By Joseph Solomon,

AIFF Media Team

BENGALURU: Streamlining the National setup while developing talents based on a selected ideology and implementing technology to harness better dynamic Players has always proved to widen the Footballing horizon of any Country.

To catalyst the growth of Indian Players and Indian Football in general while keeping in tune with the regular trends of the modern Footballing World, the All India Football Federation has taken many steps to chalk out a detailed roadmap for the future.

Appointing a common Sports Scientist and a common Goalkeeping Coach for both the Senior National Team and the U-19 Team was one of the many steps taken to streamline the flow of proceedings, along with the use of GPS Systems and innovative fitness regimes which eventually help raise the bar of a Player.

“We are starting to instill in them (the Players) a culture of Sports Science and fitness regime,” Sports Scientist Danny Diegan told www.the-aiff.com as the National Team camped in Bengaluru for the match against Iran.

“With the help of the GPS Systems we receive information about the work rate of the Players. This information has been compared with the figures of 2010 FIFA World Cup, Domestic Leagues and National Teams playing overseas,” he adds.

“Figuratively, although we are not there amongst the best in the World, we do not lag behind too,” Danny smiles and gives a confident chuck. “We can make it, you know. The Players need to work hard to make it into the cream at the top.”

You inquire as to what the technicalities need the Players follow to be there with the best and Danny quips almost immediately, “High intensity actions.”

“What we need are high intensity actions. We are breaking the information received throughout the match into brackets of 15 minutes and then we are assessing the Player.”

“This not only gives us an efficient overall outlook of the Player, but it also intimates us where the Player should work and what does he lag at.”

“It is imperative to assess a Player because if you don’t you might break him. You need just the right amount of training, not too much, not too less,” Danny informs.

A pensive silence swoops down on the room, perhaps due to the fact that in retrospect Indian Football has never been magnified and looked through the lenses of a Sports Scientist. And that too with so much minute detail and technicality.

“Furthermore, we do screening sessions of Players movements and give Players a particular set of exercises which are exclusive solely to them.”

“This is what we called as evidence based strengthening. And this helps to boost a particular Player’s results on the field while cropping down the chances of injury.”

Not only has science influenced the fitness regime of the Players it has also altered the diet of the Players enabling them to, as Danny puts it: “Train to eat, eat to train.”

With the expertise of Danny not only exclusive to the National Team, but spreading into the U-19 Youth Team as well, the National Setup is gradually being streamlined into an efficient and well-oiled machinery. 

“The U-19 Youth Team is bound to develop as they are using Sports Science early on in their careers. It opens a plethora of possibilities for the lads,” Deigan who has earlier worked with the National Institute of Sports in Australia quip.

And again a moment of silence hovers down on the room. But this one is short-lived, breached by the entrance of Stephen Constantine, Head Coach of the Indian National Team. He smiles and urges Danny to continue.

“We are identifying key areas of the National Team as well as the Youth Team. And thereafter we will work on that. The Players are willing to improve, regardless of the age group. They want to learn and they want to be better in the business,” Danny adds.

At the moment, Constantine undergoes a change in his inertia. His smiling figures morphs into a thoughtful one, intellect to some extent. “You cannot undervalue and underestimate Players,” he states.

“It is a long process but getting the U-17, the U-19 to play and train as the same way that the National Team does makes it so much easier for the young crop. You can pluck a lad from the U-17s or the U-19s and fuse him into the National Team, as he knows what the training is all about and the way to go about it.”

This time Deigan listens.

“This gives them (the Players) a perfect platform to learn and evolve into better Players gradually. And all under one system, one philosophy,” Constantine goes on. “Along with that we need to play regularly too as there cannot be a better teacher than a Football match for a Football Player.”

The British Coach adds that although the results might not be visible in the first 6 or 12 months but eventually results will be evident.

“We need to work towards a common goal and that is taking Indian Football forward. We need to work towards that and keep that goal in mind all the time.”