Despite the Indian team getting knocked out in the group stages of the FIFA under-17 World Cup, former senior team player Dipendu Biswas said there is nothing to feel sad about hosts' performance as they exceeded expectations.
"I was very impressed with the performance of the side," said the 36-year-old former striker who represented India in under-16 Asia Cup. "In all the matches, they played with a never-say-die attitude. Even in the last match against Ghana, they started the second half with the intensity to find the equaliser but couldn't match their physique and pace.
"I hear people say India's football was in dark and will remain in dark after seeing our team conceding nine goals in group matches. But I don't see any bad in that; we need to keep in mind that these boys played in such a high-level tournament for the first time. I played in Asia under-16 many years ago (20 years back) and at that time I was scared if I could match the level of opponents. But these players, they kept on pushing for win in all matches," he added.
Dipendu said he was in awe of the discipline these young players showed during the World Cup, it was something he never saw before in Indian footballers.
"I was surprised how disciplined they were. They always kept their defensive line intact; such maturity at this age is amazing. They trusted and followed their coach. During my time, coaches used to shout their throat off to play according to the plan but players used to do what they like. These players got world-class coaching that's why you see players such as Dheeraj Singh winning everyone's heart with their performances," said Dipendu.
The current Mohammed Sporting player feels that hosting this World Cup has brought much-needed changes to Indian football and asked to take inspiration from USA's growth in football after hosting a World Cup in 1994 for the very first time.
"Organising this World Cup is leading to development of infrastructure of football in this country, subsequently creating that much-needed path for India to qualify for the senior World Cup that we always wanted. And this is something that was evident in the past too. United States of America hosted World Cup in the 90's (1994) and now they are regular participants. Qatar (hosting the 2018 World Cup) is trying to do the same. We must take inspiration from such instances," said Biswas.
A TATA youth academy graduate Dipendu feels that the World Cup showed Indian players are talented to match the international standard but blames the financial incapability and mismanagement of I-league for the dip in development of youth players in the country.
"The decline in the quality is because of the way I-league is handled and lack of spending ability of the clubs. While European players get to play with the best footballers of the world, we are mostly playing with foreign players who are plying their trade in the 6th-7th tier of their respective leagues. Plus, we used to play I-league matches around 2-2:30 in the afternoon. In such harsh conditions, you can't develop a footballer. European leagues play their matches mostly in the evening or in a cool climatic condition. We are now seeing a positive change recently with ISl playing their matches in the evening," said the former I-league player.
Mohammedan Sporting Club was visited by FIFA and AFC delegates before the World Cup in Kolkata. Dipendu, who also met the delegates with other officials from the club, shared the discussion they had with the representatives of football authorities.
"We had a good conversation with FIFA delegates; we told them about our view of having one-country-one-league system. We informed them how historically important the club is and how strong a fan base it has. We suggested to them a 20-team league model like Europe has," said the Mohameddan forward.
Just two goals shy of reaching the 250-goal landmark in his career, the 36-year-old player plans to hang his boots after the current Calcutta football league season.
"Once I score my 250th goal, I will put an end to my professional football career," concluded Dipendu.