I think, or rather I am pretty sure, that I once lost out on a job just because in the interview I said Ryan Giggs was my favourite footballer. Why I am sure of it is because till the point of that  fateful question, the interview proceedings were going fine. There were jokes about the industry, things like what I would be expected to do once I join and it did look like I had all but clinched the deal. That was until Giggsy struck. As soon as  I uttered his name, the interviewer shot me a look as if I had committed the biggest act of blasphemy by not naming the then flavours of the season Ronaldiniho or Zinedine Zidane. “Ryan who?”, came the retort. “Sir, he plays for Wales and Manchester United,” I replied matter of factly. That was it. All smiles gone, the interview came to an abrupt end and I was asked to wait for the call back from the organisation, which never came.

But such is the legend of Ryan Giggs. Despite playing over 800 games for one of the biggest clubs in the world, winning almost everything there is on offer for a player, people still don’t know who he is. I won’t be surprised if many of you who are reading this wouldn’t have heard of Giggs.

Football in today’s times is not about the World Cup or the European Championships which are held every four years. Club football is much bigger than international football, a direction in which I think even cricket seems to be heading with the surge in popularity of T20 and the IPL.

Giggs has never played in a World Cup as Wales never managed to qualify for the finals. Yet ask any football fan and who is clued in about European football would say that Giggs is one player who they have admired the most. Signed up by United at the age of 14, Giggs has been the epitome of loyalty, professionalism, commitment and consistency. In an era where players swap clubs every two years, Giggs has been at United for over two decades and his performances have been stellar.

Just like a vintage wine, he is ageing beautifully. Even at 36, at times he is one of the best players on the pitch and yet you will never ever hear him giving media bytes or being in the news for the wrong reasons. He lets his football do the talking and it’s a pity that not many could see him performing on the international stage. Then perhaps he too would have been spoken in the same breath as some of the illustrious names. Or perhaps he never swapped clubs and got into the news for inflated transfer fees. Perhaps then my esteemed interviewer would have also heard of him and things could have turned out totally different in my life as well.

As the nation basks in the triumph of its football team’s successful defence of Nehru Cup, I am often left wondering whether we miss the big picture when it comes to Indian football. Not to take away any credit from a significant achievement on the part of the team, I do feel that such victories papers over the cracks which are littered all over Indian football.

Last week I was talking to Baichung Bhutia and one could sense the anger and disappointment in his tone when talking about the state of affairs football finds itself in.

Bhutia said that no one expects the team to win a match let alone a tournament when it steps on the field. So when a victory like this comes along, we are led to believe that all is hunky and dory with the sport, when in fact its quite the opposite of it.

One might argue that these are steps which need to be taken if we want Indian football to become a force to be reckoned with. It is something I absolutely agree with. But along with such baby steps, football needs to take giant strides in all other areas.

We still need infrastructural development if we want to capitalise on such achievements. Two years ago India had won the Nehru Cup but still the overall scenario remains as bleak as ever. Players still complain about lack of facilities such as no training grounds, not enough money being pumped in the sport. And this is after they have achieved a significant bit. God knows what all they would have had to put up with if such victories also didn’t come by.

So we should of course take great pride in achievements like this. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves by believing things like Indian football is headed in the right direction.

On the pitch, it may well be doing so. But off the pitch, there are a lot of changes which the game is crying out loud to be implemented. And no matter how successful we might get on the pitch, if off it things don’t improve, achievements like this will become a thing of the past and quickly forgotten. The authorities need to build on this rather than resting on these laurels and bask in the glory of it.