India’s best-ever SAFF win proves coach Stimac’s point

A second-consecutive and ninth SAFF title for India, Sunil Chhetri equalling Ali Ashfaq’s all-time record of 23 goals in the tournament while also bringing up his 92nd international goal, a first international goal for Naorem Mahesh Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu coming up trumps in two penalty shootouts, Mahesh Gawli winning the tournament as player and coach and India’s third piece of silverware this calendar year – it’s fair to say the 2023 SAFF Championships have provided India with plenty of highlights.

Igor Stimac’s side might have needed penalties to overcome Kuwait, but the optimism surrounding the national side is at its peak. Here’s what we learned from a superlative SAFF Championship:

This SAFF win is arguably India’s best ever

India now have nine SAFF trophies to their name, in fourteen editions since the Championships began in 1993. It’s not always a foregone conclusion, with memories of the 2018 loss to Maldives still rankling. Given Kuwait and Lebanon’s inclusion, this was perhaps the strongest field in a SAFF Championships, and the tournament was a penalty shootout away from having no SAFF representatives in the final. That India faced only two SAFF teams (Nepal and Pakistan) in their five games and still came out on top is a credit to the team.

India’s assistant coach, Mahesh Gawli, won the trophy twice as a player (2005, 2011) and also has the nightmare final of 2008 (an 87th minute goal in a 0-1 loss to Maldives) in his memory to call upon. This victory might have gone a long way in exorcising those demons, as Gawli did note this victory was a step above.

Sunil Chhetri’s last trophy-lift?

The ‘I’m going nowhere’ banner aside, there’s always a nagging feeling of finality to any of Chhetri’s feats over the last year. This was probably his last-ever SAFF Championship (and perhaps also the chance to overtake Ali Ashfaq as the tournament’s top-scorer). India’s talismanic veteran is widely expected to call time on his national career after the AFC Asian Cup in 2024, which probably leaves only the King’s Cup and Merdeka tournament as options to lift silverware. The presence of Iraq and Lebanon in these two tournaments ought to be of concern, with the real possibility that this was the last time Chhetri would lift silverware in Indian colours.

Which made the presence of ‘dignitaries’ on the stage occupying the limelight as Chhetri lifted the trophy all the more maddening. Please, take the picture and leave. It’s a common sight in Indian sport and the sooner we let the real heroes be felicitated, the better.

India should keep exploring non-traditional venues

A traffic advisory in Bengaluru is a common enough occurrence, but not so for Indian football. Yet, a packed Kanteerava on a TUESDAY night saw 26,380 people brave the city’s evening logjams, make their way in and scream their hearts out for India, create new memories, and perhaps even make some new fans as well. Live football has no compare, especially when it comes to cheering for your nation.

The AIFF ought to receive some credit for taking the national team to places like Imphal, Odisha and Bengaluru as opposed to the usual fixtures in traditional hotspots. It might be worthwhile to try out additional host cities and put the ‘national’ in national team. Like Bengaluru, other cities might just be a surprise, especially when India has a team to draw in the crowds for once.

Igor Stimac asks for an impossibility that the AIFF should make possible

“The most important part for the national team of India to prepare well for the Asian Cup is December. We are looking to get a minimum of four weeks of preparation for that.”

Igor Stimac minced no words when asked if these tournament victories were adequate preparation for the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024. A requirement of a four-week national camp seems downright laughable during an ongoing Indian Super League season, especially with the financial stakes involved. No other international manager would even entertain making such a demand. Yet, as Sandesh Jhingan noted in the press conference before the final, India’s best performances in the recent past (the draw against Qatar in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, the victories over Afghanistan, Cambodia and Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and the two trophies now) have come after extended camps, when players from multiple clubs can get in tune with each other.

Interfering with a club football calendar seems foolhardy, but perhaps the clubs themselves can opt for some long-term thinking. Progressing from a tough Asian Cup group could prove to be a seminal moment in Indian football, the outcome of which could prove to be beneficial to the clubs themselves. More fans, more eyeballs, more legendary nights to speak of – and the clubs have the players who just made themselves heroes. India are unlikely to qualify for the next World Cup, so the Asian Cup represents the biggest stage for the national team to succeed for a long time. There will be an ISL winner every year, but this shot at glory (however partial) in the AFC Asian Cup won’t come for a long time. If there is a time for some short-term pain in lieu of long-term glory, it is December.