October holds a special place in Pune's calendar - the city of Deccan. Fresh from celebrating the Ganesh Chaturthi, the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed God, the city braces itself for the onset of winter. It is also that time of the year when Puneites look forward to embrace the beautiful game. The first edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) proved to be a massive success for Indian football; and for the majority of Indian lovers of the beautiful game, the ISL was their first encounter with a domestic tournament where the quality of play at times matched international standards. And the city of Pune is no different. Ruled by different dynasties over the centuries, the next two months will see the city gripped in football fever.
Following a disappointing performance in the inaugural season of the league, a revamped FC Pune City is all geared up to prove a point when the second edition starts on October 3. The club will be managed by David Platt, a former assistant coach of English football giants Manchester City and someone who is widely respected worldwide. It can be said that his vast experience at the club level will surely come handy for the Orange and Purple franchise.
The club, which managed to win just four matches out of 14 in the first season, has completely rebuilt their side and have a star-studded line-up this time around with quality Indian and foreign players.
Foreign signings like former Chelsea star Adrian Mutu; Didier Zokora, the most capped player for Ivory Coast; Turkish footballer Tuncay Sanli; England's Roger Johnson; and promising Indian players like Eugenesin Lyngdoh and Jackichand Singh form the core of the team and can pose a real threat to the opposition.
Pune had their pre-season training in Turkey in world-class facilities which helped the Indian players gel with the foreign players ahead of the second season.
Pune will begin their campaign in a derby clash at home against rivals Mumbai City FC on October 5 at the Balewadi Stadium.
Marquee Player
Adrian Mutu: FC Pune City have signed former Fiorentina and Chelsea winger as their marquee player to bolster the attack for the second season. The 36-year-old Romanian, who was a part of the Juventus side that won the Serie A title twice in 2004-05 and 2005-06, was also the Coppa Italia top scorer in 2009-10. He last played for Romanian club Petrolul Ploiesti. The talismanic winger began his career with Romanian club Arges Pitesti and has also played for big clubs like Inter Milan and Juventus. Mutu has scored more than 160 goals and was the Romanian Footballer of the Year for a record four times. Mutu is Romania's joint top international goal-scorer having netted 35 times in 77 internationals, the same goal tally as the great Gheorghe Hagi. His prolific form with Parma brought him a 22.5 million euros transfer to Chelsea in 2003. The much-travelled player was also at the centre of controversy when he was fired by Chelsea in 2004 following a positive test for cocaine. However, all said and done, Mutu will find a fresh lease of life in FC Pune City and the Maharashtra side will also depend a lot on his goal-scoring ability.
Goalkeeping
Pune have three quality goalkeepers at their disposal - England's Steve Simonsen and the Indian duo of Arindam Bhattacharya and Lalit Thapa. Stevenson, 36, earlier played for top English clubs Everton and Stoke City and by 2012, the 6-feet-two shot-stopper was playing for another English club, Preston North End FC, before moving to Scotland with Dundee FC in the Scottish Premier League. He eventually joined Rangers in 2013 where he played for a couple of years. Stevenson adds variety to the goalkeeping trio.
Arindam can be Pune's regular goalkeeper as he has a long and fruitful experience of playing for Churchill Brothers. Hailing from a well-qualified family, Arindam has made five appearances for the senior national team. However, his finest moment came in the under-23 colours at the SAFF Cup final of 2009 when his incredible saves during regulation time and two in the tie-breaker helped India prevail over defending champions Maldives 3-1 on penalties.
The last in the line, Thapa, has also represented Churchill Brothers playing second fiddle to Arindam for a few seasons. However, he soon rose to become the first choice keeper for the Goan giants. With quick reflexes and a commanding presence, Thapa can be a deciding factor if given an opportunity besides adding strength to the Pune bench.
Defence
The highlight of Pune's signings this year has been balance and the defence is no different with an amalgamation of good Indian and foreign players. The team's defence will be led by Gouramangi Singh, who is widely regarded as one of the best central defenders in the country. Gouramangi stands out with his tall and tough built and has played for some of the leading clubs in India. To back Gouramangi, the side has other experienced Indian defenders in Dharamaraj Ravanan, Govin Singh Moirangthem, Gurjinder Singh and Pritam Kotal besides foreign recruits Diego Colotto, Nicky Shorey and Roger Johnson. Left-back Shorey is another man to watch out for at the back. The Englishman has played for Portsmouth FC last year and has the experience of appearing for several EPL clubs including Reading, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa.
Midfield
FC Pune City have one of the best midfields in the competition. They have plenty of talent that can dictate terms to the oppostion and can be the deciding factor. The midfield will be led by Zokora. The defensive midfielder is the most capped Ivorian international having made 123 appearances before his retirement in 2014. Zokora has already played for seven clubs in his career, including French Ligue 1 side St Etienne and EPL outfit Tottenham. Zokora is most likely to play the role of a holding midfielder and will add variety to the side with his wealth of experience. Besides Zokora, talented Indians Lyngdoh and Jackichand are the ones to look out for.
Following an impressive two-year stint with Shillong Lajong, Lyngdoh returned to Rangdajied United and made his I-League debut. Bengaluru FC soon drafted him into their squad in 2014 and the Meghalaya-based player did not disappoint, doing well in the Durand Cup and the Federation Cup. Lyngdoh made his debut for India in the FIFA World Cup pre-qualifier match against Nepal and consequently cemented his place in the national squad as coach Stephen Constantine’s first-choice central midfielder.
Manipur-born Jackichand also comes with an impressive CV, having started his career at Royal Wahingdoh in 2005. He stands out with his impressive pace and ball control and was awarded the I-League Player of the Season in 2014-15. The young winger made his debut for the national team in a friendly against Nepal and consequently went on to feature in all 5 matches for India in the 2018 FIFA WC Qualifiers.
Attack
Pune City's attack will be spearheaded by Mutu and the Romanian forward will be supported by Nigerian Kalu Uche and Costa Rica's Yendrick Ruiz. Winner of EPL with Chelsea, the side will bank heavily on Mutu's exploits in the league. Nigeria's Uche, who has 37 goals in 148 appearances in the La Liga for Almeria, Espanyol Barcelona and Levante, is expected to partner Mutu on the front while Ruiz is slated to play the role of a third-choice striker and can come into effect in case of any injury to either Mutu or Uche.
Manager
David Platt: The former England captain has been appointed as the new manager of FC Pune. The 48-year-old has been out of football since leaving his post as assistant to Roberto Mancini at Manchester City in 2013 but previously was in charge of Nottingham Forest and England Under-21s. Known as a strategist, Platt, who won 62 England caps, played for Aston Villa, Arsenal, Juventus, Sampdoria, Bari, Nottingham Forest and Crewe Alexandra.
Players to watch
Adrian Mutu, Didier Zokora, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Jackichand Singh.
Chances
Looking at the team, Pune certainly look strong on paper and can surely finish in top four if they can be consistent enough in the tiring competition.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Arindham Bhattacharya, Steve Simonsen, Lalit Thapa
Defenders: Govin Singh, Diego Colotto, Roger Johnson, Pritam Kotal, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Gurjinder Kumar, Gouramangi Singh, Nicky Shorey
Midfielders: Didier Zokora, Manish Maithani, James Bailey, Israil Gurung, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Sushanth Matthew, Bikash Jairu, Lenny Rodrigues, Fanai Lalrempuia
Forwards: Yendrick Ruiz, Kalu Uche, Adrian Mutu, Jackichand Singh, Tuncay Sanli, Wesley Verhoek
Comments
0 comment