When Chennaiyin clinched the Indian Super League (ISL) title in the 2017-18 season, their Indian midfield combination was a big talking point.
While the rest of the teams did not have the guts to hand over the reins at the centre of the park to all-Indian midfield, the then head coach John Gregory placed immense trust on Anirudh Thapa and Dhanpal Ganesh, who were rock solid throughout the campaign.
Most teams had a foreign anchor in midfield to dictate the tempo of the game. At Chennaiyin, it was the Thapa-Ganesh combination that bore fruit. Two years later, as we look forward to the final of the sixth season of ISL, Chennaiyin have not made a U-turn on their approach one bit.
This season, Chennaiyin's fortunes changed after Gregory was sacked and was replaced with former Bolton manager Owen Coyle. It was a remarkable turnaround but one which would not have been possible without a strong midfield lineup. Thapa, Germanpreet Singh and former Chennai City player Edwin Vanspaul have been show-stealers this time around.
While Dhanpal struggled to recover his form and fitness, Edwin, who can play as a full-back and a midfielder, exceeded expectations and sealed a first-team place. The Kerala-born player has failed to start only one game in Chennaiyin's campaign so far. He doesn't have a single goal or an assist to his name but his work rate and athleticism were what Chennaiyin needed in midfield.
Germanpreet has had a less prominent role but has still featured in 12 games and five of them were starts. He has done the job asked of him by the coach whenever required and has been the go-to man for the manager off the bench.
During the period in which Chennaiyin made an incredible to push to get into the top four, Edwin was a consistent performer for Coyle's team. He played most of the games during that period in midfield and was able to form a partnership with Thapa.
Coyle has also used Edwin as a right-back, with Germanpreet joining Thapa in midfield, depending on the need of the hour.
Despite Edwin's upturn in form, he looked a bit jaded and slow in midfield in the two play-off games against FC Goa. And Coyle immediately turned to Germanpreet Singh shortly after the break in both the games - a move which paid dividends with the former Punjab FC midfielder offering more energy and tenacity in the middle of the park.
It will be interesting to see Chennaiyin's midfield for their biggest game of the season. Will Coyle stick with Edwin as Thapa's partner, something that he has preferred in most games towards the end of the season. Or will he decide to give Germanpreet a chance, given his positive form in the play-offs?
