Indian Football: NEUFC Durand title a glimmer of hope in troubled times

Kolkata: Barely had Juan Pedro Benali, proudly wearing the Durand Cup champion’s medal, begun to address the mediapersons, Northeast United FC players and support staff members stormed the Salt Lake Stadium room on Saturday, singing, dancing and drenching the Spanish coach in water and energy drink.At a time when football in large parts of the country appears to be in troubled waters, Benali and his back-to-back Durand Cup champions are happy to make a splash, leading the other ‘active’ side of the game by example.Benali hopes that the game in India — crippled and confused — is going to get back on its feet soon in the country. “There will be a few days’ rest for the players. But we wake up in the morning waiting for some good news. We hope very soon we get an agreement, allowing football to come back to India,” he said.It has been quite an exhilarating ride for Benali’s brigade since last August. A year ago, they had arrived here as underdogs, facing the mighty Mohun Bagan SG. But they bearded Jose Molina’s lions in their own den with a stirring comeback on way to lifting the Durand Cup, their first trophy since having come into being as an Indian Super League franchisee in 2014.On Saturday, as they returned to their happy hunting ground, the challenge was equally interesting and intriguing. It was a more mature NEUFC this time — by Benali’s own admission, propelled by a “winning mentality” — and standing in their way were debutants Diamond Harbour FC with their very own underdog narrative.This final also kind of held up a mirror to Benali for checking if his team’s transformation was good enough to herald a new beginning in Indian football. The outcome was for everyone to see: A historic 6-1 demolition of Diamond Harbour and in doing so, becoming the first team in three decades to defend the title of Asia’s oldest football tournament. East Bengal had last achieved the feat in 1991 with a hat-trick of titles.With seven ISL teams giving this Durand edition a skip, room remains for debate over how this title would give his side a platform to challenge for more titles in the future. But NEUFC have certainly left their days of entering a tournament as also-rans far behind.Having taken charge of the team at the start of the 2023-2024 season, Benali has guided NEUFC to Durand semifinals in 2023, the ISL playoff in 2024-25 and a Super Cup quarterfinal, in addition to these back-to-back Durand crowns.At the centre of NEUFC’s transformation under Benali is the Moroccan striker Alaaeddine Ajaraie, who ended up finishing this edition with eight goals, the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards.