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India U-23 have managed to book a place in the SAFF finals which is to be held on Sunday, versus Maldives.

The young Indian squad beat Bangladesh 1-0 on Friday, thanks to skipper Sushil Kumar Singh’s goal, scored in the 63rd minute. India started the game well and created a lot of chances, the earliest being in the second minute.

The Bangladeshi’s got their act together in the second half and added pressure on the Indian defense. But were unable to deal the final blow.  The home supporters were getting highly frustrated and started throwing bottles at the Indians.

India now face Maldives in the final, which is a repeat of last year. India managed to win the trophy, but Maldives are in devastating form beating Sri Lanka 5-1 in the second semi-final.

India 1-0 Afghanistan

India U-23 took on Afghanistan in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship at the BangaBandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

India have won the tournament 4 times already and are favourites this time round as well, but are fielding their U-23 squad this year.

India hadn’t created as many chances as Afghanistan in their opening game of this year’s tournament. Both teams ended on 0-0 at half time and were struggling to keep the ball.

Afghanistan put together better chances as compared to India, in the second half. The Afghani’s looked strong contenders to upset India.

Skipper Sushil missed some really good opportunities to put India ahead. The passing by the Indian squad got better as the game progressed but were physically less capable than their Afghani counterparts.

Je Je came to the rescue for India, scoring in the 85th minute. The 18-year-old, Pune FC player came on as a substitute and made a world of difference for India in their attack.

Afghanistan will be mortified with themselves, they played really well and could have easily won the game, or at least deserved a draw. But they were not able to convert their opportunites. Afghanistan had a penalty shout early in the match but the referee didn’t agree to their appeals. Later in added time, the Afghani’s had another decent opportunity but were unable to finish the job off.

The Indian youngsters have shown they have the ability, but we’ll have to wait and see how they perform against the tournament favourites, Maldives, in their match coming up on December 7th, 2009.

Indianfootball.com:

McDowell’s Unveils the First Ever Nationwide Hunt for India’s Best Freestyle Footballer.

It is a competition with a difference. A competition to find India’s best freestyle footballer. McDowell’s Celebration which has been known for its patronage of Indian football has upped-the-ante this time by bringing to India, one of the most exciting and popular forms of extreme football in the world today. Under the McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy platform, a nationwide hunt was launched today to find one Indian who can challenge the best in the world when it comes to freestyle football.
Speaking at the event, Ashok Capoor, Deputy President, United Spirits Limited, said, “McDowell’s Celebration is the proud pioneer of dynamic football formats in India. Freestyle football is catching up as a rage amongst football aficionados across the world. Now with the launch of a nationwide hunt for India’s best freestyle footballer, McDowell’s has taken football fever to another level. McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy is a natural outcome of this pursuit. Never before has the country witnessed such a massive display of international football talent apart from the exciting hunt for Indian amateur freestylers.”

To herald the event, McDowell’s literally rolled the leather out of Bangalore, by inviting six of the world’s best Freestylers to kick off the competition and mesmerize audience with their dazzling “dribblery”. The names of Peter Kovacs – from Puskas’ Hungary , Nam The Man – from Robby Keane’s Ireland, Palle – the freestyle champion from Ljungberg’s Sweden, Daniel Rooseboom – the Dutch numero uno from Van Nistelroy’s home town, Nori-top freestyler from Nakamura’s Japan and Jesus Gomez Moreno – from Rauls’ Spain, are among the best in freestyle football that the world has produced and this time they kicked off their India tour with a touchdown at UB city in Bangalore.

What followed in terms of sheer skill was mind-blowing and a true visual treat. From “Crossovers”, to “Around the World” to “Hop the World”, the freestylers unleashed a volley of tricks which left everyone wanting for more.

After having successfully partnered the “Green Maroon” brigade of Mohun Bagan AC for a decade, McDowell’s has been successful in bringing this new soccer format to the Indian shores, be it through five-a side Futsal or Freestyle soccer.

McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy-hunt for India’s best freestyle footballer

The nationwide competition is open to anyone who has the drive and the enthusiasm to display his freestyle football skills and get fame and recognition. The winner will also get a chance to interact with the celebrity freestylers and learn more tricks from them.

“We are encouraging amateur Indian freestylers to post their videos on www.freestylefriendzy.in to seek votes for their skills and also help popularize the sport further,”

added Capoor.

The international freestylers will engage and interact with the local freestylers across 21 cities in India, with the finale to be held in the mecca of Indian football, Kolkata on December 18, 2009. The final winner will receive a free ticket to one of the most sought after league matches in London and other attractive prizes.

McDowell’s Celebration will soon launch India’s first Freestyle Training Video with the visiting freestyle champions. The video will be available at major sports and music outlets.

What is Freestyle Football?

Also known as street style, Freestyle Football is extremely popular in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. A very popular sport amongst the youth, it is perceived to be cool, hip and fun.

The celebrity freestylers will dribble, juggle and display tricks which will leave you spellbound. So look out for the McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy arriving in your city soon.

For more information on McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy, please visit www.freestylefriendzy.in

Dempo 2-2 Mahindra United

Climax Lawrence saved Dempo from a defeat by scoring in stoppage time. A 10-men Mahindra United looked set to get all three points, until the final “Climax”.

Mahindra were brought down to 10 when defender D Ravanan for elbowing a Dempo player, just 33 minutes into the match.

Although Dempo took the lead in the 11th minute and had many chances of extending the lead, Mahindra United made a fiery start to the second half and finally broke down the Dempo defence through Serbian midfielder Svetozmar Mijin. Minutes later Steven Dias gave Mahindra the lead and managed to keep Dempo at bay.

However, Dempo earned an equalizer late in the match when Climax headed in the ball in the 93rd minute.

JCT 1-1 Churchill Brothers

It was a similar story for another Goan club, Churchill Brothers, who sought a goal to finish with a point and finally got it in the 88th minute from Reisangmei Vashum. Both sides fought hard to get the better of each other. JCT broke the deadlock in the 66th minute with Baljit Singh Sahni scoring.

Churchill never gave up and their hard work paid off when substitute Charan Rai’s shot deflected off Vashum into the net.

Suboroto Paul

Subroto Paul is named the ‘Player of the Year’ by the AIFF. The Indian goal keeper has had a spectacular season, he also helped India retain the Nehru Cup by saving 3 penalties.

Derrick Pereira, his Pune FC coach was delighted by the news and has tipped him to be the next captain of the Indian Football team.

According to Goal.com Pereira said-

“Absolutely. He can definitely captain the Indian side. He is a team player, and I have seen no negatives in him so far. If he keeps up his performances, which I’m sure he will, he will have a great future”