Fed cup fiasco
It was 1997. A brand new NFL (now the I-league, not to be confused with the Madden version) season was a few weeks from starting when the final of India’s Premier footballing tournament, the Federation Cup was having its 20th anniversary.
And in the final of Fed Cup’s 2nd decade of existence were two football giants from India. East Bengal, — a year away from being Vijay Mallya’s latest sporting acquisition — were up against a very talented Salgaocar side that looked like it would win a few trophies in the coming years. And they delivered that night beating East Bengal 2-1 to lift the trophy for the 3rd time. And again on Thursday, when they beat Kingfisher East Bengal 3-1 through Edeh Chidi, Francis Fernandes and Ryuji Sueoka, although Alan Gow continued his impressive performance and scored the consolation for the Bengal giants.
Sadly a solid tournament could not be spared by some bovine moments displayed by the organisers and their planning really left some food for thought. Pune and Kolkata were chosen as hosts. Good choice given how Bengalis on football are like a fish on bait — hooked. And Pune’s brand new stadium had to be used because, well, that’s common sense. Why build a stadium and not use it?
There is a saying in hindi “Akal gayee ghas charne” (literally translated: brain went to eat grass) and much like the meandering cattle on Indian roads, the organiser’s brain had definitely turned vegan to the max. And this shadowed a tournament where Bagan notched only 1 point, Dempo managed only 3rd place in their group,Sporting Club de Goa alongside Churchill Brothers did not qualify for the knockout rounds, Royal Wahingdoh beat both Bagan and the Bros and the final was a proper wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am affair. This trend needs changing fast.
Until then, Joga Bonito.
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