Coaches fret over DSA league

NEW DELHI, November 19: After listening to Delhi Soccer Association's claim for months that the Elite League would be held as per AFC Vision programme guidelines, and then watching the kick-off in the same old Senior Division format, it's only natural to be wary of anything DSA says or does.
The DSA managed to get some football action on the field in the name of the Senior Division League on Monday - on the borrowed Ambedkar stadium from the ongoing Tamchon Memorial tournament - but with the next match scheduled to be played only a fortnight from now (December 2), the club officials, coaches and players are all uncertain about the league's status.
"Undoubtedly it is very disappointing. It has been four-five months and the team hasn't played at all, except a few Durand matches. So, players are really bored," Osian's New Delhi Heroes' Nigerian coach Chima Okerie said. "After all they just can't keep on training or playing warm-up matches. Just as they need matches to keep themselves in the groove, a coach also can't judge them without a proper competition."
Keeping the Elite league in mind, many clubs had invested huge sums this season. G4S Hindustan FC's new coach Bernard Operenzie said he had expected the Delhi football to take a step forward with the Elite league, but the state and the handling of the sport has come as a "surprise" to him.
"I expected much better," Operenzie said. "Around seven players are yet to return as they are still not sure about the tournament. Fixing the calendar alone can solve many of our problems."
But planning has hardly been DSA's forte. And this season it has only gotten worse. The league, which was to start just after the Nehru Cup, just kept losing out in the race to acquire the Ambedkar stadium - first to Subroto Cup and then the Northeastern Tamchon tournament.
"The players still can't believe the league has started. But it's still a fortnight to go. Anything can happen," Okerie feared.