New entrants Jamshedpur FC, owned by the Tata Group, have one of the best line-ups on paper heading into this year's Indian Super League (ISL).
Coached by Englishman Steve Coppell, who guided Kerala Blasters to the final in his very first ISL season last year, JFC do not have to look far for inspiration.
Tata Football Academy (TFA), known as the cradle of Indian football, is headquartered in Jameshedpur, and when a team based in the same city joins the glamorous league, the expectations are palpably high. The other teams in the fray will write JFC off at their peril, for, the newly assembled squad have the right mix of youth and experience.
Steve Coppell’s signing as coach was a masterstroke by the franchise. The former Manchester United player was largely instrumental in guiding the Kochi-based Kerala Blasters, which looked weak on paper in comparison to other ISL franchises, to the final last year.
In fact, JFC’s core team bears some resemblance to the last year’s Blasters squad, but Coppell, in the company of Ishfaq Ahmad, who served as a player-cum-coach for Blasters in three seasons, has managed to plug the obvious loopholes and build a strong and cohesive team.
JFC are high on confidence on the back of the pre-season stint in Thailand and the impressive show in the five practice matches in which they won four and lost one.
Fine attacking unit
Former Blasters star Kervens Belfort has reunited with Coppell at Jamshedpur to lead the team’s attack. The Haiti international will team up with Nigerian Izu Azuka and Senegalese striker Talla N'diaye.
International Sumeet Passi, former Blasters man Farukh Chowdhary, veteran Ashim Biswas and exciting young prospect Siddharth Singh ensure that their Indian striking force too is impressive.
Fluid midfield combination
Last season, Blasters had arguably the weakest midfield in the league. However, Coppell has ensured that there will be no scope left for any such complaint against his new team. JFC’s impressive line-up of midfield boasts of players like Sameehg Doutie, who played a vital role in ATK’s title win last year, and Indian star Jerry Mawihmingthanga.
Throw in Matheus Goncalves, who is on loan from Brazilian side Flamengo, Brazil-born defensive midfielder Emerson Gomes de Moura or Memo, Indian international Bikash Jairu, former Delhi Dynamos player Souvik Chakraborty, and Mehtab Hossain, who won high praises for his last season’s performance for Blasters, JFC definitely will have a very impressive bunch of players in the heart of the field.
Stout defense
Being somebody whose coaching strategy revolves around counter attacks, Coppell has paid utmost attention to JFC’s defensive formation. Cameroon’s Andre Bikey will marshal the team’s central defense in the company of Spaniard Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo, better known as Tiri.
Keralite Anas Edathodika, former Mohan Bagan player Shouvik Ghosh, junior India international Sairuat Kima, and former North East United players Yumnam Raju and Robin Gurung will give the coach too many defensive options to choose form.
Goalkeepers
JFC have a quality shot-stopper in veteran Subrata Paul. Former Delhi Dynamos custodian Sanjiban Ghosh and young Rafique Ali Sardar are the reserve keepers.
The coach
Coppell needs no introduction to Indian football fans. He will be eager to improve his record in the league by guiding the debutants to title win. A prolific winger in his heyday as a player for both English national side and Manchester United, the 62-year-old has proved his mettle as a highly successful coach as well.
He has over 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, that include stints at top English Premier League clubs such as Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Reading, Bristol City and Portsmouth.
Known for his level-headed and softly-spoken approach, Coppell has scored 53 goals in 322 appearances for Manchester United. Besides, he has netted seven goals for the national side in 42 matches.
Star to watch
The presence of Cameroonian Andre Bikey-Amougou means JFC have a world-class talent in their squad. He started his footballing career at Espanyol in Spain at the age of 15. Primarily a defender, the 32-year-old sturdy player gives flexibility to the team as he can perform as a holding midfielder as well.
Bikey was a member of the English Premier League side Reading when Coppell was their head coach. He has also turned up for Portuguese Segunda Liga side Marco.
Bikey, who played for many European clubs before joining North East United in the 2015 ISL, has won a total of 25 caps for Cameroon, scoring one goal.
Top-3 Indian stars
Anas Edathodika
Age: 30
Role: Center-back
Bikash Jairu
Age: 26
Role: Midfielder
Subrata Paul
Age: 30
Role: Goalkeeper
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