Newcomers Jamshedpur FC bank on solid experience

by Chittu Shetty November 16, 2017

Nobody at Jamshedpur FC are under any illusion that life in the Hero Indian Super League will be easy, because in literal terms Jamshedpur are the only ‘newcomers’

Jamshedpur FC are among the two new teams in this expanded edition of ISL that will see 10 teams in action for the first time. But with Bengaluru FC now into their fifth season, after four years in the I-League, Jamshedpur appears to be the only ‘newcomers’.

It will not be easy for them, certainly not with the nine other teams making their ambitions clear: They all want the title. Jamshedpur too will have lofty ambitions but with the knowledgeable Steve Coppell at the helm of affairs, there will be a reality check. “There is no expectation at the moment. Everything is new. There is history but now we’ll step into the unknown. We’ll try to be in the competition as long as possible,” said Coppell.

Coppell needs no introduction to India. He is the Manchester United legend, who scored some fantastic goals for his club and country, England. In India, he became a household name last year when he guided Kerala Blasters FC to the final of the ISL only to lose to ATK on penalties.

Jamshedpur will expect similar magic from Coppell. “Until we play a few matches it’s tough to say where we will be at the end of the season,” he warned. To overcome their lack of experience as a club on the field, Jamshedpur FC have carefully built their squad around a mix of Indian and foreign players with prior experience of having played in the ISL. “We got a good goalkeeper and got a good solid defender. We had a list of a dozen names but we got only 3-4 of them. But we made sure we had players in the right positions,” said Coppell.

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During the ISL player’s draft, Jamshedpur FC opted to pick vastly experienced goalkeeper Subrata Paul. In defence, Jamshedpur acquired the services of Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo, a.k.a. Tiri, who has been with ATK for the past three seasons. The Spanish centre back was rock solid during ATK’s title winning charge last season and his new club will be hoping for similar performances from him this season. To add more steel to his defence, Coppell has brought in Cameroonian centre-back Andre Bikey, formerly with FC Pune City and NorthEast United. India international, Anas Edathodika, should be an automatic starter at the back.

In midfield, Jamshedpur have both strength and depth. South African Sameehg Doutie, a ISL winner with ATK, will lead the way along with popular ISL names like Brazilian Trindade Gonçalves (FC Goa), Memo (Delhi Dynamos) and of course Mehtab Hossain, who has followed Coppell from Kerala Blasters to Jamshedpur.

“The goal obviously is to reach the play-offs. But we need to first focus on the first game. The emphasis should be on playing good football,” said Hossain, who will be tasked to be the destroyer-in-chief in midfield. Goals should flow too. With players like experienced Senegalese striker Talla N’Diaye, Haitian forward Kervens Belfort and Nigerian sharpshooter Izu Azuka, Coppell should not worry much.

The only worry, if at all, will be expectations. Tatas have always aimed for the top, but Coppell, the been-there-done-that man, knows it won’t be easy in the first year.

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