World Football: How Two Teams in Red Captivated India's Youth

India has always been a country where cricket supersedes all sports. But, today, football is fast catching up with cricket in terms of fan following.

I live thousands of miles away from England, and yet, I want to know the pulse of the football fans before the season starts. I want to keep myself updated about all the happenings in the footballing world. Football isn't as popular in India as it is in European countries, though gradually the sport is rising in stature in the country.

I try my best to recollect what led to my support of Arsenal, being an Indian—and hailing from a country which didn't care who won the World Cup in 1998 (which was around the time I started to get into football). I didn't even understand what offside was at the time!

Fast-forward 10 years and you get a football fanatic. One who talks about Arsenal as if he's been supporting them from his childhood—whereas he's only known about the club for a decade. One whose mood can become better by seeing his team do well in a match and become equally bad by seeing his team lose.

This is a cycle that many football fans feel. But, my question is: How can somebody who hasn't even been to London, lived in Europe, or seen Arsenal play live, feel this way?

It was almost a decade ago when Manchester United did their famous treble. Stars like David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville were household names in England. But in India, they were just a bunch of players playing for the team in red.

All that changed very soon. Football started to get some focus in India, in terms of television coverage. Arsenal won the league title soon after, and then started the acrimonious rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United.

For fans in England, it might have been something new: Arsenal were almost pretenders to the throne, whereas Manchester United had won titles for almost a decade.

But, in India, it was almost as if they were equals. Arsenal and Manchester United fans were of a new breed of football fans. Manchester United fans would almost always walk with a swagger, while trying to pull Arsenal fans' legs when their team won and vice-versa. This culture was so new to us and yet, we all felt as if we were at home.

The turn of the millennium brought about new twists and turns in the rivalry between the Red Devils and the Gunners. More and more fans in India got hooked on to their televisions to watch the new "in-thing" that was the English Premier League.

We identified ourselves with Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, and David Beckham.

These weren't just guys playing in the red jerseys anymore. They were becoming idols in a country thousands of miles away from where they plied their trade.

I remember having so many arguments over the telephone and in school with my classmates over who would win the Premier League. Manchester United fans would always suggest, "We did the treble in 1999," and I would say, "We're in 2004!"

Then, in some phase of the argument, I would say, "We beat you 1-0 in Old Trafford in 2002," and then the Manchester United fans would respond sarcastically, "I thought we were in 2004?"

These immature fights might or might not be common in England, but here, it was an almost daily occurrence. When I look back, it almost makes me laugh.

But after 2005, Arsenal have failed to win much and Manchester United also went on a barren spell for a couple of years, with a new and improved Chelsea winning the Premier League title two seasons in a row.

It was a time marked by Arsenal and Manchester United fans somehow teaming up on the new kids on the block, the Chelsea fans!

The cycle will, perhaps, keep on going. Unfortunately, I haven't seen too many Liverpool fans in India, but I'm sure that there are some in the country! The manner in which football has grown in India in the past decade, however, has been phenomenal.

It all started with the World Cup in 1998 and continued in the form of the English Premier League.

My only hope is that Indian football fans get tuned to supporting their own national team the way they support Arsenal or Manchester United. These two teams in red did have a lot to do with galvanizing the youth in the late 1990s, but it's about time we start promoting national football, so that we can have our own Thierry Henry or David Beckham.

But, I suppose that all Indian football fans of my generation will always fondly look back on the rivalry between the two teams in red.