Comment: Did Zoran Deserve To Win The Best Coach Award?

Churchill Brothers finished runners-up of the I-League only on goal difference last season which was on the final day. It was a team which had been together for the last two seasons and under one coach.

At the start of the current season, Emeka Ezeugo entered the fray and introduced some heavy training methods but it did ensure that most of his players were fit.

Due to some unhealthy remarks in the press about his star players, the former World Cupper was asked to pack his bags and in came Zoran Djordjevic less than 72 hours before the I-League opener against a strong Mahindra United side.

The side was low on morale and it was the brilliance of Odafa Okolie which won them that game with the skipper scoring a brace, which included the late winner; a goal described by the star player as ‘his best of the season’.

The Serbian was all praise for his side but kept mentioning the defensive lapses at the back and would often change the goalkeepers. The Goan club then had a disappointing run of draws and sandwiched was their first defeat in the I-League handed by Mohun Bagan.

It was only in the closing stages of the first phase that the team got its act together with Odafa Okolie doubling up as the central defender against Mohammedan Sporting in the closing stages, in what was not the coach’s tactic. In the Federation Cup, the club went down to Dempo SC in the semi-finals without giving a real fight and thus continued their bad run against the AFC Cup semi-finalists.

Churchill Brothers started the second phase of the I-League on a positive note until they were handed the 1-0 defeat by fellow title contenders Sporting Clube De Goa. Following the game, Zoran stated that it wasn’t his decision to field a ‘not 100%’ Odafa but of the club management which just goes to show his say in the selection matters.

Thereafter, the club hit a good run of form as they often came back after conceding early in crucial games and thus, consolidated their position at the top. Following the 1-1 draw in their penultimate match against Air India, Zoran questioned his goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya’s loyalty and gave a hint of the player being lured by rival clubs to commit the stupid act.

In the final game of the season, Lalit Thapa was played while the winner of the best goalkeeper award Arindam wasn’t included in the 18! The Serbian was seen behaving like an excited kid about to win his first trophy as he juggled the ball and held the Serbian flag. Every time, the camera would turn to him, he would shout and deliver the ‘same old same old’ lecture on Yugoslavia!

Dempo SC are the most successful side in Indian football recently and the key to their success identified by many has been that the players have been together for a long period of time and under one coach.

Churchill Brothers had one of the most talented sides in the nation when Zoran took the reins. No doubt that even to bring out the best from those who have the aptitude requires an expert. But the question is how much role has the coach played?

The team selection wasn’t in his hands. Not many players have been vocal about their gratitude to the coach for winning the title; instead they have mentioned that it was the fruit of their hard work of the previous seasons and the present one. The club management attribute him as a ‘lucky coach’ rather than crediting him for the triumph.

S.A.Rahim was one of the best Indian coaches ever, having guided India to fourth place in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951 and 1962. In his memory, the best coach award has been referred as the ‘S.A.Rahim Award’.

When one considers the seriousness of this honour, and looks at Zoran Djordjevic, one can’t help but wonder! Yes, the award has been given to those who win the I-League and the Serbian has won it, which none can take it away from him. But if one actually delves into the situation and looks at the affairs, one realises that though he had a hand but not as much to win the award.

To sum up, I would quote a foreign coach in the I-League who coaches in the western zone of India. I asked him to pick the best coach and the reply was:

“Anyone but Zoran! Is he the coach at Churchill?!”

Goal.com invites the readers to share their opinion. Do you think Zoran deserved to win the best coach award?  

Rahul Bali.