Originally published in The Times of India on May 2, 2020
Hyderabad: Forty-six years ago, the Indian youth football team created history by becoming joint champions with Iran in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Youth Championship held at Bangkok, Thailand from April 15-30, 1974.
It remains the last trophy that the country won at the Asian level.
A series of disappointing performances in competitions had led to the Indian government deciding not to grant permission for such tournaments.
However, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) managed to persuade the government to grant permission in 1974. Shabbir Ali was named captain of the squad and Prasun Banerjee the vice-captain.
Shabbir Ali said, “Other teams did not think much of us when we arrived in Thailand. All the teams used to eat together at the dining hall and other teams were dispassionate towards the Indians. But as the team played well in the group stage and continued their good performances, other teams became curious and started respecting us.”
Sharing memories of team spirit, Ali said, ”Since the tea at the hotel we were staying in was expensive, manager Dilip Ghosh used to prepare tea for the players every morning. The manager and the coaches stuck closely with us throughout the tournament and kept encouraging us even when nobody expected much from the team.”
India’s Path to the Trophy
Employing a 4-2-4 formation, India finished as group leaders with two wins in the group stage and qualified for the quarter-finals, in which they defeated Singapore 4-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. In the semi-final four days later, India downed hosts Thailand 2-1.
India’s opposition in the final, Iran, were seen as favourites for the trophy, having beaten South Korea 3-0 in the semifinal. Despite the odds, coaches SA Salam & Arun Ghosh and manager Dilip Ghosh spurred the team, saying that the Iranians were taking them for granted by celebrating as if they had already won the trophy. They told us, “We have to perform well. Yeh izzat ka sawaal hai.”
In the final held on April 30, the score was 1-1 at end of regular time. Even after extra time, the match ended in a 2-2 draw and thus India & Iran jointly lifted the 1974 AFC Youth Championship trophy.
Following the victory, some junior players in the winning squad were selected for India’s senior squad and went on to represent the country in the Merdeka Tournament held later that year.
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