2007 defending champions India beat Syria 5-4 on penalties to record their second consecutive Nehru Cup title at the Ambedkar Stadium on 31st August 2009. This cup title pushed India to the 149th spot in the FIFA Rankings, although the win in the final was not counted in the rankings since it ended in a tie-break.
Man of the Match, keeper Subroto Paul was the hero for the day saving three penalties.
The Match
It was a keenly contested encounter with both teams playing well in the league stage to reach the final. The Ambedkar stadium was filled to its capacity mostly with Delhi University students. The fans cheered every attacking run made by India. The Indian team showed good ball possession and instances of very accurate passing. India came close to scoring when they were awarded a free kick early in the second half. However, the free kick taken by Steven Dias was stopped by the Syrian goal-keeper. Both finalists tried hard to score goals, most of the build-up play looked effective but neither team managed to score in normal time. Coach Bob Houghton’s decision to rest key players in the last league match against Syria proved to be an important one, it had a positive effect on the players as they appeared refreshed and they needed to be when the match continued into extra time.
Extra Time
India earned a free kick in the 114th minute due to a foul being committed on captain Baichung Bhutia. Renedy took the free kick and converted it as the ball swung from right to left to beat the Syrian goalkeeper. However, India’s hopes for a win were dashed when Syria scored an equalizer through Weal Ayan in the dying minutes, last 30 seconds! The match then went down to penalties.
The penalty shootout
Climax Lawrence scored the first goal for India. Renedy took the second penalty but missed and hit the goal post. India’s keeper brought about much needed hope when he stopped the second Syrian penalty by diving to his left. Sunil Chhetri gave India the lead by converting the third penalty. Once again Subroto Paul stopped the opponents’ penalty which helped India to maintain the lead. One more penalty conversion would’ve sealed the title for India, but Mehrajuddin Wadoo missed. The shootout continued with Syria leveling and Sukumar Singh scoring to give India the lead. Steven Dias and Anwar also converted their penalty kicks.
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent his congratulatory wishes to the team. He was quoted – “Congratulations on your remarkable win last evening. It was a magnificent performance and the whole country is proud of you. The victory, I am sure will inspire sportsmen and women across the country.”
India earned a much deserved $40,000 for their successful triumph, while Syria gained $20,000 as runners up. With this victory India completed a hat-trick of title wins (Nehru Cup 2009, AFC Challenge Cup 2008 and Nehru Cup 2007) in just over two years under Bob Houghton. The AFC Challenge win also booked a place for the Indian Football Team in the 2011 Asian Cup.
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