The 2007

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to 2006. After ...

International Football Tournament, also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by

ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian central public sector undertaking which is the largest government-owned oil and gas explorer and producer in the country. It accounts for around 70 percent of India's domestic pro ...

, was the 13th edition of the

a tournament organized by the

All India Football Federation All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. It is affiliated wit ...

since 1982. It was the first Nehru Cup after a ten-year break from 1997 to 2007. The tournament was played in the round-robin league format and the final was slated for 29 August in which India defeated Syria to claim its first title. Along with the host nation

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

also competed in the 13-day tournament at the refurbished

Ambedkar Stadium Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named after Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as Corporation Stadium. It has held competitions like ...

, where new floodlights had been put up specially for this tournament. The total prize money of the tournament was $100,000. The champion team takes away a prize of $40,000, the runners-up receive $20,000 while the third place team will get $10,000. The winning team of every match received $2,500.

Discussion

The Nehru Cup campaign started with an Indian 6–0 victory over the less experienced Cambodian side. India's Sunil Chhetri and Steven Dias had a great game, each of them netting twice. Baichung Bhutia had produced a wonderful performance in the match. Most of the game was played on the Cambodian side of the pitch. It was expected that India was going to take this one and they did with their second biggest recorded victory.

Steven Dias Steven Benedic Dias (born 25 December 1983) is an Indian former professional footballer who is currently the head coach of Jamshedpur B. An attacking midfielder who played on the wings, he was known for his long range shooting, crosses and pas ...

was "Man of the match". IndiavsSyria Nehru Cup-2007

Syria started this tournament with a 2–0 victory over Bangladesh, followed by three consecutive wins over Kyrgyzstan, hosts India and Cambodia. The four wins saw Syria topping the round-roubin standings with a perfect record of 12 out of 12 points. They experienced Syrian side was led by their best goalscorers Zyad Chaabo, who scored 5 out of 14 goals for his team and Maher Al Sayed with four goals. Hosts India, after beating Cambodia, enjoyed another win over neighbouring Bangladesh. After losing to Syria, the decisive game for the second final spot was held between the Indian team and Kyrgyzstan. India won that game 3–0 and advanced. The goals were scored by the Indian forwards Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Abhishek Yadav. This defeat saw the Central Asian side finishing third, while Bangladesh and Cambodia finished fourth and fifth place respectively having played a 1 all draw in their game. The Nehru Cup final between India and Syria was held on 29 August 2007 in New Delhi. India defeated their opponents 1–0 thanks to a goal from N. P. Pradeep and won their first ever Nehru Cup trophy. The Indian team received 40,000 US-Dollar for winning this tournament. All games of the tournament were broadcast live by Zee Sports.

Matches and results

Group stage

''Teams in green field progress to the Final.'' ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Final

Winners

File:A view of ONGC Nehru Football Cup between India- Syria, in New Delhi on August 29, 2007.jpg, A view of match File:The captain of Indian Football team, Shri Bhaichung Bhutia celebrating alongwith other players after winning the final of Nehru Football Cup between India and Syria, in New Delhi on August 29, 2007.jpg, The captain of Indian Football team, Bhaichung Bhutia celebrating along with other players after winning the final File:Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and the footballer, Shri Sunil Chetri alongwith other players celebrating after won the final of Nehru Football Cup between India and Syria in New Delhi on August 29, 2007.jpg, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and the footballer, Sunil Chetri along with other players celebrating after winning the final

Statistics

Goalscorers

Man of the Match

(IND vs CAM) * Maher Al Sayed BAN vs SYR * Hok Sotitya (KGZ vs CAM) * Subrata Pal (IND vs BAN) * Maher Al Sayed (SYR vs KGZ) * Mohamed Abul Hossain (BAN vs CAM) * Zyad Chaabo (IND vs SYR) * Hurshil Lutfullaev (BAN vs KGZ) * Mahmoud Al Amenah (CAM vs SYR) *

(IND vs KGZ) * Mahesh Gawli (IND vs SYR, Final)

References

External links

Details at kolkatafootball.com

Details at goalzz.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehru Cup

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2007–08 in Indian football 2007–08 in Syrian football 2007 in Cambodian football 2007 in Kyrgyzstani football 2007 in Bangladeshi football 2007 in Asian football