The defending champions have witnessed a sudden change in their fortunes this season…
The 2016-17 I-League season witnessed a fairytale story where underdogs Aizawl FC defied all odds and created history in Indian football by winning the country’s premier league title.
Minerva Punjab then continued the trend and bagged the coveted trophy the succeeding season. A team who had entered the top tier of Indian football only a season back, stunned everyone to clinch the silverware.
After Bengaluru FC exited the I-League in 2017, it was predicted that the league would be henceforth dominated by the Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. But the Ranjit Bajaj owned side scripted yet another fairytale.
The 2018-19 I-League season once again witnessed the advent of another underdog side. Chennai City FC, who fought relegation just a year back, shocked everyone and lifted the title. They not only won the league but displayed immense dominance over every other team.
In the 2017-18 season, Chennai City had lost 7-1 to East Bengal in Kolkata, which was amongst the heaviest defeats in Indian football in the last decade or so. Under the tutelage of veteran Indian coach V. Soundararajan, the club was struggling to find its feet.
But the owners did not lose hope after the East Bengal debacle and had brought in former Tampines Rovers managers Akbar Nawaz. The Singaporean was initially appointed as the technical director of the club and he later took charge of the side as the head coach in Super Cup 2018.
As soon as the season ended, Nawaz along with former FC Barcelona and Manchester City chief scout Jordi Villa started preparing for a season which would later go down as a landmark season.
Villa raided Spain’s third division to recruit foreign players and in came the attacking trio of Pedro Manzi, Sandro Rodriguez and Nestor Gordillo. The three unknown Spaniards came to the I-League and set it on fire right from the very first match.
It was these three foreigners who were crucial to the success of Chennai City last season. With the trio spearheading the team’s attack, the head coach could experiment with the Indian youngsters in other positions.
Under Nawaz’s tutelage, some young Indian players came up such as Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Edwin Vanspaul, Pravitto Raju. With a perfect blend of young Indian player and the Spanish trio, Chennai deservingly won the I-League title.
But things drastically changed this season. With the exit of Nestor Gordillo, who was the an important part of the club’s success last year, and some of the star Indian players, the team completely lost track.
As the I-League season started, another Spaniard Sandro Rodriguez got injured and then the final blow came in when Pedro Manzi departed from the club midway into the season.
It is a known fact that foreign players make the difference in Indian football, be it the Indian Super League (ISL) or the I-League. Chennai’s sudden drop of form this season just proved that point.
The reigning champions tried to replace Nestor Gordillo with Katsumi Yusa this season. The Japanese player is not force he once was, with age catching up.
Moreover, the exit of key Indian players like Gaurav Bora, Edwin Vanspaul and Jesuraj have also had an effect on their form. It has been more like a year of transition for Chennai City, given that so many important players have left the squad.
This has led to a spluttering start to their title defence and it remains to be seen whether the Coimbatore-based side can get their campaign back on track. They can start with a win over Indian Arrows on Wednesday.
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