The taller, the better; new soccer coach's success recipe

New Delhi, July 14: Newly appointed coach Bob Houghton has learnt his lesson well from the just-concluded World Cup and the Briton is scouting for taller players to scale new height with the Indian soccer team.

Addressing his first press conference in the capital here today, Houghton made it clear that he would love to have a few more tall and towering figures in the ranks.

''If you took note of the World Cup, you must have seen that most of the goals came from set-piece moves like free-kicks and corners and you need some physical presence there.

''In the World Cup final also, you saw a 6'5'' (Marco Materazzi of Italy) scoring a goal while both Italy and France had at least seven players of a height above 182 cm. You just can't dismiss the height factor,'' he argued.

''I'm not saying that we should have a team of giants. What I'm trying to say is that it's good if your team is good, technically sound and runs well from box-to-box but height comes handy.

''When I took over, I was handed over a 35-member group and then I asked the (AIFF) secretary to call some taller players and from those who came, Micky Fernandes and Freddie Mascarenhas will be travelling with the team to Vancouver (for a four-team tourney),'' he added.

All India Football federation President Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, 'The average height you can have in the northeast is 5'6''. So we'll have to focus on northern India -- Punjab, UP and Delhi. We would have to find talents in this region and groom them.

''The coach is keen on touring the country to spot talent and so we have divided it into six zones where we will see more and more talents. Just being a 6'4 won't do. We would like to see more and more talents, with height, going through the zonal scrutiny,'' he added. Houghton also seemed impressed by his wards.

''We had a group of 35 which was trimmed down to 20 and my immediate impression is that the boys are talented, dedicated and hardworking,'' he observed.

Mr Dasmunsi, meanwhile, informed that he would talk to former captain Baichung Bhutia tomorrow and try to convince him to defer his retirement from international soccer till the Asian Games.

''Baichung met and told me that he wants to hang up his boots and pave way for others. A player has the freedom to decide when he wants to stop. But considering the national interest, I had asked him to defer it till the Asian Games and he promised me to consider that.

I'll get his view on it tomorrow,'' Mr Dasmunsi informed.

The new coach also expected that the mercurial forward would be there till the Games.

''Baichung is a key player who has played for so long. I would definitely hope that he extends his career,'' Houghton said.

He also expressed his desire to meet the club coaches once he returns from Vancouver.

''If you want to see a successful Indian team, it would depend much on the clubs because that's where a player spends most of the time. I will be meeting the premier club coaches on my return and then would like to meet the physio and medics too, to get an idea of the players' fitness and how the injured players are handled,'' he said.

The S Venkatesh-led Indian team's first assignment under Houghton will be the four-nation tourney in Vancouver from July 19, which also involves Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Cardiff City FC and the Chinese under-20 team.

Meanwhile, the AIFF President also informed that FIFA President Sepp Blatter would visit India soon.

''The FIFA President will visit India even though the date has not been fixed. It won't be a one-day stopover, but at least a three-day tour. We would work out the details soon,'' he added.

UNI