Diego Forlan is back in India almost a decade after his last appearance in the country, but this time the former Uruguay striker has returned with a very different job. Now in the dugout, Forlan is preparing Uruguay for their October 6 friendly against India in Kolkata while offering his reading of what Indian football needs to produce better players.
Speaking to reporters in Kolkata ahead of the game, Forlan was asked what India needs to do to improve its footballers. Rather than focus on the senior team or look for another short-term answer, the Uruguay coach took the conversation back to the beginning, pointing to academies, young players and the need for children to simply play more football.
“It’s not an easy question, but you need to build from the roots. Academies, young players, kids, to start playing a lot.”
“If you build more academies, the league gets stronger and stronger, you will achieve getting more players and getting better players, that’s for sure.”
The comments came after Forlan watched India lose 4-0 to Brazil at Salt Lake Stadium on October 3. There was a clear gulf by the final whistle, but India had made Brazil work during the opening stages and showed enough going forward for Forlan to see something worth developing.
THERE IS TALENT WORTH DEVELOPING
Forlan picked up on those moments. He saw Indian players willing to combine, run at Brazil and try to play rather than spend the entire evening sitting deep.
“You can see some combinations, some young players, some good players that you can see that if you give them time and space, they can damage and they can play well.”
Ryan Williams was one of India’s liveliest outlets, while Manvir Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad also had moments when India managed to get forward. The home side’s defensive line caught Vincius Jr offside several times during the early stages, frustrating Brazil’s forward for stretches.
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Brazil eventually found their rhythm. Estvo and Pedro scored before the break, and the second half became increasingly difficult for India as individual mistakes were punished. The 4-0 scoreline reflected Brazil’s superiority, but it also underlined why matches against opponents of that calibre can be useful to an emerging side.
Forlan believes repeated exposure to that level can help young players understand what is required.
“I think this kind of game, playing against the best in the world, and also having more strong games, would improve the development of young players in the near future.”
India have certainly been given strong opposition during this window. Panama came first in Bengaluru on September 25, with India drawing 1-1. Brazil followed in Kolkata, and Uruguay are next on October 6.
For the players, the lessons are fairly clear. There is less time on the ball, mistakes are punished quicker and a brief lapse in concentration can change the course of a game.
But once the Uruguay match is over, those players will return to their clubs. That is where these experiences have to mean something.
FROM ISL DAYS TO NOW
Forlan knows the Indian game from a different time and from a very different position.
In 2016, he joined Mumbai City as their marquee player and captain, playing alongside Sunil Chhetri during the early years of the ISL. He was one of the league’s biggest attractions and quickly became part of its growing football culture.
Kolkata provided one of his more memorable nights. On October 25, 2016, Forlan scored the winner as Mumbai City beat Atltico de Kolkata 1-0 at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. He returned later that season for the semi-final, where he was sent off as Mumbai lost 3-2 in the first leg before Atltico eventually progressed.
Nearly 10 years later, he is back in Kolkata as Uruguay’s coach. The setting is familiar, but the view is different. He is no longer the player expected to decide the game. He is now looking at the opposition, its players and the system that produced them.
That is what makes his answer about academies particularly telling.
Forlan has spent enough time around Indian football to know that there are players capable of doing things on a football pitch. His concern is whether enough of them are coming through, and whether they are getting the coaching, competition and playing time required to make the next step.
More academies alone will not change Indian football. But a larger, better-organised base would give clubs more players to develop and the national team a deeper pool from which to choose.
The process starts long before a player walks into a senior national camp.
URUGUAY ARE THE NEXT TEST
Now comes another difficult evening.
Uruguay will face India at Salt Lake Stadium on October 6, giving Khalid Jamil’s side another opportunity to test itself against a team used to playing at the highest level. Forlan knows India will have its own ambitions, but he is not taking anything for granted.
“You have to respect everybody. We know it’s not going to be easy.”
Uruguay arrive in Kolkata after a 4-1 win over South Korea and with several established names in their squad, although captain Federico Valverde is absent through injury. Forlan is also overseeing a side in transition after taking over following Marcelo Bielsa’s departure.
For India, the match is less about trying to recreate the moments that worked against Brazil and more about showing that those moments can be repeated. The Panama draw showed India can compete in a different kind of game; Brazil showed what happens when the opponent has the quality to punish every opening.
Uruguay will bring another set of demands.
Forlan will be watching from the opposite dugout, almost a decade after he was last here as a player. He will see an Indian team that has changed considerably since his ISL days, and players who are trying to establish themselves at the level he spent his career competing in.
His message, however, stretches well beyond Tuesday night.
India will need more than occasional big friendlies to produce a team capable of consistently competing with the world’s stronger nations. The value of games against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay will ultimately depend on what the players take back with them, into their clubs and academies, and whether those lessons translate into better performances and stronger development over time.
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