Delhi’s chances of repeating Santosh Trophy success bleak

The only hope for Delhi seems to be Vikas Rawat who scored a couple of goals last time around and whose experience might prove handy. Putting a brave face is coach Anadi Barua. “This team can’t be compared to what we had in the last edition. But then we have selected the best possible unit. I am hoping to do well,” he says.

Lack of facilities

Barua lamented the lack of facilities in Delhi ahead of the Santosh Trophy,saying that the time period allocated for the camp by the DSA was quite less and wasn’t appropriate to train a team for an All India tournament. “Last year,the Delhi team underwent a month long camp at the Ambedkar stadium and the focus was on to improve on-field skill and fitness. The hardwork done during that period bore fruit and we finished in the top four after a almost five decades. But this time around there is no football taking place at the Ambedkar stadium,and the camp has to be shifted to a field in Jasola,” says Barua.

“We were at a loss in Jasola. It is a small field and players don’t get the right idea of preparing for a big tournament. There isn’t a problem working on skill part but the team is pushed on the back foot the moment you don’t get a full football field. But I have concentrated a lot on fitness in these 15 days which is very important,” he says.

Additionally,many players are out of match practice since the DSA failed to organise its annual DSA leagues. Despite such a crunch situation,a few players featured in the recently concluded football nationals in April at Ranchi,but failed to graduate further to the knockout stages.

“It is great loss that the leagues are not happening. At least players get a lot of matches to play. Going for such an important tournament,it is necessary to be match fit. However many players have taken part in the nationals so the situation is not all that bad,” states Barua.

Defensive frailities

Of the team he has,Barua is banking on the team’s goalkeepers and the midfield. Attack remains a worry for him while the absence of players like Prashant Jaggi,Ashish Rawat makes the defense weak. Nevertheless,Barua is very confident of Vikas Rawat and Praveen Rawat and thinks they both have the capability to change games in the midfield. “ We can upset Nagaland as we are better than them in skill. If all our players play to potential then I am confident,” he signs off.