By Abhishek Roy, IANS
New Delhi : Former national coach Syed Nayeemudin says “we don’t respect our Indian coaches” – and this is detrimental for the future of football in the country.
“It is a pity that in this country we don’t respect our own coaches. Our culture teaches us that guru is above everyone and I have also followed this right through my playing days,” said Nayeem, who is now back in India as chief coach of the Bangladesh national team in the ongoing Nehru Cup football tournament here.
“Does our culture teach us to disrespect our gurus? This is a bad sign for Indian football, and if we can’t change this perception we can never progress,” he said.
Nayeem, who was India’s national coach twice, said that in the past all the greats have always treated their coaches as demi-gods and that was the reason why they succeeded in their career.
“Look at (David) Beckham, even after being hit by a flying boot kicked by (Sir Alex) Ferguson, he still treats his mentor as god and salutes him. That’s why he is Beckham. Great players always had high regards for their coach,” added Nayeem, the only sportsperson to have received both Arjuna (as a player) and Dronacharya (as a coach) awards.
The 60-year-old veteran had an accomplished career both as player and coach, excelling at the club level on the Kolkata maidan as well as with Mumbai-based Mahindra United, whom he guided to the National Football League title.
Born in the Andhra Pradesh capital in 1948, Nayeem started his playing career with Hyderabad City Police, before moving to Kolkata where he remains the only person to be associated as player and coach with the big three – East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting.
Before he was dumped as national coach in 2006 after India were thrashed by Japan and Yemen in the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Indian team coached by Nayeem won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup in Pakistan in December 2005.
Following the Asian Cup humiliation, the players allegedly revolted against Nayeem alleging that the coach used to make them toil hard for as long as eight hours even a day before matches.
“Am I mad to make them practice eight hours before match days? All this is rubbish. I only used to tell them that they should work hard for the sake of the country,” he said in his defence.
Nayeem claimed that some players spared no effort to paint a negative picture about him.
“Some players on who I trusted became bigger than the team. They never said that I always advocated they should be paid more money,” he said.
India captain Bhaichung Bhutia was reportedly one of the players who led the revolt against Nayeem’s alleged dictatorial attitude. But the rift between the two stalwarts dates back to the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.
“We always forget the good work done by others. I brought back Bhaichung who was on the verge of retirement before the SAFF Cup. And he was the star in Pakistan,” said Nayeem, his eyes turning moist.
“I was the one who referred to him India’s Roberto Baggio and Hidetoshi Nakata. After all this, do I deserve this kind of treatment from my own players?”
Nayeem added that whatever some players may say, none could point a finger at his record as a player and coach. He also regretted that he was not given even half the facilities now being extended to Bob Houghton, India’s current coach.
“I wanted foreign exposure for the team before the SAFF Cup but was ignored by the federation. But now this coach takes the Indian team on a exposure trip to Portugal before this tournament,” said Nayeem.
“Why didn’t I get these things when I was the coach despite my repeatedly asking for better facilities?”
Nayeem felt that then national team’s technical director P.K. Banerjee also conspired to get him sacked.
“Now I have come to know from different sources that he also conspired to remove me. He used to tell me one thing and something entirely different to the players. I trusted him and he stabbed me in the back,” Nayeem said, with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.