Infusing young blood a step in the right direction

We leave our pet subject cricket for a while and take strike to congratulate the Football Federation of Sri Lanka for disbanding the national pool of players and dribbling in an under-23 team to take the game to the future. Common sense seems to have finally dawned on the FFSL and although it is better late than never, the move to concentrate on youth will earn applause all round and if the highly talented youth soccerites are in the safe hands of a good coach and management, then there is no reason why they should not start kicking the all important goals for the game.

FFSL continued with the old brigade for far too long. The players were provided with all the goodies, that previous players lacked. Yet they failed to put their best foot forward and deliver.

FFSL finally said enough is enough and stepped into stop the nonsense and in disbanding the national team have put former marvelous Sri Lankan striker Mohammed Amanullah in charge of a pool of under-23 footballers as coach and he has been told to get the players to strike the net.

One of the finest

Now Amanullah was one of the finest strikers that the game of football in Sri Lanka has seen. In addition to his prowess at soccer he was also a fine all round cricketer. He gave up cricket to concentrate on the game he loves best - soccer-and cricket lost a promising all rounder.

His goals as striker for Sri Lanka had to be seen to be believed. Has a striker he was in the company of great players who sported the Sri Lanka jersey with pride, success and respect. Names that come to mind and confirmed by our soccer expert Leslie Fernando are those of P.D. Sirisena, Judy Preena, Denzil Walles, K.D. Somapala, Andrew and Karunapala Fernando, T.H. Synoon, Jaymon and Hemachandra to name a few.

When at his best Amanullah had another wonderful dribbler supporting him in Roshan Perera and together they were a splendid force and many were the goals they scored with their wonderful dribbling and heady play that had opposing defenders and goal keepers going the wrong way.

Amanullah must be given a free hand. He should brook no nonsense from whatever quarters. He must listen to the men who matter, but always decide for himself and for the benefit of the players.

Discipline

Amanullah has been saddled with a tough ask. We who have watched him play can vouch for the fact that he will above all and firstly introduce the all important DISCIPLINE to the team. DISCIPLINE is the all important ingredient for success in any form of sport or in life.

Here’s wishing Amanullah all the best and may Allah help him and may he take the game to great heights and make the game of soccer in Sri Lanka enjoy its former glory when coaches such as V. Nadaraja, Albert Fernando and Neville Abeygunewardena were in charge.

A little advice to Amanullah from us. He must take into confidence the media, have media discussions and spell out his plan of work. Winning the confidence of the media is half the battle won in his endeavour to take the game to the promised land. Amanullah must also put his foot down and demand from the Management that he or another okayed by the FFSL speak to the media and not every Dick, Tom and Harry.

Saviour of the game

In recent times the saviour of the game in Sri Lanka Manilal Fernando with a hard working band of officials had done every thing required by the soccerites. The soccerites had only to ask and Fernando would deliver. But apparently Fernando’s kindness was taken for his weakness and the soccerites failed to deliver.

The bubble burst when the national soccerites brought shame to the game by losing 5 - one to the Maldives in the SASF Games in Bangladesh recently. That thrashing was too good to be true.

Excuses however good, it is said cannot be accepted when once in the big league. Those in charge may have excuses, but those are all unacceptable, because the bottom line was a disgraceful defeat.

When Maldives first took to the game, it was our coaches who showed them how. Our teams of that time toyed with them. The Maldivians must be admired because in a short time they became larger than life in the game and while we were huffing and puffing to hit their net, they were hitting our net with gay abandon.

Dead wood

The FFSL must not only cleanse everything that is dead wood. Getting rid of only the players would not suffice. In this aspect I fully agree with former Sri Lankan striker and coach Subani Hashimdeen when he wrote recently that the dead wood in the administration must also be fumigated.

There is saying that only dogs go back to their vomit. The FFSL has in recent times seen canines of a different nature creeping in. They are those who enjoyed good times and began barking when kicked out.

Good that those who know nothing about soccer did not take Manilal Fernando for a bite and blame the defeat against Maldives on him. Fernando has done wonders for the game, the players and the administration.

Not only that. He has taken the administration to international level and he himself is held in high esteem not only as a Senior Vice President in the Asian Football Confederation, with the likelihood of being its President, but also in the world governing body - FIFA.

As an administrator he is greatly admired for his honesty, courtesy, efficiency and brilliant legal brains by AFC President Bin Hammam and FIFA President Josef Sepp Blatter. He need not be lynched for the failures of the team. He must be treated with the utmost respect.