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Kolkata keeps its footballing royalty in a private museum of memory. Pel arrived with the New York Cosmos in 1977 and found a Mohun Bagan side stubborn enough to hold them to a 2-2 draw at Eden Gardens.
Diego Maradona came twice and was received less like a visiting footballer than a returning monarch. Lionel Messi played his first match as Argentina captain at the Salt Lake Stadium in 2011. Each visit passed from event into folklore. Saturday gave the city something different. Brazil did not come merely to be seen. They came to play India, as per the AIFF website. For 90 minutes, admiration had to be suspended. Vincius Jnior was no longer a face on a television screen but a forward to be tracked, crowded out and repeatedly caught offside. Carlo Ancelotti was not simply one of the games most decorated coaches but the man occupying the opposite technical area from Khalid Jamil. Only when the match was over did the distance between the two footballing worlds return. Vincius, substituted at half-time, stayed on the pitch after Brazils 4-0 victory. Phones appeared, and members of the Indian contingent approached him one after another. He obliged everyone. Manvir Singh, who had spent the match trying to find a way through Brazils defence, was among those who left with a photograph. Other Indian players followed. The scene did not diminish what had gone before it. India had not entered the match seeking souvenirs. They had defended, chased, challenged and tried to score. The photographs came afterwards, when opponents could become idols again. Khalids own keepsake from the night could not be stored on a phone. A day earlier, he had entered Brazils press conference quietly and stood listening to Ancelotti. The Italian rose, embraced him and promised they would speak after the match. When they met again, Ancelotti offered a few words that Jamil later repeated. He said that you played very well. Just take it up. For a coach whose career has been constructed almost entirely inside Indian football through modest grounds, difficult jobs and opportunities earned slowly, it was recognition from the other end of the games vast landscape. Jamil, however, was not prepared to turn praise into consolation. Asked at the post-match press conference to rate Indias performance on a scale of 10, he produced the driest line of the evening. I have got zero points, he said. Next question, please. The answer carried humour, but also a little of Jamils nature. He had just stood opposite Ancelotti, watched India compete against Brazil and heard one of footballs great managers compliment his team. None of it persuaded him to overlook four goals. If you play with a good team, you make one mistake, and they finish, he said. For that, concentration should be good, and you have to be alert. Even his description of Ancelotti stripped away the mythology and found the person beneath it. Yes, he's very good. A gentleman. He's very simple, Jamil said. Technically, what to learn from him? Many things. The warmth disappeared when the discussion turned to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Indias captain had endured a painful first half and was replaced at the interval, but Jamil refused to leave him alone beneath the weight of the result. You cannot blame Gurpreet. He is one of the best goalkeepers in India. But you cannot judge him on two matches, he said. So, it's not just because of Gurpreet. The defenders also didn't close down. So, overall, everybody's mistake. Kolkatas football album now has another page: Vincius surrounded by Indian players, Ancelotti offering quiet encouragement and Jamil responding to a historic evening by awarding his team zero. The photographs will survive as souvenirs. Jamil wants the lessons to last longer. The more you play, the better. You have to play more matches. You have to have experience," he said. (ANI)
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