Analyze this..
A country with a population of over a billion, India, cannot produce 23 fully functioning footballers. So we took to the other sport that the mighty ol' english gave us. Cricket. Thats right! The sport that all the young boys in England take to when their football coach says they're not good enough.
The problem i present is this - what must an Indian do when he/she does not have that rich footballing heritage to look to? Follow the English premier league? Follow the La Liga? The Bundasliga maybe? And this problem extends to all those footballing fans who come from a country that does not primarly follow this great sport. We cannot associate ourselves with a club. Why? Because those clubs are part of a rich history that spans generations. We will almost always be called glory hunters who jumped on to the band wagon and followed a team by reading up and/or listening to a true fan rave about the clubs' great victories. The outcasts cannot enjoy the World cup because frankly, our countries never make it past the qualifiers.
So, even though today, i proudly wear the crimson red colors of Liverpool FC and chant "You'll Never Walk Alone", i know that once i step inside Anfield, i will not be fully embraced as one of their own. I can only hope that one day my country gives the sport the true credit it deserves.
