1.4 billion population, and not a single person from that country has ever played in one of the top european leagues... why is that?
Why no High level Indian players?
- Thread starter FriedClams
- Start date
Cricket.
This will change now that a trade deal is in place.
Uk give whisky and India give top talent
Uk give whisky and India give top talent
This has been asked before. Lots of Indians are fans of football but ....
Yeah, I'm not going there
Yeah, I'm not going there
They’re all too busy playing cricket!
The three C's
Cricket
Curry
Climate
Kidding, of course. India's got talent, but maybe their focus is more on dominating the cricket pitch
Cricket
Curry
Climate
Kidding, of course. India's got talent, but maybe their focus is more on dominating the cricket pitch
Zero gold medals at the last Olympic..
Vikash Dhorasoo still counts
Until they bring cricket into the olympics
Ditto Brazilians with Ice Hockey
Jamaica we have a bobsled team
Why no high level Chinese player (1.4 billion), Indonesian (280 million), Vietnamese (100 million)? All countries who have significant football following.
Well there was Dong Fangzhou, but you get the point. Population doesnt quite mean squat in this context, you need significant long term investment and network to get the pipeline established. All these non traditional football powerhouses will take time to get their player fed into the general system to get developed/given opportunities, just as the smaller African nations in the past couple of decades.
Well there was Dong Fangzhou, but you get the point. Population doesnt quite mean squat in this context, you need significant long term investment and network to get the pipeline established. All these non traditional football powerhouses will take time to get their player fed into the general system to get developed/given opportunities, just as the smaller African nations in the past couple of decades.
As an Indian, I would say what others are probably trying to not say. Indian physique is a big disadvantage in all contact sports. That's why it does okay in hockey but not in football. Of course, the cricket obsession is also an important issue.
Can see this in both ways:
Players in India themselves: No real high level training, and also do clubs go there to scout? Not really would be my guess so hardly any real opportunity to be seen even if decent. Sunil Chhetri is probably the biggest name and he barely got out of Sporting reserves when he came to Europe
Players with a Indian origin but born in UK, Europe etc.: This one is harder to understand. Guardian I know did a few pieces on it as it didn't make sense cos most born outside of India still enjoy football and play it growing up. I do think it won't be long till someone makes it to the top and plays regularly - especially 2nd/3rd generations who don't have a more old school mentality. For my parents and friends I know it's education and the rest is fun.
Players in India themselves: No real high level training, and also do clubs go there to scout? Not really would be my guess so hardly any real opportunity to be seen even if decent. Sunil Chhetri is probably the biggest name and he barely got out of Sporting reserves when he came to Europe
Players with a Indian origin but born in UK, Europe etc.: This one is harder to understand. Guardian I know did a few pieces on it as it didn't make sense cos most born outside of India still enjoy football and play it growing up. I do think it won't be long till someone makes it to the top and plays regularly - especially 2nd/3rd generations who don't have a more old school mentality. For my parents and friends I know it's education and the rest is fun.
Oh so this guy would have a problem playing football hmm?
Imagine Maguire pinging balls into him
You can't have a belly like Rohit Sharma and be a top level football player.
Indians do math, not physical labor. That's why they weren't preferred as slaves either.
Also, there are plenty of high profile spelling bee champs.
Indians do math, not physical labor. That's why they weren't preferred as slaves either.
Also, there are plenty of high profile spelling bee champs.
Oh so this guy would have a problem playing football hmm?
Imagine Maguire pinging balls into him
Oh yeah, 1 person out of 1.4 billion disproves my point!
You're in the big leagues of forum arguing now and you're up against a pro
Cricket and hockey dominate in regards to sports in India I think, I just don't think there is as much focus on football as other sports. Like say USA or Australia, yes football is played but it is not as big as other sports in those countries.
I'd be more curious about why some countries that are dedicated footballing countries have no high level players like the countries listed above, Vietnam, China, Indonesia. I lived in Indonesia for a year and football there is massive, went to the Bali vs Madura game and there was 5 red cards
Im not sure about the Indian physique, really not that different from Asian players and Japan and Korea have high level players.
There needs to be proper training and scouting to develop players, Many kids with potential are brought to European academies because the training facilities, inclusive with learning the game, tactics and player development are simply far and above what other countries can provide. That kind of level of player recruitment and development simply doesn't exist in some countries for football, but does for other sports. Look at say the Indian training pipeline for cricket talent and it is second to none, coaches from all over the world, amazing facilities, modern sports science, nutritionists, conditioning coaches, technique analysis etc etc.
I'd be more curious about why some countries that are dedicated footballing countries have no high level players like the countries listed above, Vietnam, China, Indonesia. I lived in Indonesia for a year and football there is massive, went to the Bali vs Madura game and there was 5 red cards
Im not sure about the Indian physique, really not that different from Asian players and Japan and Korea have high level players.
There needs to be proper training and scouting to develop players, Many kids with potential are brought to European academies because the training facilities, inclusive with learning the game, tactics and player development are simply far and above what other countries can provide. That kind of level of player recruitment and development simply doesn't exist in some countries for football, but does for other sports. Look at say the Indian training pipeline for cricket talent and it is second to none, coaches from all over the world, amazing facilities, modern sports science, nutritionists, conditioning coaches, technique analysis etc etc.
