NEW DELHI: The giant clock at the floodlitJawaharlal Nehru Stadium showed 117 minutes and the scoreboard flashed 2-2. The pressure was immense as 20,000 fans screamed hoarse hoping to share the energy with the 11 men in India's blue shirts, already dripping with sweat.
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| Indian players celebrate after winning the 2012 Nehru Cup Football tournament in New Delhi. (TOI Photo) |
Suddenly one saw India's No. 22 dispossess Cameroon's overlapping left back and go for a striding run, swerving past an advancing African defender, swaying away from a lunging tackle, playing a give and go with his former clubmate Mehtab Hossain till he was crowded out.
The ball was in the Cameroon half by then and one more time - umpteenth time one must say -Syed Rahim Nabi rescued the Indian defence with redoubtable vigour and courage.
The days of mindless punting of the ball — in the name of clearance — seems to be over. Over the five matches in the Nehru Cup — that India retained to make history and hat-trick - the shift in style was obvious.
Even under immense pressure, the defenders were not really rushing to kick the ball away to safety. A rather practised approach of 'passing out of trouble' stood out in the early days of Wim Koevermans' tenure.
The Dutch coach — a member of Ruud Gullit's 1988 European Cup winning squad and a defender in his playing days — has taken charge of the senior Indian team after it looked rudderless following the departure of Bob Houghton.
The high of qualifying for the Asian Cup was long over and a complete whitewash in the AFC Challenge Cup in March left India high and dry. The calls for Houghton's replacement became louder as India's ranking went for a freefall.
To add to the woes, war veterans Mahesh Gawli and Climax Lawrence called it a day while NP Pradeep and Steven Dias just faded out.
Under such dark clouds, Koevermans — armed with technical director Robert Bann's recommendation — arrived to steady the ship.
Koevermans just got three weeks of actual training time, most of which was spent in Bangalore as the Capital — venue of the Nehru Cup - failed to provide a decent training facility.
It was in Bangalore the process of unlearning started, and a month later, in one of the wettest August the Capital has ever seen, Sunil Chhetri's India showed they have something new to offer.
This is what the quietest man on the field has to say about the new start. Clifford Miranda has seen the best and worst of times from the left touch. "The first thing Koevermans told us in the camp was to keep playing along the ground.
We were told not to be bullied by opposition and pass the ball around even while defending, with confidence."
Clifford and his colleagues tried to follow the instructions as best as they could. "There were the new guys and all of us wanted to impress the coach.
Perhaps, it is the reason we worked extra hard," said India's left winger from his Goa residence.
The Dempo star, whose goal-bearing crosses were a feature of this Nehru Cup, however, didn't forget to mention the special relationship he enjoys with Nabi. "He is the best player I have played with.
He is one guy with immense ability and can play at any position. He understands the game much better than most.
We keep talking during games and keep an eye at each other's back. Someday, I hope we can play together for a club," said the Goan winger, trying to explain how India's wing held on so firmly against the marauding Cameroonians.
One thing that the players have talked about and showed on the field, is the modification of style. Now, Koevermans has to find a way to keep finding fixtures so that the team can play.
"We have to carry forward the momentum. We have match dates in October and hopefully we will be playing some good international sides," Koevermans said after making a winning start to his India career.
He flew home on Tuesday and he will be back during the Federation Cup later this month.
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