Exclusive: Terry Phelan On His Journey, Indian Football And Development Of Coaches In India

"Playing in front of a 100,000 crowd in an FA Cup final and that too against one of the best teams in the English game if not in the world game, was immense", he told Outlook in a recent conversation.

Phelan was rooting for Manchester City in the semifinal clash of the FA Cup 2024 between his two former clubs, Chelsea and Manchester City. And, it was Bernardo Silva's goal in the 84th minute that secured Manchester City's place in the final to be played on May 25th against Manchester United.

Phelan had represented Manchester City in 104 matches but was not happy with the claims that a lot had changed in the fortunes after the foreign investment.

"We always talk about the investment but Manchester City always spent money, believe it or not! They spent money on a lot of talented players. The game was tough back then, He wanted to play every game, and we wanted to play for our next contracts and give our best on the field".

"Obviously, after the investment the environment has changed. Now we see a lot of facilities and better grounds but the game is still the same. We still have two goals (posts), a half-way line and it's still 11 vs 11 on the field", said Phelan.

Terry Phelan was the technical director and later Head Coach of the Indian Super League (ISL) side, Kerala Blasters in 2015-16. He has worked closely on the grassroots level of football in India and has a unique outlook on the Indian talent and the football fans in the country.

"India has a lot of potential. The people love to support their teams. Kerala Blasters have a huge fan base. When I was associated with the Blasters, it felt like I was watching a match in Brazil. 50,000-60,000 crowd cheering for your team, that's what keeps the players motivated and helps in evolving the game", told Phelan.

Talking about the Indian football scenario, he was sure that India needed some luck and lacked confidence against Ashley Westwood's Afghanistan side in the second round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, where India went down against the neighbours 1-2.

He praised Indian football head coach, Igor Stimac and his way of handling things despite of the Croatian being in the limelight for the wrong reasons in the last few months.

"(Coaching) India is one of the hardest jobs in the world of football. I believe that we need to play against readymade teams, the teams who can challenge us. For that, we need to play bigger and better teams. And I think it gives you confidence in a way".

"Stimac's attitude is, let's get stronger mentally, physically and tactically. He is not a bad manager. He has had some fantastic results in the past with the same team. It all comes down to the players, how they handle the pressure, how they handle the opposition", expressed Phelan.

Phelan talked about the need for game awareness among players and what steps the football parent bodies are taking in this direction.

"We need to give them some time, things don't happen overnight. Indian football has come a long way. All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) have a roadmap for how to change the situation. FIFA is also working on technical centres and development centres now, so it seems to be going in the right direction. But when we talk about the Indian team, we need to give it some time. Invest in younger talents coming through now" said former Irish National.

When asked about the failure to get results in friendlies and India's recent loss in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup and FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Phelan pointed out some loopholes in Indian football and how these can be resurrected.

"We need to start giving chances to younger players, which he (Stimac) is doing. We have to take the good with the bad. It's difficult to play against the teams against whom we lost in the recent past. If you see, most of the players of these teams are playing in the overseas leagues, with top teams. That adds value in itself".

"How many national Indian team players are playing overseas? They are only playing in ISL, which is also fine but we need to get them in the top leagues. We need a proper roadmap for that. If we want to perform better, we need to play friendlies against the top-quality opposition", said Phelan.

When asked about the perfect time for the Indian star players Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan to retire from the game and pass on the baton to the younger players, the former Irish defender praised both Indian legends and stressed the need to find new talents who can potentially replace them in future.

"They are not going to play forever, but we need to develop young talents who can take their place whenever they hang their boots. Every team need a mixture of experienced and young players in the squad. They provide a balance to the team with their impeccable experience but we need to look for young talented players now", he told Outlook.

Phelan is currently working as Sporting Director of the South United Sports Foundation, which focuses on the grassroots development of the sport in India.

"We have a vision, and a strategy coming from the owner Sharan Parikh and CEO Pranav Trehan. The strategy was to build a centre, a football club. We built a fully-fledged football club in Bengaluru that competes in the I-League second division in India. We provide facilities that are second to none".

"We have created state-of-the-art gymnasiums, we have youth development programmes, and we have an elite team, with all these things facilitated, we have created an environment for the sport to grow. And not only that we also have centres around the different parts of Bengaluru", told Phelan.

South United Football Club (SUFC) focuses on three main areas: Participation, Pathway, and Performance. Their main goal is to increase the number of participants, create more rewarding pathways, and produce skilled players.

"We are organising a free summer camp from 6th to 24th May in our four new centres in Pune. The goal is to produce players who can perform for the Indian national side in future and to give them a chance to participate and grow the game and follow and love this beautiful sport, football. We want to grow the game for children, boys, girls, men and women", said Phelan.

When asked about the development of Indian coaches and support staff personnel in the sport, Phelan looked convinced that Indian coaches are already a part of the structure and are in larger numbers at the grassroots level.

"When you compare the Indian Super League (ISL) with other major leagues such as the Premier League or La Liga, you'll notice that foreign coaches are just as prevalent. However, at the lower levels of football in India, most coaching positions are filled by Indian coaches. Indian coaches have been performing well lately, acquiring licenses and improving their skills in the game. Indian coaches can now be found in almost any role, whether it's strength and conditioning, doctors, technical coaches or physios", he said.

He also talked about the rising comparison between the craze of football in Europe and cricket in India. He doesn't like the comparison between two different sports.

"These things depend on the person, infrastructure, culture and development of the particular sport in the country. Football has been alive in India for centuries but the development of the sport is not reported unlike in Europe. Comparison between Football in Europe and Cricket in India is like comparing Basketball with Baseball. Both are different sports with different skill sets", Phelan ended.