Football legends feel FIFA U-17 World Cup is a huge stage for the hosts players to display their skills with top talent scouts and agents watching
Former football greats during a friendly match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai yesterday
It is very rare when to European and South American legends rub shoulders with their Indian counterparts, but that is exactly what happened when five legends -- Spain's Fernando Morientes, Colombia's Carlos Valderrama, Mexico's Jorge Campos, Nigeria's Emmanuel Amunike and France's Marcel Desailly -- faced an Indian contingent comprising ex-India footballer Renedy Singh, Steven Dias, Henry Menezes, Arjuna awardee Oinam Bembem Devi, Indian women's team captain Ngangom Bala Devi, two kids from Mission XI Million, Union Minister Babul Supriyo and Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar in a five-a-side exhibition match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai yesterday. The five FIFA legends descended on Mumbai shores to promote the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup here which is one of the venues for the major spectacle that begins on October 6.
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A sizeable number of fans too made their presence felt during the interesting clash which the legends won 5-4.
Morientes, who will be remembered for his three UEFA Champions League trophies with Real Madrid, netted four of the five goals, while Ammunike netted the other. For India, Bala Devi scored two, while Dias added another.
With India hosting its first major FIFA event, Valderrama, who played three editions of the World Cup in his two-decade-old career, feels this is an opportunity for the Indian boys to enter European clubs.
"If the boys want to enter big clubs like Real Madrid then this is their opportunity. All the big scouts and agents will be watching, so they should grab this opportunity. You don't get too many opportunities in football. This is their moment to shine and stand out," he said.
Amunike, who coached the victorious U-17 Nigeria team that won the FIFA World Cup in 2015 at Chile, added: "The U-17 boys need to believe in themselves. Their journey begins here. If they can prove to themselves, believe in their ability as a team and play collectively, then the opportunity would be great for them."
Former football greats Carlos Valderrama (left), Emmanuel Amunike, Fernando Morientes, Jorge Campos and Marcel Desailly (right) during the unveiling of FIFA U-17 World Cup Trophy at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai yesterday. Pics/Atul Kamble
The Nigerian great also explained that is a different ball game while coaching an U-17 team. "When you are dealing with U-17 players, the most important thing is to act as a father to them. You should try to make sure that they see you as a somebody who helps them and not as their coach. At this particular juncture, there is lot of distraction going in their minds and the most important thing is bring them to the level to compete with the rest of the teams that are going to participate in the World Cup," he said.
Desailly, who was part of the France squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup at home, too had some advice for the Indian colts: "They should be very well prepared physically and psychologically because it is tough to handle pressure on home soil. We won the World Cup in 1998 at home because we were able to convert that pressure into positive energy on the field and deliver that extra performance."
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