Bosses at the helms: A look at top Indian coaches on top jobs – PART 2

by Aryalok Maithilesh May 10, 2022

In this part, we have listed down the Indian coaches who are leading their teams in the Reliance Foundation Development League.

In the Reliance Foundation Development League, most Indian coaches are trying their best to be the best version of themselves. The aim of the league is to develop reserve squads of ISL and also to give them playing time. In addition, the league is also helping the budding & assistant coaches to sharpen their managerial skills. Let’s take a look at the Indian coaches of the league.

Naushad Moosa, Bengaluru FC reserve: Naushad is a seasoned name in Indian football. In his coaching career spanning 2 decades, he had managed Mumbai, Air India, Pune FC, and Bengaluru FC. He was the head coach of the youth team of Pune FC and under his guidance, they won two consecutive I-League U-20 titles in 2012 and 2013. After Pune FC, he joined Bengaluru FC in 2017 as an assistant coach and head coach of their reserve side. In January 2021, he became the club’s interim manager after the sacking of Carles Cuadrat.

The 50-year-old coach is leading the reserve side of ISL outfit Bengaluru FC in the RF Development League. The Naushad Moosa-led side has been unbeaten in the league so far and are at the top with 18 points from 6 matches. With being at the top of the table, the Bengaluru FC reserve side has already qualified for the Next Gen Cup in England.

Cleofas Alex, Chennaiyin FC reserves:

Cleofas is an AFC A Licensed Coach who also holds an AFC Goalkeeping Level 2 Certificate. He was the head coach of Sethu FC and also managed the Tamil Nadu Santosh Trophy team in 2017.

Deggie Cardozo, FC Goa reserves:

Deggie began his coaching career in 2010 as the head coach for the Goa state team, which participated in the 7th Sub-Junior National Football Championship in 2010–11. Later, he served as Assistant Coach of the Calangute Association for 2 consecutive years (2009-2011). Then he became assistant coach of DSK Shivajivans Football Club for four consecutive years (2013-2016), and later he became head coach for DSK Shivajivans–Liverpool International Academy in Pune in 2016-17 prior to his stint with ATK FC. He joined FC Goa in January 2021.

Shameel Chembakath, Hyderabad FC reserves:

After retiring from football at a young age due to injury problems, Shameel began his professional managerial career in 2017 by managing the U-15 team of Kerala Blasters. Under his guidance, KBFC reached the semi-finals of the U -15 I-League. He became the assistant coach of the KBFC reserve side that won the Kerala Premier League in 2019-20. He also worked with the senior team as an assistant coach before joining Hyderabad FC in January 2021. After match day 6, Hyderabad FC are on the third spot in the points table.

Mohan Dass, Mumbai City FC reserves:

Mohan Dass is the head coach of the youth team of former ISL Champions Mumbai City FC. He is part of Islanders for 4 years now and completed his AFC A license certificate in 2017. He is also an AIFF D Licence Instructor. Prior to joining Mumbai City FC, he was with Pune FC and also served as their youth coach, assistant coach, and head coach. In 2015 he moved to the then ISL outfit Pune City FC and joined as their youth head coach.

Arata Izumi, Reliance Foundation Young Champs:

Arata is a Japanese-born Indian former professional footballer. After retiring from professional football in 2018, he started coaching at Reliance Foundation Young Champs. Despite being the youngest team in the league, they are ranked sixth in the points table.

The sole objective of various national-level youth leagues and tournaments organized by AIFF is to develop Indian players and encourage Indian coaches to develop. State FAs like WIFA, IFA, and many others promote coaching education by regularly conducting various diploma courses. Through proper coach education, we can have better coaches who will invest in grassroots development, talent identification, and proper nurturing of talents which will ultimately help Indian football grow.

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