NEW DELHI: The year 2007 will be remembered for Indian football breaking its long drought for an international title by claiming the Nehru Cup on home turf.

The success in front of packed galleries at Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium gave a fresh lease of life to Indian football which had largely been relegated to the background of public consciousness with more and more youngsters identifying themselves with European teams and their players.

Though the competition India faced was not of the highest standard in Asia the hosts beat Syria, ranked 113th in the world, in the final it achieved its aim of making a forward thrust in international football.

It resulted in English coach Bob Houghton and the national team players being recognised by a much larger section of the public, whereas only Bhaichung Bhutia was assured of a dedicated following earlier. The national squad benefited from a fortnight-long exposure-cum-training tour to Portugal which showed in their performance.

The team was expected to build on the success and improve its standing in Asia. However, it fell in the first round of qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup going down to Lebanon over home and away legs. A 1-4 deficit in West Asia proved too big a hurdle to climb and India could manage only a 2-2 result in the home leg in Goa.

However, India's standing in the game improved as can be gauged by the year end ranking of 143, compared to 157 in December 2006. The visit of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Asian Football Confederation chief Mohammad Bin Hammam to inaugurate the All India Football Federation headquarters also added to the positive vibes. With a significant number of international matches on the card, as desired by the head coach, Indian players had the opportunity to make considerable improvement in their game.

The year was also significant for the launch of the I-League, a new version of the National Football League which ran for more than a decade. It is hoped the new competition will bring professionalism in the domestic game.

To that end, AIFF has decided to bar national team players from turning out for their clubs in state competitions and local leagues to preserve them for international games and major domestic tournaments such as the I-League and Federation Cup.

It is one of the changes Houghton wants desperately as he tries to form a strong national side. In the qualifiers for the football competition in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, India finished fourth in Group E behind strong teams like Iraq, North Korea and Thailand.