According to a new book on the history of the national football team, the apathetic attitude of former All India Football Federation (AIFF) officials was the only reason for India to miss the chance to play the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The new book ‘Box to Box: 75 Years of the Indian Football Team’, edited by renowned football journalist Jaideep Basu and young journalist Sayan Mukherjee, is a collection of essays and interviews from some of the best football writers along with key players of the past years. in country.
It traces the journey of the national team since independence, how it championed Asia during its ‘golden age’ and how it has faded since the 1970s.
The book, which hit the stands this month, is a treasure trove of facts, interesting anecdotes, football’s cultural roots, untold and forgotten stories and first-person interviews with some of the sport’s best stars such as Tulsidas Balram, Sudhir Karmakar. and Baichung Bhutia.
In an essay titled ‘The Blunder of the Century’, Basu debunks several theories on India not sending a team to the 1950 World Cup after the national team qualified for it after the return of Burma (now Myanmar) and the Philippines. done.
“… there was no specific reason behind the move other than the indifferent attitude of the AIFF officials. There was no question of FIFA objecting to Indians playing barefoot – it is a fancy theory that originated much later,” Basu, Considered an authority on Indian football. , wrote.
“Raising money from traveling for such a long time was definitely a headache. But the problem was solved as three state associations came to the rescue of AIFF. FIFA also promised to help. One for a short period in Calcutta (now Kolkata) Camp was also organized
“But ultimately the trip failed due to the indecision of the AIFF officials. They put things off till the last moment, held several meetings but still could not reach a decision. At the last moment, when the World Cup was only a couple of weeks away , they took refuge behind lame excuses for canceling the trip.”
The decision not to send the national team was hardly criticized as the World Cup had not yet reached the pinnacle of its glory. The Olympic Games were more prestigious than the World Cup at the time.
The AIFF was then under President Moin-ul-Haq and General Secretary M Datta Ray.
Seven or eight players from the Indian team, which lost 1-2 to France at the 1948 London Olympics, played barefoot but the book revealed that they all had spike boots in their travel bags and preferred not to wear them.
In those days many players preferred to play with only heavy tape on their feet instead of wearing shoes.
The romance of barefoot football continued until 1954 when most of the nation had long ago switched to boots, praising Captain Talimeren Ao’s remark “we play football and you play boot-ball”.
The 1952 Helsinki Olympics needed a 1–10 humiliation at the hands of the then Yugoslavia, its biggest defeat ever, to switch from barefoot to shoes.
When Pakistani Hockey Team Supported Indian Football Team
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Interestingly, the book also claims that the Pakistani hockey team had supported Indian football players who were ill-treating Indonesians during the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games final match against South Korea.
“India constantly played under the ridicule of the crowd. Every time they touched the ball and whenever they started a move, they were abused. The rest of the Indian (Asian Games) contingent had left Jakarta a day earlier and probably Hi Koi Thaa is standing in a corner to support India, barring an unexpected quarter.
“The Pakistan hockey team, which beat India 2-0 in the final the previous day, was in full force to watch the football final. And they were cheering for India!” It is stated in the essay titled ‘High Noon at Jakarta’.
Under Chunni Goswami’s captaincy, India won the final 2–1 through goals from PK Banerjee and Jarnail Singh and won their second Asana Games gold medal after a home win in 1952.
The book includes articles by notable football writers of the country, including Dhiman Sarkar, Marcus Mergulhao and Siddharth Saxena.
