pakistan in its third match of the round robin league. IM Vijayan scored the winner in the last match. 1995 SAFF Games (Chennai): India again acquired SAFF Games title in Chennai edging past Bangaldesh by a solitary goal struck by Shabbir Pasha. The 1997 SAFF Cup, held in Kathmandu was won by the senior national side with a thrashing 5-1 victory while Jo Paul Ancheri, Bhaichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan (2) and Amit Das scored for the winners.. India has a healthy past in the SAFF Cup as the team recorded its another victory in1999 in Margao, Goa against Bangladesh through the double strike from Bhaichung Bhutia and Bruno Coutinho The other key championship, Indian seniors bagged during this phase was LG Cup. Apart from its fifth SAFF Cup victory in Karachi against Bangladesh in 2005, Indian seniors won the LG Cup in Ho-Chi-Minh city by 3-2 against Vietnam in 2002. Interestingly, never before has the Indian team, ranked 151st in the FIFA rankings, looked so attacking and confident as they have all through this tournament. And if they keep up the same performance, then they can beat the 112th-ranked Syria. The best finish by the hosts in the Nehru Cup was a semi-final finish in 1997 in Kochi under the guidance of Syed Nayeemudin. When asked what difference it would make if India wins or loses the tournament, Houghton said: "In real football terms it won't make much of a difference. But if you look at the profile of the game then I think it will make a huge difference. Companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are investing in football and if we win then more companies will come forward to support the game. When these companies invest they do a lot of research in what they would get back after sponsoring such events. So I think from this perspective it would really make a difference." The tournament carried a prize money of $40,000 (Rs.1.63 million). Even as the final whistle blew, All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi announced this had been doubled to $80,000 ( Rs.3.27 million).Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit chipped in with Rs 500,000 while AIFF president Das Munshi announced a reward of Rs 1 Million. The All India Football Federation had earlier announced a cash reward of Rs 750,000 when the team made it to the finals after beating Kyrghzstan convincingly. MATCH REPORT - The Teams SYRIA: 1-Musab Balhous; 3-Ali Dyab, 23-Firas Issmael, 13-Aatef Jenyat, 11-Khaled Mansoor Al Baba, 12-Mootassem Alaya (84' 18-Ali Al Rifayi), 15-Zain Al Fandy, 8-Mahmoud Al Amenah (46' 6-Ibrahim Al Hasan), 14-Wael Ayan; 20-Zyad Chaabo (88' 2-Anas Al Asaf), 9-Maher Al Sayed [C]. INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 6-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 7-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep, 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan (80' 22-Clifford Miranda); 11-Sunil Chetri (90+4' 10-Tarif Ahmed), 15-Baichung Bhutia [C] (90+2' 21-Abhishek Yadav). SCORE : India 1 (Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep) RED CARD: Wael Ayan (45+5', Syria). MAN OF THE MATCH: Mahesh Gawli (India). REFEREE: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal). ================================ Earlier matches LEAGUE : India beat Cambodia 6-0 (N P Pradeep, Baichung Bhutia, Steven Dias -2, Sunil Chetri -2). Steven Dias adjudged Man of the Match. India beat Bangladesh 1-0 (Baichung Bhutia). Subrata Pal adjudged Man of the Match. India lost to Syria 2-3 (India's scorersSunil Chetri, A K Ajayan) India beat Kyrghzstan 3-0 (Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri, Abhishek Yadav) . Steven Dias adjudged Man of the Match. FINAL India beat Syria 1-0 (Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep). Mahesh Gawli adjudged Man of the Match. ================================ The team Goalkeepers: Sandip Nandy (Mahindra United), Subrata Pal (East Bengal); Defenders: Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC), Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju (Mahindra United), Irungbam Surkumar Singh (East Bengal), Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal), Debabrata Roy (East Bengal), Deepak Kumar Mondal (Mohun Bagan); Midfielders: Climax Lawrence (Dempo SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), P Renedy Singh (JCT), Steven Dias (Mahindra United), Krishnan Nair Ajayan (Mahindra United), Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (Mahindra United), Mehraj din Wadoo (East Bengal), Moirangthem Gouramangi Singh; Forwards: Baichung Bhutia (Mohun Bagan, Captain), Sunil Chetri (JCT), Abhishek Yadav (Mumbai FC), Tarif Ahmed. Officials: Robert Douglas Houghton (Chief Coach), Stanley Rozario (Assistant Coach), Antonio Marcus Pacheco (Goalkeeper Coach), Dr. Badri Nath (Physio), Suresh Babu (Physical Trainer), Pradip Chowdhary (Manager) SOURCES: http://sports.indiatimes.com/India_beat_Syria_1-0_lift_ONGC_cup/articleshow/2320761.cms http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253480 www.indianfootball.com www.goal.com COMPILED BY: Jason Monserrate ---------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to Goanet-Sports: http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-sports-goanet.org