Kolkata: India lag 50 to 100 years behind top countries and should encourage their inherent way of playing football to develop, believes Sol Campbell. “A lot of other countries have got 50-100 years ahead of India. You have to say what we need to catch up. But you are on the right path. Having a World Cup here for the U-17s gives you exposure,” the former England defender, now a part of Fifa’s technical study group, said here on Saturday.
“You also need players to go abroad. Fifa is also there to provide information. But it needs time and it’s not going to happen overnight.” He said it was also important to stick to one’s own DNA while charting a path for improvement. Each country has its own way of playing football, India should acknowledge and build on that.
“India has their own DNA, every country has their own DNA. If you go far from that DNA you will lose yourself. There’s a need to find your roots and then figure out how to bring in expertise. You also need exposure to know how to play the game, qualify for tournaments and win games. For that you need foreign help. You need to learn from good and bad results and you need to play more.” He termed India’s infrastructure for the Under-17 World Cup “fantastic” and was impressed by the quality of play on display from teams in the tournament.
“The physical condition of these players is so good. Even 10 or 15 years ago, it wasn’t that good, only few countries did it properly. Today, the skill levels, knowledge of the game and tactics have gone up a few notches.” England’s youth recent success shows young players are benefitting from their stint at national centre at St George’s Park. But they need to play in the first teams of their clubs to build on their potential.
“The problem lies in how it gets transferred to domestic teams. Either they have to be outstanding or have a sympathetic manager. You need them to play in the Champions League week in, week out. We need to see how they progress and transfer this into individual first teams,” he said.
