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I-League Special: Coach Of The Season
Many candidates, but one winner...
31-May-2010 12:54:00 PM
Goal.com India
Indian football has its fair share of characters when you talk about coaches, some being animated on the touchline, some choosing to keep a low profile, while others are just unpredictable.
The league season 2009-10 was a good one from a coaching point of view, with many I-League tacticians doing well for themselves. Of course, you cannot look beyond Armando Colaco, who led Dempo to the title, while others like Derrick Pereira, Khalid Jamil, Karim Bencherifa, Subrata Bhattacharya, AM Sreedharan and co did very well too.
However, we can only limit the number of nominations for the Coach of the Season to five. And in no particular order, here they are:
David Booth (Mahindra United) - The Englishman did a fine job with Mumbai FC last season, guiding them expertly through their debut season in the league, and switched over to rivals Mahindra this time around. The now-disbanded team did extremely well for the most part in the campaign, even topping the table at one point, but ran out of gas towards the end, as Dempo sealed the championship.
Armando Colaco (Dempo) - They won the title, and did so in style, finishing 11 points above second-placed Churchill Brothers. Add to that the fact that they played an all-Indian team in many games due to injuries to their two foreigners - Beto & Ranti Martins, and that feat becomes all the more credible. Dempo have been a model of consistency this season.
Derrick Pereira (Pune FC) - The Goan took on a tough job, that to bring in one of India's youngest clubs into the top flight, and it's been a fairytale for most of the season. While the first phase saw them languish above the relegation zone, with the new year came renewed vigour, and Pereira's fantastic tactical nous made them come through some difficult matches unscathed. A third-placed finish, one behind Churchill, is hardly the stuff of debutants.
AM Sreedharan (Viva Kerala) - Whipping Boys, Relegation Fodder, favourites for the drop, and what not! Viva have really given it back to their critics who predicted that they would get relegated at the start of the season. And they've avoided the drop without too much discomfort, as a string of very impressive results towards Spring saw them finish 10th. And it couldn't have been possible without the amicable Sreedharan, whose expertise was vital in saving a team that is run on a very tight budget.
Karim Bencherifa (Mohun Bagan/Salgaocar) - The Moroccan figures in this list despite Bagan choosing to part ways with him midway through the season. The Kolkata side were having a decent season before he left, but his real achievement was to keep Salgaocar up, after they had slumped to 13th place at one point. Some very shrewd tactical decisions saw the Goans finish as high as 6th in the table, a remarkable feat!
Our Vote:
Armando Colaco (Dempo) - In Indian football today, very few coaches and clubs have the courage and capability to win matches and trophies without relying on their foreign players, and this is where Colaco stands out this season. Both Ranti and Beto had injury-plagued campaigns, and it's fair to say that an Indian team has won the league this season, for which the coach deserves a hell of a lot of credit.
Disagree with our panel? Who do you think was the best coach in the I-League this season? Let us know in the comments box below!
The league season 2009-10 was a good one from a coaching point of view, with many I-League tacticians doing well for themselves. Of course, you cannot look beyond Armando Colaco, who led Dempo to the title, while others like Derrick Pereira, Khalid Jamil, Karim Bencherifa, Subrata Bhattacharya, AM Sreedharan and co did very well too.
However, we can only limit the number of nominations for the Coach of the Season to five. And in no particular order, here they are:
David Booth (Mahindra United) - The Englishman did a fine job with Mumbai FC last season, guiding them expertly through their debut season in the league, and switched over to rivals Mahindra this time around. The now-disbanded team did extremely well for the most part in the campaign, even topping the table at one point, but ran out of gas towards the end, as Dempo sealed the championship.
Armando Colaco (Dempo) - They won the title, and did so in style, finishing 11 points above second-placed Churchill Brothers. Add to that the fact that they played an all-Indian team in many games due to injuries to their two foreigners - Beto & Ranti Martins, and that feat becomes all the more credible. Dempo have been a model of consistency this season.
Derrick Pereira (Pune FC) - The Goan took on a tough job, that to bring in one of India's youngest clubs into the top flight, and it's been a fairytale for most of the season. While the first phase saw them languish above the relegation zone, with the new year came renewed vigour, and Pereira's fantastic tactical nous made them come through some difficult matches unscathed. A third-placed finish, one behind Churchill, is hardly the stuff of debutants.
AM Sreedharan (Viva Kerala) - Whipping Boys, Relegation Fodder, favourites for the drop, and what not! Viva have really given it back to their critics who predicted that they would get relegated at the start of the season. And they've avoided the drop without too much discomfort, as a string of very impressive results towards Spring saw them finish 10th. And it couldn't have been possible without the amicable Sreedharan, whose expertise was vital in saving a team that is run on a very tight budget.
Karim Bencherifa (Mohun Bagan/Salgaocar) - The Moroccan figures in this list despite Bagan choosing to part ways with him midway through the season. The Kolkata side were having a decent season before he left, but his real achievement was to keep Salgaocar up, after they had slumped to 13th place at one point. Some very shrewd tactical decisions saw the Goans finish as high as 6th in the table, a remarkable feat!
Our Vote:
Armando Colaco (Dempo) - In Indian football today, very few coaches and clubs have the courage and capability to win matches and trophies without relying on their foreign players, and this is where Colaco stands out this season. Both Ranti and Beto had injury-plagued campaigns, and it's fair to say that an Indian team has won the league this season, for which the coach deserves a hell of a lot of credit.
Disagree with our panel? Who do you think was the best coach in the I-League this season? Let us know in the comments box below!
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