At a time when names like Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar are jostling for top slots in news columns, one of the oldest surviving football Olympians in the country looked at a missed chance that could have inspired an Indian name to find references alongside these international stars.
“I certainly feel India’s status in world football would have been different if we had accepted the invitation to play in the 1950 World Cup,” said the legend, Samar (Badru) Banerjee, looking back at the time when India was an Asian powerhouse in football. As the ‘greatest show of football on earth’ returns to the Samba land after 64 years, India finds itself in an insignificant position on the international football map.
The captain of the 1956 Olympic football team rued the missed opportunity that might have given Indian football the real reason to strive for betterment. India, which is currently ranked 146 in the world, slid down the ladder because of the chance of exposure it denied itself, says the 83-year-old former captain. “Looking back at the time, I feel what a big mistake we had committed then. We could not travel to Brazil apparently because of monetary problems that prevented our national federation from arranging fund for travel and kits for a bunch of barefoot footballers,” Mr. Banerjee said during a discussion on FIFA World Cup arranged by ‘Story’ bookstore here on Friday.
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Mr. Banerjee, who captained one of the best Indian outfits in international arena, said the decision of not sending a team has virtually alienated the country’s football from the rapid development that has happened in the game since then. “We did very well at Melbourne Olympics in 1956 where Neville D’Souza scored a hat-trick and we defeated Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinals to eventually gain the fourth place. Indian football kept losing the sparkle to consistent administrative apathy over the years,” he said. “Look at Australia, it has developed remarkably since then to become a regular in the World Cup now,” Mr. Banerjee pointed out. The wizened footballer, representing the ‘golden era’ of Indian football, is still hopeful that the game in the country will find the right person who will be able to invoke the vision and values while fostering the desired path of development.
Bhaskar Ganguly, another Indian captain of a later period, and Alvito D’Cunha and Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, two other former international players closer to the present times, lent their voices of support to Mr. Banerjee’s observations. “While the world is waking up to new ideas and styles in international football every other day, we have nothing but to look at old times for solace. We are waiting for that visionary person who will bring dynamism and the right scientific approach in the game’s development,” Mr. Ganguly, captain of 1982 Asian Games Indian football team, said.