Panaji: Every four years when the FIFA World Cup is round the corner, Vikash Dhorasoo inevitably springs to mind. He’s at the centre of discussions when people who really haven’t followed the sport, wonder why India do not make it to the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.While many footballers of Indian origin have made it to the World Cup, none possess a CV quite like Dhorasoo, born in France to parents of Indo-Mauritian descent, with ancestral roots in Andhra Pradesh. He has been at the World Cup final with France in 2006 and famously lost the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool, both on penalties.That’s the pinnacle of sport for club and country.“Indian football’s ranking just does not make sense,” Dhorasoo tells TOI over a video call from his hotel room in Kolkata late on Wednesday. “There is such a vibrant football culture in places, for example, like Kolkata.”India is ranked 137 in the world.Dhorasoo finds that strange, a bit of a paradox; the world’s most populous nation with a football team that is so poorly ranked.“I’m living proof that Indian-origin players can reach the highest level of this sport. I don’t have any doubts that for a population of 1.4 billion, you can find gems who will be able to do what I did. Of course, performance depends on a lot of factors. It requires long-term planning, new methods and vision. I also believe it’s not always about the player, it’s also the coaches who need to play a significant role,” says Dhorasoo, now a certified UEFA Pro License coach.Dhorasoo is in Kolkata on an invitation from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to attend Saturday’s friendly between India and Brazil. Before the historic match, there’s work to do.“I’m meeting Carlo Ancelotti tomorrow,” says Dhorasoo, who knows the Brazil coach from their time together at AC Milan. “I will meet the federation officials too and have an open conversation about developing Indian football. I’d like to see a few academies because my strongest belief is that it’s the youth who will take the country forward. It would be awesome as well to be able to meet the women’s football team because this is where my journey started as a coach.”India’s clash against Brazil later this week cannot even be classified as David being up against Goliath. The gap is much bigger than that: a country ranked 137 in the world, not even qualifying for a 24-team AFC Asian Cup, facing a team ranked fifth, with five World Cup wins, and the best players in the world.“My advice to the players is simple: enjoy the game to the fullest because it will be a moment to remember. These 90 minutes will teach you what it takes to play at the level Brazil are performing. Football is such a beautiful game that you can be a small team yet find solutions to create some problems to the giants.“I am sure coach (Khalid) Jamil will offer his own perspective and try and push Brazil to its limits. This game should be a celebration of football. Who knows, once the game ends, it will be the start of a beautiful story, with kids, parents and the fans all keen to write a new chapter,” says Dhorasoo.
