Monoranjan Bhattacharya joins chorus for reduction of foreigners

The former national team player also stated that AIFF should learn a lesson from the Premier League.

The Indian national team has shown signs of development under the stewardship of head coach Igor Stimac. A change in the style of football and the introduction of talented younger players into the fold promises to serve the team well in the long-term. However, their options in the heart of defence have proven to be a slight worry with the injury picked up by Sandesh Jhingan last year, not helping their cause. Monoranjan Bhattacharya, a prominent player for the national team back in his heydays, has provided an explanation for the lack of adequate quality available in central defence and other key areas of the pitch.

“If you observe, every team has started recruiting two foreign central defenders, one midfielder and one striker and sometimes two foreign central defenders and two foreign strikers. Two central defenders to stop conceding goals and two strikers to score goals.

"As the foreign recruits were occupying these four spots in most of the league teams, Indian players hardly got any chance in these positions. Let me tell you that not only defenders, we will also not be able to produce good strikers because of this,” he opined while speaking to IANS.

Furthermore, Monoranjan feels that the recruitment of foreign strikers and centre-backs has affected the supply line in those positions. Apart from their troubles at the back, Monoranjan has also warned that the national team might face huge issues in attack once talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri decides to hang up his boots.

“During our time there were hardly any foreigners playing in India and because of this we got ample opportunity and hence you see there were number of central defenders at that time. Now, the scene has changed and you will find most foreign recruits are mainly occupying that position."

“Today, because of these foreign recruits, our players are not getting enough games. You can see that midfielders or goalkeepers are coming up even full-backs also, but in these two positions, we have not been able to produce good footballers. Let me tell you that once Sunil Chhetri retires, Indian strikeforce will also be zero,” said Monoranjan Bhattacharya.

The former India International suggests that the AIFF quickly analyze the current situation and take appropriate measures to ensure the young local players get a chance to showcase their talents and that their growth is not stunted by the perpetual presence of overseas signings ahead of them in the pecking order.

 “AIFF has to think over it. They can tell the league clubs that you bring foreigners, but then give Indian footballers a chance too. Play one foreign central defender alongside Indian defenders. Same with the strikers, play one foreign striker with one Indian striker. The federation has to bring in this kind of options.”

After a lengthy debate, the Indian Super League has finally approved the 3+1 rule foreigners rule, that will be implemented from the 2021-22 season. The change had been long advocated by Stimac, and Monoranjan Bhattacharya too believes that clubs should reduce the number of foreigners for the sake of the collective development of Indian football.  

“English Premier League is one of the most attractive leagues in the world, but then where does England stand in world football? Their results in World Cup or European Cup are not that impressive. The reason being the same, that those clubs recruit number of foreigners.”

Lastly, the former East Bengal and Mohun Bagan defender thinks that it is unfair to judge a certain player when they are not afforded a consistent run of games to prove their worth. “If you don’t give our players an opportunity to play, how can you judge whether a player is good or bad? I-League or Indian Super League all the clubs have foreigners in these two key positions.” Monoranjan Bhattacharya concluded.

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