Sunil Chhetri is growing old while Robin Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua donвЂ™t get to play quality football where they are really tested. That should be the biggest concern for the Indian football coach Stephen Constantine. The defenders made a gritty effort against the world-class Iranian attack but our forward line was almost invisible throughout the match and opposition's defence was hardly tested. The defeat against Iran was not a humiliating one considering IndiaвЂ™s poor show in the World Cup qualifiers against the lower-ranked teams like Nepal, Oman and Guam. But such a structure is not yet in place in India however, ISL promises to make it better, which is why the league has huge potential. So by the time a kid reaches the age of 12-14, big clubs come hunting and pick them as part of their development programmes. In Europe, every city and town where football is followed has clubs at junior level. ISL is doing its bit at the grassroots level, which should only help Indian football grow.

We want our leagues to be at the same level as the top clubs in Europe but we are ages behind them when it comes to scouting talent and having proper league structure at the junior level. We have tried that earlier in cricket to get premier fast bowlers but it didnвЂ™t turn out very well. It is not like you will start a talent hunt all over the country and suddenly you will have a pool of talented young players getting ready to make their mark in the world football. Scouting good players is not an easy task. India, India can start new training academies and improve the infrastructure but all this would not do much if we don't have the proper talent.

Isl football rankings