Nepal ends championship drought

After a long wait of more than six years, the national team of Nepal made a triumphant return to Dasharath Stadium by lifting the “ Three Nations Cup “  football tournament in Kathmandu recently.

A vastly improved and recharged Nepal got the better of Bangladesh 2-1 to win the tourney  organized by the All Nepal Football Association(ANFA). The third outfit in the competition was Kyrgyzstan’s Olympic squad.

No doubt, it was a well deserved victory for the home side led by experienced custodian Kiran Chemjong who plays for Punjab FC in the I-League in India. 

Everyone  can agree that  in the final they were the better side and had a clear edge over Bangladesh performance wise.

After listless performances in the opening two matches,Head Coach Bal Gopal Maharjan was left to work on his team’s shortcomings and vulnerabilities,which  included lack of offensive penetration, scoring inability and good finish.

They needed to get their act together in the final, which they did. They played aggressively and cohesively throughout the game to chalk up the much needed victory.

To be fair ,the three teams were on equal footing in terms of playing standards, technical aspect and tactical strategies.Yes,Nepal was at a slight disadvantage physically,however, they showed good strength and physical attributes to stand toe to toe with the opponents.

Nepal and Bangladesh were pre-tournament favorites but Kyrgyzstan(Under-23) had the potential to upset the applecart. In other words, the race for the title was wide open.

Success largely hinged on effective team work, consistency and making the most of goal scoring opportunities.

The important victory put an end to Nepal's misery , frustration and championship drought on home ground. Despite missing a few key players, they were able to pull off a win at the end of the day. 

Coach Maharjan’s team roster for the  tournament did not include a significant number of prominent names. In his press meet  he made it abundantly clear that he picked the best  available players.

His selection of debutants  Sanjog Rai, Tridev Gurung and Nishan  Khadka paid off . Upcoming midfielder Sanjog Rai,in particular, came out with flying colors. 

In the final he performed superbly, scoring a goal and assisting for the second goal that came off the boot of Bishal Rai.His sterling performance earned him man of the match award.

Most valuable player of the tournament,international Rohit Chand, once again proved himself a strong asset to his team. 

In the role of attacking defense , he was outstanding.let me remind you that he plays for Persija Jakarta  in the Liga 1, Indonesia’s premier tournament,

Nepal’s success comes as a great relief,no matter what. More importantly, it  does build confidence and  creates some  sort of momentum going forward.Having said that,there is plenty of room for improvement and  a lot of work remains to be done.

 

Problems for Team  Nepal are all too familiar. It still lies in the increasingly shaky offensive line that has  failed to play penetrative football and score goals, coupled with underperforming midfielders that have lacked creativity and quality.

Besides ,there is a need to work on players’ physical fitness, mindset, techniques, game intelligence and discipline.

The deadly earthquake of 2015  wreaked havoc on Dasharath  stadium, leaving it unusable and took a little over six years to complete  the renovation work. 

Braving COVID-19 and pollution, starved football fans packed the freshly  renovated stadium in support of their team.As expected,they brought the stadium to life, providing players the much needed energy and push. Fans hoped for nothing less than victory,and they got it much to their delight.

The change of venue for Nepal’s  World Cup Qualifiers  2022 home matches against Australia, Jordan and Chinese Taipei is a huge disappointment for both the team and supporters. Kuwait is the new venue.

It may be recalled that in  away matches , Nepal lost to Australia , Kuwait and Jordan,  and  defeated Chinese Taipei. With three defeats and one win,  it stands third in the group.Now that the home advantage is lost, Nepal has to be at their very best against the opposition to maintain or better their  current standings in the group.

The national team of Nepal’s struggle in international football has  been epic over the years. And it continues  to this day. It  is no exaggeration to say that the team has been reduced to mediocrity. 

Prior to the Three Nations Cup, Nepal failed to win a single competition at home following their gold winning performance at the 1984 South Asian Federation Games held in Kathmandu. 

The standards in Nepali football have sharply declined for years. Many decades of mismanagement, maladministration and corruption  on part of ANFA have left  Nepal football in tatters. A lack of proper player development structure and coaching structure has seized up the production line of quality players.

The landscape of Nepal football has changed very little even after the takeover of ANFA by Karma Tsering Sherpa from discredited Ganesh Thapa.

In the eyes of his supporters, Mr.Sherpa  is doing his utmost best to  guide Nepal football in the right direction, but  the truth of the matter is that his   administration has done little or nothing to address  the sad state of football.

Mr.Sherpa has  not demonstrated leadership  and  management qualities.Furthermore,it seems he has no clear vision or direction.

There are widespread concerns about transparency,accountability and governance in his administration.

His onetime allies  in the likes  of  Nabin  Pandey,ANFA Senior Vice - President Pankaj  Bikram Nembang and many more have turned against him .

Sadly, ANFA continues to be the hotbed of petty politics,intrigues, corruption and factionalism.As long as this situation prevails, there will be no end to problems  revolving around  Nepal football.