Courtesy: Internet sources

New Delhi, Aug 30: Pradeep won India’s first Nehru cup on August 29, 2007 in front of a Delhi crowd that witnessed one of the finest games in modern Indian football.

A great achievement for a country that has seen sparse victories in this world sport.  A contest that reached boiling point the finals saw the hosts India take on Syria, a game between the best two teams in the tournament.

The Indian team came out in their first Nehru cup finals looking at a win.  A jam packed 20000 stadium witnessed both the teams’ kick off the game with utmost cheers and celebration.

An early lead could have been possible through Ajayan Nair who made his first start in the finals after a stellar performance in the previous matches, but was saved by the Syrian keeper in the 3rd minute.

The Syrian captain Maher Al Spayed was making some important runs down the middle but due to lack of support was unable to do much. Nine mines in the chance fell to Delhi local boy Sunil Chhetri after Bhutia’s ball from the middle to wing back N.S. Manju was hit high and wide.

The game reached boiling point half way through after a tussle between Khaled Albaba and Baichung Bhutia saw the former get a yellow card for a push. 

With Deepak Mondal missing in action, Mahesh Gawli had been a rock in defense and showed his defensive attributes to his full potential, making some excellent tackles and clearances.  in this game too.

The Syrians did not look like the team and a mistake in communication led to an argument between the keeper Mowssab Blahowss and defender Aatef Jenayat, who had to be consoled by his teammates.  The Indian team made most of the play in the first half and their attacks bared fruit in the 41st minute after victory with some fine goal good work from Sunil Chhetri on the flank found Baichung Bhutia, whose back pass was trashed into the net by N P Pradeep.

Pradeep celebrating the win

This heated the game up with the Syrian team complaining about some bad refereeing decisions. The Indians continued with their fine form and attacked just as the coach Bob Houghton would have liked.  The game took an ugly turn when Wael Ayan lashed out a trailing leg on Irugbani Surukumar in injury time of the first half that saw him see red.  The players surrounded the referee who made a decision to send the Syrian player packing who took his time in leaving the pitch. The first half ended with India 1-0 on top and the Syrians a man down.

Bhaichung Bhutia

The second half started with the Syrian coach Fajeer Ibraheem having to make changes and Al Amena was sacrificed for Al Hasan. This did not help much as a team playing with a man down, a complete half finds it difficult and so was the case for the Syrians.

Good link-up play again with the provider and goal scorer saw Pradeep hit his shot high and not so handsome in the opening play of the second half. Sunil Chhetri came close again after a Steven Dias free kick found the JCT player just to head wide.

The team spirit

The Syrians had an excellent chance on a corner but Albaba was unable to get a touch which could have seen them equalize. Subrato Paul had a game of his life and was instrumental in the win over the Syrians showing class in the goal-keeping department with a few great reactry saves. The Syrians were finding it difficult and the Indians took advantage of their extra man to play the game according to their pace.

The substitutions were on, though they did not make any difference, which was getting on the nerves of the Syrian players who felt hard done by the referee’s decisions. The game saw six minutes off added time much due to time wasting and injuries but this was enough to take India to a tremendous win over a much high ranked Syrian squad.

The referee's whistle indicating the end of the match brought in a roar by the crowd who cheered their football heroes. The Indian squad did a victory lap thanking the supporters who had turned up for this football event to witness history in the making. The Syrians side only positive in this game would have been their striker Zyad Chaabo’s golden boot. 

Mahesh Gawli was given the man of the math and deservedly so, for playing like a rock in the middle of the defense.

The Indian captain walked up the dais to receive the winners trophy and prize money, a cheque of 40,000 USD along with an additional 40, 000 USD bonus provided by the sponsors ONGC that would be divided amongst the players.  A football high that saw the Indian squad wins the hearts of its supporters and try and make the game famous with the people. Well done and a deserved victory that brings a sense of enjoyment and pride amongst all Indians.

