The anguish was palpable in Sunil Chhetri’s lamenting the poor attendance at India’s matches in the inter-continental football matches being played in Mumbai (a view shared by Bhaichung Bhutia): yet the county’s most accomplished striker was decidedly off-target when he contrasted the indifference to the Indian squad with the committed following here commanded by European and English teams like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern Munich.

For the matter was explained by Chhetri himself in his plea, “abuse us, criticise us, but please come and watch the Indian team play”. True that the “nationalism” he sought was vastly different from the politicised version of the term, but he missed the “woodwork” when he only partially put the limited appeal down to the poor standard of domestic football. It was apparent that he felt the team was deprived of the “home advantage” ~ a packed stadium that provided the players energy and adrenalin to feed off.

Curiously, while many other sporting disciplines have gained from the intense international coverage provided by television, the appeal of football has declined. For what the cameras have “exposed” is just how far Indian football has lagged behind ~ not just Europe and Latin America, but the African continent and the “far east” too: why even the United States have made it to World Cup finals.

Comparing players of different eras is always silly, but Chhetri and Bhaichung must ask themselves why till a few years back a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal fixture was a crowd-puller, anywhere in the country. Not just the Kolkata giants ~ teams had huge fan-followings everywhere: Leader’s and JCT in Punjab; Mafatlal in Mumbai; Salgaocar, Dempo and Churchill Bros. in Goa and military sides like Mardas Regimental Centre and Gorkha Brigade to name a few.

Even Delhi had its Youngmen, New Delhi Heroes, City Club and Moghals. And they generated superstars like Chuni Goswami, PK Bannerjee, Syam Thapa, Inder Singh, Peter Thangaraj and others. Chhetri or Bhaichung are unfortunate to have had to display their skills in an era in which the game has been poorly managed, and despite the injection of much money and television support fans still moan over the loss of the Rovers Cup and DCM meets, and even the IFA Shield and Durand Cup are faint shadows of yesteryear.

Some wonder why cricket is so popular, has “depth” and keeps cash-registers ringing. The answer is success at the highest levels ~ the fans adore winners, be it Ranji, Pataudi, Gavaskar, Tendulkar or Kohli: or Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amrithraj and Leander Paes.

Why are PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and K Srikkanth held in awe these days ~ they have all had their names inscribed on international trophies. No doubt those games are better managed than football; that needs tackling. The fans will follow.