DSK Shivajians – Team Analysis 2017

by Shaon Roy January 8, 2017

DSK Shivajians qualified as a direct-entry club for the 9^th edition of HERO I-League 2015-16. In their inaugural year, lead by Head Coach Derrick Pereira, debutants DSK Shivajians finished the season rock-bottom ninth on the table with 15 points (P16; W3, D6, L7).

Their second season, in the top tier of Indian football, has brought drastic changes, as the club seems to strengthen their position. The club appointed Englishman Dave Rodgers as head coach in June last year. Prior to the appointment, Rodgers was in charge of Liverpool International Academy.

The Pune-based club has been busy, this term, in the transfer market; signing 12 new players to bolster the side’s fortunes in the upcoming I-League season.

Let’s have a look at some of DSK’s top signings …Shall we?

Foreign Players

Saša Kolunija – In the central of the defence they have recruited this 6ft 4inches tall Bosnian defender whose last club was FC Akzhayik that plays in the 1st division Kazakhstan League. He has previously played for top division Serbian teams like FK Rad, FK Radni?ki Beograd and Iranian premier division teams like Saipa FC & Hamedan F.C. All in all, Kolunija comes into the team with lots of experience and will add a good value to the team.

Juan Quero – This Spaniard midfielder started his youth career with Real Madrid but couldn’t quite live up to his expectations thereafter. He started his professional career with teams from the 3rd division of the Spanish League system and then moved to the 2nd division teams after then he finally got a big break on 14th September 2008 when he played his first match in the La Liga that too against his youth team Real Madrid. After 2013 he moved to abroad and started playing for teams from Thailand Premier League, Bolivian Leagues and UAE Leagues. Before joining DSK, his last club was Birkirkara SC which plays in the Maltese premier league.

Shane McFaul – This 30-year-old Irish defensive midfielder has played for English Championship teams like Brighton & Hove Albion F.C and Notts County. He was also an integral part of St Patrick’s Athletic F.C, one of the most supported teams in Ireland. He has represented Ireland U19 and U21 teams as well.

Kim Song-Yong – He is the first Zainichi-Korean to have represented North Korea National Football Team. Zainichi word is used to refer to foreign citizens residing in Japan.

He was born and raised in Japan but has North Korean Ancestry, his grandfather like many choose to stay in Japan after the conclusion of World War 2. Good Move!

He has been playing in the I-League since 2013, started with Rangdajied United and his last club was Bengaluru FC. Apart from the Indian teams he has also represented Ratchasima FC of Thailand and Kyoto Sanga FC of 2nd Division J-League.

Indian Players

Sanju Pradhan – This pacy right winger from Sikkim is one of the best buys for DSK. Opponents defence needs to be extra vigilant in order to deal with the former East Bengal captain. Not just for skills, he can also be used to attract some crowd into the stadium. Many Sikkimese resides in or around Pune and it is a sure thing that they will drop in for at least one home game at the Chhatrapati Sports Complex to catch their home boy play. The same goes for ardent East Bengal fans of Pune, they won’t miss this opportunity to see their former captain play. They will shout and cheer for him as long as DSK is not playing against East Bengal. As an East Bengal Supporter myself, I can vouch for the accuracy of this Statement.

Jerry Lalrinzuala – This 18-year-old lad from Mizoram has won every Indian Football fans heart with his awe-inspiring performances and an astounding free kick against Goa FC during the ISL3. With a total of 13 performances for Chennaiyin FC, he bagged the ISL Emerging player of the season award. This should be enough to make you know, what a talent this boy is.

Milan Singh – Scored two out of the world long range goals for Delhi Dynamos and was an indispensable part of the Delhi midfield. He made a total of 15 appearances for them in the ISL 3 and is currently in great form.

Md.Sajid Dhoot – This 19-year-old Centre back is an AIFF Elite Academy product and has already represented India in the U14, U16 and U19 format. The previous year he made two appearances for DSK. Hopefully, this year we will get to see the more of him.

Nirmal Chettri – He started his career as a 16-year-old for Air India and then moved to East Bengal where he gave some best performances of his career. He came up through Sikkim Governments Scheme of “The Search for more Baichung Bhutia’s ”. Then in 2009, he shared the dressing room with Baichung Bhutia himself, as they were both playing for East Bengal back then. How cool is that?The Same goes for Sanju Pradhan also, he too came through that same Sikkim government scheme.

When East Bengal played against the youth team of Bayern Munich, Thomas Muller was quoted “The jersey No.3 was very tough to play against”. The Jersey number 3 was none other than Nirmal himself.

Though he has been suffering from injury problems since the last couple of seasons, it will be interesting to see how he plays his part in this year’s I-League for DSK.

Subrata Pal – Do I really need to say anything about this man? The fact that Korean Media gave him the nickname of  “The Indian Spiderman” is enough to know, what a beast this man can be under the goal post. This will be his second stint with the Pune team.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – This 19-year-old announced himself to the world with two world class goals against Nepal for the India senior team and is full of talent. Though after this game things went a bit downhill for him. But you never know with players like Chhangte, all it will take is one good game and BANG!! he will be back in form.

It will be an exciting season ahead for the Pune team. A season opener against inter-city rivals Mumbai F.C. on Sunday evening has all the ingredients for an intense game on opening day.