Indian football has time and again failed to export quality talent to international competitions and leagues despite a behemoth population of 1.25 billion
Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes (left) and striker Diego Forlan at a media interaction on Saturday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes (left) and striker Diego Forlan at a media interaction on Saturday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
Indian football has time and again failed to export quality talent to international competitions and leagues despite a behemoth population of 1.25 billion. And Uruguayan international and marquee player for Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Mumbai City FC this season, Diego Forlan, believes that the subcontinent nation can take a cue from its
neighbours Japan, in a bid to make its global football presence felt.
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Japan's success mantra
Japan has been an integral part of the last five FIFA World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) besides contributing players to the competitive European leagues. And former Manchester United striker, Forlan, who played two seasons in the J-League for Cerezo Osaka explained how the country with just over 127 million has succeeded in establishing a global impression.
"Japan try to do things as perfect as they can. While playing in Uruguay when I was young, many Japanese players used to come to learn new things in my country. Every year five to six young teams would come and play against the local teams," Forlan told reporters at a media interaction in the city yesterday ahead of his maiden appearance in the eight-team ISL-3 (Oct 3 to Dec 18).
'Share your knowledge'
"Japanese players (and experts) have been learning new techniques from other countries. They then came back home and started teaching what they learnt there. They also brought foreign players to Japan. They did this for many years. And now you see so many Japanese players playing across the world," added Forlan, who scored seven goals in 26 appearances in the first season of the J-League in 2014.
On his decision to pick India despite receiving lucrative offers from England, Spain and Italy, the wily striker whose CV boasts of 212 league goals in a 19-year career , said: "I've been watching the ISL when I was in Japan and I've seen some talented players. The stadiums are nice and there are so many people watching, so the league is growing. And the way the shows are packaged on TV is more or less like the English Premier League." While Mumbai City FC will hoping for the 37-year-old 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball-winner to provide the much-needed impetus to a side that finished an unimpressive sixth last season and seventh in the inaugural season, the man himself believes the team's success will depend on the fitness of the entire squad.
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