History repeats

Congratulations, India. The difference today was the midfield. Herbert needs to continue his good work in building the team. We have a pool of players to replace Ashfaq when he retires but there aren't enough strong established midfileders in the starting eleven. The current midfielders are generally strikers and they are not good at keeping the ball in the mid-third area, nor are they good at helping the defence. It's time Easa starts and then identify other midfielders (both attacking and defence-wise). There's also work needed in identifying and training a replacement for Imran, as he may not carry on for too many more years, as well as strong hard-core defenders. Overall, there's a lot of hardwork ahead and the good work needs to continue for at least 3-5 years.

Would someone tell me why we cant perform against India. No doubt they are better than us. But we have performed well against Asian giants like Qatr and China. Every time we face India we under-perform. Why cant we overcome this players have changed coaches have changed but its the same story over and over again.

Terrible defending by our side today. Any ball literally penetrates our full back regardless of accuracy or speed.

the difference is quality... we need our players to play abroad and not only concentrate on the dhivehi league which is not even watched in the country... we need more young players in football academies abroad... and we need more exposure... the Indians get it...

I would like to reiterate the comments I previously made. Maldives is semi final material in SAFF Championship and to go beyond the semi final stage we have to give away presents to the opposing teams. The goals conceded today by Maldives were soft and I also mentioned earlier that Afghan and India will be sterner tests for Maldives and the results against both teams have proved that I was right in saying that. We have talented youngsters and we have experienced players but having both crops of players does not guarantee us results. The style of play Coach Ricky wants to instill will not come overnight and for that to happen local teams need to take up TACTICS FOOTBALL which is the way forward which I see only being played by Valencia. Without doing this and assembling a team, going on a training camping does and will not provide results as the style of local football does not allow Coach Ricky to move towards progress.

Hard luck Maldives but well played. India had the better of exchanges and chances and were better organized but Maldives looked like an entertaining young side and never gave up. Overall it was a good game of football from both sides who played to win. Both teams are in a transition phase at the moment and I sincerely hope the standard of our South Asian football improves in coming years. Afghanistan will be tough to beat in the final!

Hi, Its very sad that all SAFF nations are very well behind India in Soccer where Soccer is not the prime sports. Once again they proof they are contenders and irrespective of Fifa rankings they are still the best and play good soccer. We just try to find something and give some reasons for our lost. Our defender is the problem, strikers are the problem or our strategies were not being implemented. It might happen one or two times but not repeatedly. But, we need to look at the individual skills and talents each player posses in compared to the Indian player. Only few players from south Asain countries except Afganistan are trading outside. Rohit from Nepal and Ali (captain no 7 ) from Maldives. I wish we trade more of our players outside like Afghanistan and work on grass root football development collectively to produce some quality players who can compete with other world class players. India , however is not supportive to develop the quality players in SAFF regions and have restricted that only one player from SAFF nations can be imported in i-league. We all know they don't care about others and are eying for big Asain cups and other events. And , how imported players from SAFF regions are treated is pretty clear from Rohit and Anil who spend some quality time over there but could not continue due to various reasons. The charm , excitement and competition of SAF cup are just not as before having won by single team most of the time. India has already said that this is not the important tournament for them. As they have played every final and won most of the time. Before Afganistan joined the SAF they completely dominated the SAF cup. I am afraid they will continue to do so for many years in absence of Afganistan from next events. So, its high time to have common platform, common goal, exchange of football knowledges, collaboration and integration schools, friendlies, common league systems to develop the football in south Asain countries ( expect India ) where infrastructure facilities, recourses and capabilities are very limited. India being strong economically can take care of themselves so lets unite and work together to develop the football in order to avoid the "history repeats" title and to keep the charm of south Asain football and SAF championship alive. Binay from Nepal

Our defenders r awful.God save us from afganistan!

The same issues were seen throughout the tournament, but the difference was that both Afghanistan and India had the quality to exploit the issues. Firstly, out team appears to be split between attackers and defenders. We don't have any midfield anchors, the sort of guy who links the defense and the rest of the players, and cleans up loose balls. Also, none of our defenders are leaders. We often saw the back four just standing around, hoping one or the other would take care of the situation. We conceded an incredible 9 goals this tournament, and that is simply not good enough to win a tournament. Also, the defensive discipline was lacking. Whenever we lost the ball, very few players made any attempt to close down and win it back. I think Ricki Herbert has identified these issues and will attempt to change, not only the tactical side of things, but the mentality of players as well. We need to instill a culture of defensive discipline to our football and it is going to start with the clubs and grassroots development. After all, all good sides have a strong defensive core. We severely lack it, and when we play a "defensive" game, it means all 11 players will be camped in our own half.

This is result of decades of making average players appear as untouchable gods, yes i'm referring to Ashfaq, Imran

I feel India were far better than even what the score line suggests..however kudos to Maldives for the 2 goals..I believe Maldives really need to focus on grassroots in orders to have a better impact in the future..they have the talent, its all about the grooming..on a different note, I have been visiting this site for quite some time and am very pleased by the sporting nature of Maldivian fans towards India..Maldivian fans I feel are really sporting and accept the pros and cons of their team as well as the opponents..not once have I seen a Maldivian abusing India unlike fans from other SAFF nations..I really appreciate it and my respect for Maldivians has grown a lot due to this..best wishes on the future from India!!

India totally dominated the game and should have won by a bigger margin. Ashfaq seems to be slowing down a bit. Although, i have to say for such a small nation Maldives has a very good team. In the period 2008-2009 they were actually the best team in the region. It shows their passion for the game. It surprises me that so many people actually traveled to India to watch their team. Puts us Indians to shame, where not even 1 % of the population is interested in the beautiful game and couldn't care less if India won or lost. Final should be 50/50. We are missing our best defender Sandesh Jingan and one of our best players - Robin Singh. Afghanistan look the better team but we are playing at home and anything is possible.

Unbelievable final that India actually played a tactically beter game than Afghanistan. Although playing with European based players Afghanistan lacked match winners in the final! Fully deserved win for India! Champions again! Let's hope this young side develops into a strong team in Asia. One step at a time!