Mustafa Azadzoy and Sanjar M Ahmadi scored in either half for Afghanistan to avenge the defeat suffered in the final of the last edition held in New Delhi. Besides India, Maldives and Bangladesh were the only other teams to win the SAFF Championship.[break]
´The coaches of all teams except Afghanistan have changed compared to the last edition and all of them have highly qualified foreign coaches. Since the last edition we have beaten all seven countries of the SAFF,´ Afghan coach Yousef Kargar said. ´We wished to play against India in the semifinals to get our revenge for last edition"s defeat.´ Afghanistan was defeated 4-0 in the final of the last edition held two years ago.
The Afghani coach, also the deputy general secretary of Afghanistan Football Federation, termed the victory as the greatest achievement of the country in football. ´It is the greatest achievement for our country, people and football.´
´It will strengthen the national unity among the people of Afghanistan. There are different ethnic groups in Afghanistan and the first international win after 30 years of war will bring them together,´ said Kargar, who also informed that 200 Afghanis had landed in Kathmandu on Wednesday on a chartered plane just to watch the match and motivate the team.
After denying India, the seven-time finalist until the eighth edition of the event, a title hat-trick, Kargar also claimed that it was the end of India"s reign in SAFF. ´As long as Afghanistan is in SAFF, India cannot rule SAFF (football),´ said Kargar. Afghanistan got the membership of SAFF after the fall of the Taliban rule in 2001 and made its first appearance in the SAFF Championship in 2003.
Champion Afghanistan bagged a purse of US$ 50,000 while runner-up India received US$ 25,000. Similarly, two semifinalists -- host Nepal and Maldives -- received US$ 10,000 each.
Kargar said wild victory celebrations had already started in the Afghan capital and other parts of the country following the victory on Wednesday evening. ´The people of Afghanistan are out on the streets of Kabul dancing and holding the national flag. The whole of Kabul is celebrating the victory. Celebratory AK-47 gunshots are heard,´ Subel Bhandari, who works for an international news agency based in Kabul, wrote on his Twitter page. ´Afghan Interior Minister asks not to fire weapons, could still hear some gunshots. The air smells of strong gunpowder.´
Afghanistan took an early ninth-minute lead through Azadzoy, who beat goalkeeper Subrata Paul in the six-yard box after exchanging a couple of beautiful passes in India"s danger zone. Mustafa Hadid fed a pass to Belal Arezo and the latter set up an easy scoring opportunity for Azadzoy.
Afghanistan doubled the advantage in the 64th as Ahmadi chipped over glovesman Paul from the danger zone after Arezo"s strike in a counter-attack rebounded off the Indian goalkeeper.
Besides the scorers, valiant saves from Afghani custodian Mansur Fagiryar were also vital in scripting the team"s victory. Though India dominated the match and ball possession and made nearly a dozen attempts on goal, Fagiryar denied them with some heroic saves. He also conceded the least, one goal, in the five matches of the championship. The 27-year-old was declared the most valuable player of the tournament.
´It is not important that I got the most-valuable-player award; the important thing is that we won. You don"t understand how important this win is for my country and family,´ said an emotional Fagiryar.
Afghanistan started in 3-5-2 formation and emphasized more on defensive strategy after taking the lead. India, appearing without its regular skipper and influential forward Sunil Chhetri, resorted to aggressive style of play. Chhetri came in as a 60th minute replacement for Je Je Lalpekhula but failed to make any impact in the game despite some good efforts.
India"s Dutch coach Wim Koevermans, however, expressed satisfaction at his side"s performance. ´I am proud of the boys and the way they played today. We were better on the ground,´ Kovermans said. ´We played good football, dominated the game and created lots of chances. But you have to score in football. Afghanistan won in the end and I want to congratulate them.´
He also denied that the exclusion of skipper Chhetri in the starting line-up had an impact on the match. ´We were without Chhetri in the semifinal [against Maldives]. We played better in the semifinal and also today with the same set.´
In the 23rd minute, Robin Singh"s free shot from the area in Lalpekula"s pass went wide off the arch. Four minutes later, Afghani custodian Fagiryar caught Arata Izumi"s low strike from the left side of the danger zone. In the 33rd, Fagiryar punched M Gouramangi Singh"s back header to safety.
In the 37th, Fagiryar made a heroic save to deny Hossain"s 25-yard scorcher and on the rebound Lalpekhula nearly scored the equalizer, but Mujtab Faiz cleared the ball rolling toward the net from the goalline. In the 59th, Robin Singh, the only forward in the starting line-up, was blocked by custodian in a one-on-one situation after beating an offside trap. Chhetri was blocked by Fagiryar in the 61st. He nearly scored from the inner edge of the area three minutes later, but his strike rebounded off the bar after Fagiryar had got his hands on the ball. In the 90th, Chhetri headed inches above the bar in a Francisco Fernandes cross.
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