Pakistan And Bangladesh Kick Off Premier South-Asian Championship

Mouth-watering clashes in Group B will see arch-rivals Pakistan and Bangladesh kick off premier south-Asian championship at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

As the ninth edition of the SAFF Championship, south Asia's coveted soccer trophy kicks off on Friday, all eyes will be on hosts India, looking to clinch their record sixth title. But after the recent 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Zambia and a dismal FIFA ranking of 162, can Indian football emerge from troubled waters?

The SAFF Championship has been one India's favourite hunting grounds, with five titles to their credit (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005 and 2009). But Indian football has had a brush with humiliation in recent times, losing to Zambia and lowly Pakistan and Malaysia in recent weeks.

India coach Savio Medeira admitted his team was humbled by the quality of Zambian football. "There is a vast difference between Zambia and India. Their standard and quality of football is far ahead of us," the Goan admitted.

The 46-year-old Medeira took over the reins on October 29, and will be eyeing the SAFF Championship in his backyard to answer a few critics of his. The home boys have been pitted with Bhutan, 1995 champions Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Group A.

India will be led by Dempo midfielder and 75-times capped old warhorse Climax Lawrence. The 32-year old won the I-League in 2009-10 with Dempo and will look to guide a young bunch of talents like Jeje Lalpekhlua, Nirmal Chetri and Baljeet Singh. The Margao-born midfielder said, "In the last edition (of the SAFF Championship) in 2009 the team was under Bob Houghton, but there are several new faces now."

Speaking on the workload of Indian players, Medeira said, "One has to laud them (the players) for handling the pressures of I-League and national duty at the same time."  India will be bolstered by the return of strikers Sunil Chettri and Jeje after their trials at Glasgow Rangers. The duo had missed the match against Zambia.

In their group, India will have to look out for 1995 champions Sri Lanka, who currently stand at 176 in the FIFA rankings. But it will be Group B that will have a series of mouthwatering clashes lined up. Group B consists of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and 2008 SAFF champions Maldives.

The Group will have arch-rivals Pakistan and Bangladesh, the highest ranked SAFF side (142) taking on each other on Day 1 of the tournament at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday.

Other than this high-profile rivalry, the group can boast of some major presence from the English Premier League as former Tottenham defender and winner of 2 FA Cups (1981 and 82) Graham Roberts guiding Nepal's fortunes in the tournament.

Groups:

Pool A: India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan

Pool B: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal

Fixtures:

Dec 2: Bangladesh vs Pakistan; Maldives vs Nepal

Dec 3: India vs Afghanistan; Sri Lanka vs Bhutan

Dec 4: Nepal vs Bangladesh; Pakistan vs Maldives

Dec 5: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka; Bhutan vs India

Dec 6: Pakistan vs Nepal; Maldives vs Bangladesh

Dec 7: Bhutan vs Afghanistan; India vs Sri Lanka

Dec 9: Semifinals

Dec 11: Final

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