Only one I can think is Danny Batth who is of Indian descent
Yeah because Japanese and South Koreans are giants…
Because takes years and millions of dollars to revamp youth infrastructure to give youths the best chance to become a football professional. The government isn’t that interested in funding this when they’ve bigger things to work on.
Can't agree with this. Football caters to more shapes and sizes than any other sport and so long as the fitness itself is there, nearly all physical profiles have distinct strengths and weaknesses that, when maxed out, can become tremendous, unique assets in themselves.
Do you know that before the "turbo midget" era, Spanish players were perceived to be to small, meek, frail and/or unathletically gifted to compete outright against the physical monsters of other nations at the very top end of majors (semi's, finals)?
Since then, they've created a paradigm shift to the point the "turbo midget" is a profile to be acknowledged and feared - absolutely everyone now knows what a team of supposedly small, frail players can do as a unit, if their technique is off the charts. They can also out manoeuvre so-called optimal profiles with ease, making it a nightmare to track and pursue for larger, stronger, faster profiles who invariably sacrifice a lot of nimbleness and ability in lieu of their physical assets.
You also have nations like Japan and South Korea who have risen to ascendancy in a relatively short period of time and effort who show what is possible with a plan in place.
India hasn't invested the time and effort to see what could be possible. Physical disadvantage isn't a thing so long as VO2 max is adequate. Many nations and players prove that.
Anyone remember Michael Chopra from the early 00s?
The girl from 'Bend It Like Beckham' was decent.
Super athletic neurons.
They don't got them fast twitching muscle fibres.
Although cricket is the dominant sport, there's also the family dynamics that don't consider football as a viable career. There's enough Indians around the world so they would have chances to play under better infrastructure than India.
As someone who coaches at grass roots level, there's a lot of Indian kids who have talent. But we do see a lot of them drop out at the age of 13/14 to pursue other goals.
As someone who coaches at grass roots level, there's a lot of Indian kids who have talent. But we do see a lot of them drop out at the age of 13/14 to pursue other goals.
All this time I've been saying technomidget.
Also, not that long ago it was the Italians who were saying they had a physical disadvantage against everyone. So they invented catenaccio and ruined football for everyone for decades. It can be done, India.
Oh so this guy would have a problem playing football hmm?
Imagine Maguire pinging balls into him
That guy would have a problem playing FIFA on Xbox, if I remember he could barely even walk.
I remember reading somewhere that India does not allow players in the national team if they have a foreign passport and India does not allow dual passports which is why Indian origin players can't represent India.
I used to love watching Vikash Dhorasoo play but he was born and raised in France, so probably doesn't count.
Adam McKola did a thing for COPA90 about it and community/family priorities did seem to be a big issue here at least.
True but those born in the UK, France, US, Germany etc. can still represent those countries. That point for me was why are these kids who grew up on football here still not getting further in the academy system etc.
It can't be just a silly answer like I've seen others make in the past about genetics because you don't need to be Ronaldo to play football. I personally think in most cases it's just priorities, a lot were more focused to go into "stable" careers
I know I was from a very young age told to prioritise education (not that I had a chance at most sport as it turned out cos I was fecking shit) but for my kid I (currently) am more likely to let him explore that if he is good enough and wants to. Similar to friends who have older kids, they are more actively letting them engage in things they didn't growing up
Bollocks, went to school with loads of Indian lads they are just the same as every one else; not as fast as the black lads
It is to do with several factors. Culture, environment, access to training/facilities, values and only to some extent genetics. However you cannot pick one over the other as a generalisation for 1.4BN people - although this can be done on individual/sub-section levels. Especially, as football can pretty much be played by most body types.
For me, an odder situation is actually the US. Soccer/football is actually widely played at U12 and all the factors I mention above, with the exception of sporting culture from the culture category, isn't something anyone raises with the US. With this in mind, I have always been surprised the US haven't produced many players that have gone on to become a elite player in Europe or South America. Sure, they have produced serveral good players but with the wide participation there at young age groups, the training and facilities available, high valuing of sporting success, 'genetics' and environment, I would've suspected more players deemed to be a top 20 player in their position.
*sorry if this is taking the thread off topic.
For me, an odder situation is actually the US. Soccer/football is actually widely played at U12 and all the factors I mention above, with the exception of sporting culture from the culture category, isn't something anyone raises with the US. With this in mind, I have always been surprised the US haven't produced many players that have gone on to become a elite player in Europe or South America. Sure, they have produced serveral good players but with the wide participation there at young age groups, the training and facilities available, high valuing of sporting success, 'genetics' and environment, I would've suspected more players deemed to be a top 20 player in their position.
*sorry if this is taking the thread off topic.
interchangeable!And yeah, this being outsized/undersized thing is not new, but nations that claim that simply come up with styles that benefit them, and are close to unplayable in that aspect when they get it right.
Yeah, that all makes sense. Also coupled with how there is less fame/money in footy compared to other sports. The genetics talk is bs for sure.
Firstly indians are generally not great at running sports. We struggle with singles tennis (can play doubles as less running), football, basketball etc. Another thing is we lack basic infrastructure to promote talent or even have proper grounds to push the sport forward. I have seen some really talented indian kids have no scope of playing further and get discouraged by their family to play further, instead use sports quota and study at a good uni/college.
What, Harpal Singh didn't doit for you?