Lessons India has to learn from Germany's success at the World Cup

Was it great fun cheering for Germany or Argentina during the World Cup final on Sunday night? Was it even more fun backing Brazil until things horribly went wrong for them? Or perhaps the feisty Algerians caught your fancy? And if nothing else then there was always the magical James Rodriguez and the dancing Colombians to back.

But did you never at any point during the last month hope that India was part of this tournament too? Being a neutral observer and all that is fine but nothing beats supporting your home country.

Even without a team of their own, 75 to 80 million people tuned in to watch the live telecast in India. Indians were also very active on social media - accounting for the second-greatest social media engagement after Brazilians during the month-long tournament. In most cases, this sort of interest translates into talent at the grassroot level as well.

While India (world ranking 154) has been slowly – very slowly – trying to get it’s football act together, here are a few lessons that they should learn from the World Cup.

Follow Germany’s lead

It’s simple. India needs to have a system in place to scout and coach young talent. And what better system to follow than that of the World Champions themselves. After crashing out in the first round of the 2000 European Championship, Germany decided it need to overhaul it’s system completely if it wanted to footballing superpower. So they went about changing their system – making it mandatory for all clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga to have proper youth systems in place.

So to begin with – licensed coaches start teaching exactly the same kind of football to 6-year-olds all over Germany. Then by the time they are 8, the children are being scouted and if they are good enough, they are whisked away to a club program. (Read everything you need to know about Germany’s program HERE )

Andre Schürrle (23) and Mario Gotze who combined to score the vital goal, came through the youth academies. As did Julian Draxler (19), Sven Bender (24), Thomas Müller (23), Holger Badstuber (24), Mats Hummels (24), Mesut Ozil (24), Ilkay Gündoğan (22), Marco Reus (23), Toni Kroos (23).

It is a system that has delivered a World Cup and while India should not expect such success, it is something they should aim at replicating, especially with the Under-17 World Cup being held here in 2017.

To be fair, it will require a complete revamp of club football and league football in the country - one that will ensure the clubs have the money to set up the coaching facilities of the kids, but it isn’t impossible if the commitment and the funds are in place.

Skills are important but so is fitness

It’s okay if you don’t have great skills. But to compete at the highest level you need to be super fit. That is how Iran almost had Argentina in trouble during group stage. They chased down every thing, closed the gap quickly and it took a moment of Messi genius to break them down.

This is also how South Korea does it. Skills are important but without fitness, you won’t be able to execute your skills.

Hire a top coach

Pay top dollar, hire a coach and let do his job. A coach who knows how to make a programe; a coach who can teach tactics to all the youngsters. It has to be someone who knows the game and can help set up games against clubs/countries. The only way India is going to improve is by playing against quality opponents and that is not going to happen in India.

Give the seniors a break

They have reached their ceiling. The future is youth and India needs to focus all it’s attention on them. Include as man youngster in the squad as possible, hedge all your getting your act right. Given how the AIFF functions, this isn’t going to be easy. But instead of spending lakhs on tea and cofee, surely diverting some of the funds will get them started.