If India can do so well in cricket, it can also do well in football: Peter Shilton

Goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton holds forth on ways to improve the standard of Indian football, ISL and winds back to Diego Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ World Cup moment in 1986. TOI’s Abdul Gani reports
Q: What do you think of Indian football?
A: Indians are very passionate about football and I realised this on the first day of my visit here when I saw youngsters playing a match before a large crowd.Football as a game is getting bigger everyday internationally because of television. And it's important for a country now to have a successful team. It is a great way of promoting the country and its people. In India there is a great potential to develop the sport. I think you need to build it from the bottom. You must get top quality coaches so that they can teach your youngsters the best way. Once you do that, the standard will rise gradually. India is a great country and it should have had a team at the World Cup by now. If India can do so well in cricket, it can also do well in football.
Q: Will youngsters benefit from the hosting of the Under 17 WC?
A: The upcoming under 17 World Cup is a fantastic thing to happen in India. Youngsters will see the international standard of the game. The standard in India has to improve. A tournament of this nature is beneficial for many reasons. When they see how players of their age play, they will get motivated. Here comes the role of the coach. He can tell them what they should and should not do.
Q: Take your mind back to the 1986 World Cup and that 'hand of God' moment...
A: It was a famous match, but remembered for all the wrong reasons. The first goal came after a tight play in the first half. I was sure of getting the ball and I thought I would punch it away. I think Diego Maradona knew it as well. He punched it into the net and the rest is history. Actually, it should have been a free kick for us. The second goal was tremendous and that is what great players do. We were still thinking of the first goal but Maradona had great abilities and so we missed the World Cup.
Q: Who is the best player you have played against?
A: Unfortunately, I would say it is Maradona. I did not say it before but the reason why I am saying this is because every player should show sportsmanship. There has always been an element of competitiveness and a will to win. Certain things do happen and the referees do make mistakes. That is how football is. Maradona is a great player but unfortunately he never came and apologized nor did he ever admit to it after the match.
Q: What do you think of England national team's performance in the World Cup?
A: We have some great players like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry. Sometimes we are playing a big tournament and the pressure and expectation is immense. Sometimes you cannot handle that. Football is not all about ability but also coping with extra pressure. We need to win tournaments from the heart sometimes. We have some good new players. They have to prove themselves in the Euro and have to handle the pressure in a better way and become winners. I think we have much better players now than the last World Cup.
Q: What do you think of the corruption in FIFA?
A: The FBI has found out what went wrong with the voting. Some people have ruined the game. In FIFA, now a lot of people are worried. We need some new faces at the top who would be honest. Sepp Blatter had denied all the charges six years ago. I don't know why he did that if he really loved football.
Q: What do you think of the Indian Super League?
A: There has been good publicity. Even in England people know that there is a league but you can't have a league for three months. However, it is always good to see top players though some of them have passed their prime. It's good in the sense that people take note of India as being serious about football. If I look back, many years ago America did the same thing by inviting Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and others. They got their league going to promote football. But there was not anything on the league coming through from the colleges and youngsters, they couldn't carry on. It is good if it can help spot young players. It may be good entertainment but I don't know how it will impact Indian football.
Q: Who would you say is the world's best player?
A: All are great players. Neyemer is quite young and he can get better. Messi is fantastic. Ronaldo has something different to offer. He is 30 and he won't get any younger. He is a bit like Maradona who can change the fate of a game.