Dear colleagues,
*It’s the big day tomorrow (May 19) with the Indian U-17 World Cup Team playing United States of America in the AIFF Youth Cup at Tilak Maidan, Vasco. The match would be live streamed on AIFF’s Youtube Channel – AIFF Official TV from 8pm.* Please find below the following: *India’s preview report against USA in AIFF Youth Cup. Quotes from Head Coach Nicolai Adam have been incorporated into the copy.* *Also find below an interview with Mr. Jim Moorhouse, Head of USA’s Youth Teams on soccer striking it right in a Country predominantly dominated by NBA, American Football and Baseball.* *Also find attached the following pictures:* *Football God has given us a second chance and we have to show the right attitude, says Nicolai Adam.* *USA will come hard at us, states Nicolai Adam.* *The performance of the National Team facilitates Youth Development, says Jim Moorhouse.* *The copyright of the pictures lie with AIFF. Please credit AIFF Media for the pictures used.* For all updates of the AIFF Youth Cup, Hero Federation Cup and all other news and exclusive pictures please follow our Official Twitter Handle @AIFFMedia at *https://twitter.com/AiffMedia* <https://twitter.com/AiffMedia> Also follow and like the Official Page of Indian Football Teams on Facebook at *https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam* <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam> *For Media queries contact AIFF Media Manager Mr. Nilanjan Datta at +91-9873185150.* Regards, AIFF Media Team ========================================================== *INDIA PLAY USA IN GOA* *Nicolai promises ‘better attitude’ in India’s ‘second chance’* *LIVE STREAMING ON AIFF OFFICIAL TV* *By Nilanjan Datta,AIFF Media Team* *VASCO (GOA):* Nicolai Adam is an honest man. “We just lost 3-1 to Tanzania. If I am honest, I have no problems admitting that we could have lost by a bigger margin,” he adds. “Our body language was bad, especially in the second half (against Tanzania) and it gave the impression that we didn’t want much,” he states during the morning recovery session as his wards jog around the ground. “But Football God has been kind and has given us a second chance,” It’s the ‘second chance,’ and it’s against United States of America. Not every day India gets to play them. Knowing that a good performance against them would make a real big statement not only in this Tournament but in the whole World, Nicolai informs his boys will show the “right attitude” when it kicks-off. “I promise the boys will give their best against USA. They will show their best attitude on the pitch. I reiterate it wasn’t right in the second half in our last match,” he declares. The boys, by that time, are still jogging. How do you assess USA? “They are a dominating Team. They will come hard at us,” he maintains. Will two days of extra rest be an added advantage for them? “You also need to remember that they flew into India and are trying to overcome the 12 hour difference in time zone,” Nicolai is honest again. “The kids are a bit nervous wanting to deliver in front of the home crowd. This is also a learning process for them. We have the AFC U-16 Finals coming up and then the U-17 World Cup. We need to be able to deliver at a high level in front of home crowd in India. It’s a psychological aspect which they have to learn,” Nicolai quips. USA had played Tanzania in their first match of the Tournament and it had ended 1-1. They headed to the AIFF Youth Cup after a triumph in a Youth Tournament in Europe. “We have two back to back games against USA and then Korea Republic. They would be extremely difficult. But that’s the purpose of the entire Tournament – to understand where we stand,” Nicolai stresses. The boys by then have finished and are having a sip. “We are clearly not the favourites in the Tournament and have our goal defined, ie, to finish among the top four. If we even finish fourth, we get to play five matches. An extra match at this level is always a bonus.” “When we went to Germany we played almost same quality of opposition. But we had adequate match practice prior to playing them. It’s difficult to pick up the speed in youth Football when they boys go for a month-long break,” he explains. The boys by then have started to board the bus even as the cars speed by on the adjacent highway. “The beauty of Football is that you can mess up but two days later you get a chance to do something better,” he starts walking towards the Team Bus. That’s India’s second chance, that too against the mighty USA. The kick-off on May 19 is at 8pm. *Thursday’s matches:* Korea Republic vs Tanzania (4pm – Tilak Maidan, Vasco, Goa). India vs USA (8pm – Tilak Maidan, Vasco, Goa). ------------------- *‘Soccer is equal to Basketball, American Football and Baseball in USA’* *‘NATIONAL TEAM NEEDS TO DO WELL’* *By Joseph Solomon,AIFF Media Team* *VASCO (GOA): *The United States of America’s U-16 National Team has been a regular feature in most of the editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. On the sidelines of USA’s participation in the AIFF Youth Cup, www.the-aiff.com caught up with USA’ Head of Youth Team, Jim Moorhouse to talk at length about the Footballing culture in the States, Scouting, Youth Development, the acceptance of Soccer in the same League as NBA, American Football and Baseball and much more. *EXCERPTS:* *How has Football been received by the American population despite sports such as Basketball, Hockey and even American Football being prominent?* It has taken a long time for the American population to accept Soccer as a major sport. Back in the 1980s and the 1990s it was difficult for Soccer to grab eyeballs and Soccer was clearly in the lower tiers in terms of popularity. But that has changed over the last 5-10 years and with the Major League Soccer (MLS) in its 20th year, the popularity is booming. All were apprehensive of Soccer but now it’s put in the same league as Basketball, Hockey and American Football. Moreover, the National Team’s consistent performances have also led to the rise of Soccer in the States. The National Team has to do well. *Shed some light on the Youth Development in the States and how do you assess it?* When you talk about Player development it has to be a 50 year project and not a 5 or 10 year project. It does not work that way. We created a development Academy 10 years ago and it unified the Youth Clubs across the Country -- paving a way for all Youth Clubs to be on the same schedule, thus making sure that everyone is following a right process in terms of Youth Development. As long as there is a process and a plan and a Club has a healthy mindset about Youth Development, Players will come into the pipeline. The best way to assess Youth Development is through results achieved by the National Team and how an individual Player is competing at the highest level with a different Club. *How beneficial is the Development Academy in terms of scouting?* It has helped us unify our scouting efforts. As USA is a big country like India and has a large demography, hence, it is easier for us to scout from the Development Academy as that is where the cream is. *Is demography a challenge for big countries like USA and India when it comes to scouting?* Demography of a country is a double-edged sword it helps and hurts too. It helps because there is a bigger pool of Players to choose from and at the same time it hurts because it is a challenge to have each and every corner of the Country covered through scouts. *There is a cliché in the States that ‘Soccer’ is something that you pick your eight year old daughter from.* That is the old clichéd saying where Soccer was considered analogous to babysitting. That is past as it was spoken about when there wasn’t much infrastructure. But it is an old mindset. ==================== EOM Media Department, AIFF. Alternate: [email protected] Website: www.the-aiff.com
