New Delhi: “I know you love your cricket, but for 90 minutes, we hope to show you quality football.”
That statement from Arjen Robben encapsulates perfectly what to expect when German giants Bayern Munich take on the Indian national team in an exhibition match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
On paper and on the field, it is a colossal mismatch. Bayern Munich are the biggest and most successful football club in Germany by far, having won a record 22 league titles, 15 German Cups and four European Cups in their 112-year history. Having been home to legends like Franz Beckenbauer, Stefan Effenberg and Gerd Muller in the past, they now boast of international stars like Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez in their line-up, all of whom played for their national sides in the 2010 World Cup.
On the other hand are India, currently ranked 162nd in the world, who are not even among the top sides in Asia, have never qualified for the World Cup (except once in 1950, when they withdrew after FIFA denied them permission to play barefoot) and who can boast of only three players who have ever played in a professional league abroad.
It’s not a contest at all.
This match, though, is meant to be much more. It is a promotional exercise for Audi, the sponsors, while the AIFF hopes that bringing a Champions League-winning team to India for the first time ever will raise the profile of the game. The proceeds will benefit those affected by the September earthquake in Sikkim, while fans will get a chance to see their heroes in action, the second such high-profile match in India after Lionel Messi came to Kolkata for an Argentina friendly last year.
More than anything, however, it is a farewell for India’s biggest football star, Bhaichung Bhutia. Injury forced the striker to retire in August, but he will get a proper finale as he leads India out for one last time on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who has just recovered from a calf muscle injury, says he will start the match and is confident of being able to play the full 90 minutes, even though he admits it will be a tough challenge against the European giants.
Leading the line with Bhaichung in the absence of star striker Sunil Chhetri, out due to an ankle injury, will be 20-year-old Jeje Lalpekhula. Midfielder Steven Dias is also missing, but India coach Savio Medeira has picked a squad with a mix of youth and experience. In addition to Sameer Naik, Gouramangi Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Climax Lawrence and Clifford Miranda – all part of the squad that recently won the SAFF Cup – there is also a place for youngsters like defender Adil Khan, striker CS Sabeeth and midfielder Lalrindika Ralte.
For Bayern, the match will bring to an end their training camp post the winter break. After a week-long stay in Doha, which ominously included a 13-0 friendly win over Qatari second-tier outfit SC Al-Sailiya, this will be the last warm-up for the table-toppers before the second leg of the Bundesliga resumes next week. So Bayern are expected to field a full-strength side, while also giving more playing time to Schweinsteiger, who has just recovered from a collarbone injury.
The gulf between the two sides is stark. While India are planning for the AFC Challenge Cup in March, hoping to qualify again for the Asia Cup, Bayern are aiming for bigger prizes on the domestic front and in the Champions League, with the final of the latter to be held at their home ground – the Allianz Arena – this year.
The result is then a foregone conclusion, and India’s aim will be to contain, though even if they give their best, Medeira knows it will be hard work to achieve a respectable scoreline. “It’s not every day that you get a chance to play against the best in the world. It will be a learning experience for us,” said the India coach.
The Bayern contingent refused to make any predictions, with coach Jupp Heynckes, like Robben, insisting that the focus was to play attractive football. “We have come to play a serious match,” he said. “We are among the top five sides in Europe. We want to show how a top European club plays. We hope for a good and entertaining match.”
It should be a fitting send-off for India’s much-loved football hero.
Squads:
FC Bayern Munich:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Jorg Butt, Maximilian Riedmuller, Rouven Sattelmaier
Defenders: Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Breno Borges, Diego Contento, Philipp Lahm, Daniel Van Buyten, Marcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza (Rafinha)
Midfielders: Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Takashi Usami, Danijel Pranjic, Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk
Forwards: Mario Gomez, Thomas Muller, Nils Petersen, Ivica Olic
Coach: Jupp Heynckes
India:
Goalkeepers: Karanjit Singh, Subhasish Roychowdhury, Felix
Defenders: Jaspal Singh, Sameer Naik, Gouramangi Singh, Govin Singh, Nirmal Chhetri, Syed Rahim Nabi, Adil Khan, Gurjinder Singh
Midfielders: Reisangmi Vashum, Jewel Raja Shaikh, Climax Lawrence, Rakesh Masih, Baldeep Singh, Clifford Miranda, Lalrindika Ralte, Rocus Lamare
Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhula, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sushil Singh, CS Sabeeth
Coach: Savio Medeira
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