Teams:

India: Subrata Paul (goalkeeper), Mahesh Gawli, N.S. Manju, Gourmangi Singh, Surkumar Singh, Steven Dias, Ajayan Nair (Clifford Miranda, 81), Climax Lawrence, N.P. Pradeep, Sunil Chettri (Tarif Ahmed, 90+), Bhaichung Bhutia (Abhishek Yadav, 90+).

Syria: Mowsaab Blahwoss (goalkeeper), Ali Dyeb, Mahmoud Al Amena, Maher Al Sayad, Khaled Albaba, Mootassem Alaya (Ali Arifaai, 84), Aatef Jenyat, Wael Ayan, Zeen Alabeden Fandi, Zyad Chaabo (Anas Al Asaf, 89), Feras Esmaeel.
 

Tidbits:

• The All India Football Federation president, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi was happy with the triumph and revealed that a cash bonanza awaits the Indian footballers.
• India's first major international title fittingly came on a day when the country celebrated the National Sports Day and President Pratibha Patil gave away the Arjuna Awards for excellence in sports.
• The win made the team richer by a staggering Rs.4.77 million, the bulk of this announced even as the final whistle blew. The winner ordinarily would have gone home with $40,000 (Rs.1.63 million). This is the first time an Indian football team has raked in so much money - and could well spur a resurgence of the game in India.
• India coach Bob Houghton was elated by his team's performance and said that the momentum must be maintained. "The boys played well all through the tournament. The health of a nation's football is identified by the success of its national team. I think if we keep this momentum, we can really do well in the future," Houghton maintained. "We will be playing Lebanon in the World Cup qualifiers in October and then will play the SAFF Cup and AFC Challenge Cup next year. So we will be playing more international tournaments in the coming days and hopefully we should keep the momentum," Houghton added.
• The coach also heaped praise on the Indian captain, saying: "Bhaichung has looked sharper in the tournament".
• India were in the attacking mode right from the word go in front of a full capacity Ambedkar Stadium. It was an exciting encounter - with tempers flaying - that kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
• Pradeep's goal came when he drove past Syrian goalie Mowsaab Blahowss after an on-pass from captain Bhaichung Bhutia. A cross from Steven Dias found Bhutia in the box and he headed on to Pradeep - who didn't waste any time to head in.
• At the start of the tournament, Bhutia had said there was realistic chance for India to win - and he led from the front to prove this right. "This is the biggest win of my career. We need to keep on playing well and this is just the beginning. This is a good boost for the World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon," Bhutia said at the post match press conference. "We don't play many international tournaments in the country and this win is really amazing given the fact that the last time we played the Nehru Cup was in 1997," he said.
• India's best performance in the Nehru Cup so far was a semi-final finish in the last edition in Kochi in 1997. The last time India reached the final of a major international tournament was in 2002 when they beat Vietnam to lift the LG Cup. In 2005, India beat Bangladesh to win the SAFF Cup in Pakistan.
• The Nehru Cup is being held in India after a decade and India who have never previously reached the final weren't expected to get this far let alone win the title.
• India now play Lebanon in the World Cup qualifiers next month.

India football's glorious moments

Past performances

• 2002 LG Cup Vietnam Winner
• 1971 Pesta Sukan Cup Singapore Winner
• 1970 Asian Games Bangkok 3rd place
• 1970 Merdeka Cup Kuala Lumpur 3rd place

(Excludes SAARC and SAFF tournaments)

President congratulates Indian football team  
 
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil today congratulated the Indian football team for winning the ONGC Nehru Cup tournament here.

A solitary goal from N P Pradeep against Syria clinched India's victory in the tournament at the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium.

Earlier, Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee had called Indian skipper Bhaichung Bhutia to congratulate the team for the triumph.

India received a winners' prize of USD 40,000 while the Syrians had to settle for half that amount.

There was further windfall for the Indians as ONGC announced a 100 percent bonus for them. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit chipped in with Rs Five Lac while All India Football Federation announced a reward of Rs 10 lac.