Experience could give India the edge

They became friends during the Busan Asian Games in 2002 but tomorrow, for 90 footballing minutes at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Stephen Con...

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They became friends during the Busan Asian Games in 2002 but tomorrow, for 90 footballing minutes at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Stephen Constantine and Raddy Avramovic will put that aside and focus on the task ahead: qualifying for World Cup 2006.

With national pride a high point on their agenda, familiar rivals India and Singapore brace up to their first step in achieving the kind of impact Korea and Japan created in the last World Cup. There isn’t much to choose between the two on paper — Singapore are pegged at 107 on the FIFA rankings and India at 138 — but the difference lies in the approach of the coaches.

Avramobic’s focus is on encouraging talented players and building trust so that they can deliver. ‘‘One player does not make a difference’’, he feels, ‘‘for what’s the use of the other 10 then?’’

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Constantine, by necessity if not choice alone, has usually shaped his tactics around his star, Bhaichung Bhutia. And, as if to prove Raddy right, Constantine announced today that Bhutia did have a “slight” hamstring injury. Raddy, though, simply praised Bhutia’s talent and admitted that India have been “active” as a team, which could hold good in the game.

Singapore, on the other hand, have had just two tough practice games against Norway and the Iran U-23 side, which they lost, but gave Raddy the chance to pin-point his major weakness: his defence line of Aide Iskandar, S Subramani and Daniel Bennett.

‘‘They have been suspect’’, he says, adding, ‘‘I’ve actually been trying to figure out how to draw a balance between a versatile forward line (Agu Casmir, Fadzuhasny Juraimi, Noh Alam Shah, Indra Sahdan Daud) and an erratic defence.’’

On the other hand, Constantine, with Bhutia a worry, has a choice of either fielding Asim Biswas — who has scored almost every time fielded — or the oppotunistic Abhishek Yadav. Going by strategy, Yadav could just get the nod ahead of Biswas, simply because of his height advantage.

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India’s advantage could lie in the fact that the team has, with a few exceptions, been mostly together since the LG Cup triumph. Singapore, by contrast, have undergone a massive overhaul. Twelve players are 25 or under, while only three players are over 25, including veterans Rafi Ali (medio) and Zulkarnaen Zainal (defender).

Constantine believes in continuity and calls his a “settled side”, something he expects will work to his advantage for now. What also helps is the fact that much of the squad — keeper Sangram Mukherjee, defenders Deepak Mondol, Mahesh Gowali and Muttath Suresh, and Bhutia — play for East Bengal.

While India banks on experience, Singapore, their coach says, are still to learn how to deal with big-match situations. Giving the hosts the edge.