Tashkent: Long after the Evening Walk was completed and basking in glory had become some hours old for India’s U-16 boys, everyone pounced on the laptop to watch the moment once again – for the umpteenth time. The Match DVD hadn’t come in by then, it was the winning moment celebration picture.
All searched themselves, looked and admired till they discovered the ‘missing link.’ All was there but not everyone. The picture stayed incomplete – Head Coach, Youth Development Programme, Colm Toal wasn’t there.
The boys turned their heads to the Coaches. The Staff understood the feelings. “We just can’t forget the Man at this moment. It’s to his credit that the Youth Development Programme has gathered shape and yielding results. He deserves the credit,” Coach Thomas Joseph said at one breath. The boys standing next, listened. “He couldn’t be here with us. He stays the missing link.”
“He is a thorough Professional,” Coach-cum-Manager CM Ranjith went on. “He is in charge of the U-19 and the U-16 Camps and takes care of every minute thing – right from the balls to the kit to the markings.”
“Even during our stay in Tashkent, we regularly received at least two mails from him. He wasn’t here but was omnipresent.”
The YDP was launched in 2007 and this is the second U-16 batch to have qualified for the AFC Final Phase, the first batch qualifying in 2007 itself.
The sense of bonding among all was evident when the boys went out for some sightseeing and window shopping on Saturday morning. “The boys who were there at the IMG Academy in Florida haven’t been home for over a year. This is what you call sacrifice,” Goalkeeping Coach Mario Aguiar maintained.
With the news of India making it to the AFC Final Phase splashed all over in Tashkent, the boys were an instant hit the moment they went out. Young girls came over and requested whether they could pose for photographs. The boys blushed, the girls didn’t. Even in the shops the squad was often greeted by an applause. People offered to pay themselves when the Indians didn’t have the Change.
Boys are boys who just love to stop at every step to click pictures. And that’s when the missing link became evident when all huddled together for snaps. “We have all learnt so much from him. Whenever we have any doubt, we turn to him,” Assistant Coach Bitan Singh quipped.
The boys had by now fallen in love with the City -- picturesque streets, friendly and fashionable people and the Statue of Amir Temur! With barely hours remaining for the return flight, they collected souvenirs and returned in a hurry to pack their bags. Make no mistake, all have carried back a Statue of Amir Temur. Right-hand raised with his horse in full gallop symbolising arrogance, confidence, ability and courage, Temur stays with India’s U-16 boys. After all, it’s just the beginning for Indian Football. ‘March Forward.’
By Nilanjan Datta,
AIFF Media Team
