"You know, it is a difficult situation currently.", says a somewhat dissappointed coach Sreedharan. "We played well against Salgaocar in the last match, but our strikers don't score any goals."

When it comes to team-sheets, Viva certainly has a weaker roster than other I-League teams, but the team has managed to pull off some impressive performances in the beginning of the season. "Even I was surprised how well the boys did!", explaines Sreedharan. But by now, we must admit that it was mainly Sreedharan's strict training methods and his vast experience that resulted in the players' fitness and their good performances.

"The problem is that most of our players lack the experience of playing constantly at India's highest level." says Sreedharan. It is the inexperience that did Viva in during the last outings.

Another factor certainly is that Viva does not perform well whenever Wisdom Abbey has an off-colour day. "Wisdom is our main striker. But he carried an old hairline fracture which he felt again after a couple of matches. He has not been playing at 100% for most of the matches." says Sreedharan. Apart from that, Baba Tunde, Viva's Nigerian star striker of last season seems to have lost his magic touch. Or were critics right when they said that Baba is not fit enough to play at India's top level?

The financial backing of the club is another worry. Viva Kerala is run by football-lovers who invest their own time and money to run the club. The club has no real big sponsor yet. And in (football) business, there is the simple rule: The more money, the merrier. It is difficult for Viva to attract high-class players, if they cannot pay them. Viva Kerala does not want to make the same mistakes that lead to the disbanding of FC Kochin.

"Anyway, all is not lost. If we manage to win the next match against East Bengal, anything can happen." analyses Sreedharan.

But there are also good news: for example, young teenager Shabbas Shaleel has been a revelation for Viva Kerala this season. "Shaleel is very aggressive and hard-working. He has improved a lot and I believe he has the potential to become a very good player for this country." One hopes that he will stay with Viva Kerala under Sreedharan's guidance. "Even national coach Bob Houghton expressed his interest to play Shaleel in the U-19 and U-21 Indian team.", says Sreedharan. On another note, Viva's James Singh has earned himself a call-up to the Indian National team pre-camp selection in Goa.

Comments

Add New

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."