Zuber Desai is a well-known figure in Indian football, bringing with him a strong blend of professional playing experience and coaching expertise. As a player, he has represented clubs such as DSK Shivajians and Pune FC, and has also featured in the Santosh Trophy, representing Indian Railways and Central Railway Mumbai. He further represented India at the SGFI Under-18 level, gaining valuable exposure at the international stage.

On the coaching front, Desai holds an AFC ‘B’ Coaching Licence along with a Grassroots Licence, and has worked across senior and youth football structures. His coaching experience includes roles as Assistant Coach at PIFA Colaba, Head Coach of DK Pharma (Mumbai Elite Division), and Head Coach of CASA Football Academy (Madhya Pradesh). He is also a Founder Member of Desai Football Academy, underlining his long-term commitment to football development.

The appointment marks an important step for Andaman & Nicobar football as the association looks to strengthen its presence at the national level. With Desai’s experience in elite competitions and structured coaching environments, the team will aim to compete with greater organisation, discipline, and confidence at the Santosh Trophy.

The Andaman & Nicobar Football Association has expressed confidence in Desai’s leadership and vision as the team prepares for the championship. His focus will be on preparation, tactical clarity, and maximising the potential of the squad selected for the tournament.

As the countdown begins for the Santosh Trophy 2025–26, all eyes will be on Zuber Desai and the Andaman & Nicobar team as they gear up to face India’s best in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.

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A late goal from Samuel Lalmuanpuia gave a crucial win for Thangboi Singto side as the north easterners kept themselves in semi-final hunt only to be disappointed later in the day as Bengaluru FC managed a draw against Mohan Bagan to enter semi-finals of the federation cup

DSK Head coach Dave Rogers started with six U-22 players in a 4-3-3- shape with Rohit Kumar, Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Vanlalremkima forming the midfield. While Thangboi Singto put in a 4-2-3-1 formation bringing in Alan Deory in the midfield alongside Rupert Nongrum and Redeem Tlang. Samuel Lalmuanpuia continued operating as the lone striker up-front.

In a dismal first half show, neither team managed to capitalise on their chances with DSK Shivajians coming the closest to making it 1-0. Towards the end of the first half, 19-year-old Lallianzuala Chhangte stormed into the Lajong defence before sending a lobbed ball past keeper Vishal Kieth. The ball hit the woodwork twice, once on the left then on the right on re-bounce before being eventually collected by Lajong custodian.

Also Read: Second string Aizawl holds East Bengal as both sides confirm semi final spot

After a goalless first half the second half was lit up with goals, Alan Deory’s(49’) strike early in the second half put Lajong in front, following a couple of missed one-on-one chances inside the box by Lallianzuala Chhangte, Substitute Holicharan Narzary soon made it 1-1 in the 68^th minute when he took his time to make space for himself and whacked the ball past the Lajong defence.

Minutes later Lajong were back in front when Redeem Tiang slotted one home from Alan deory cross after Subrata Paul came off his line to collect the ball and missed. Shillong were soon down to ten men when Vishal Keith was shown the red card for a poor tackle. Soon Narzary once again came to the rescue for the Pune-based side with a stunning late equaliser from the edge of the box in the 86^th minute.

As the game seemed to move towards a draw, Samuel Lalmuanpuia’s goal in the 92nd minute gave Lajong a fighting chance to make it into the semi-finals. The tie ended in a 3-2 result which meant 3 sides then having three points each in Group B, however later in the day Blues managed to sneak out a draw as both Mohan Bagan and Bengaluru FC entered the semi-finals sending both Lajong and DSK out of the competition.

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Failing to penetrate DSK’s robust defence, Blues payed for their profligacy as Juan Quero penalty (71′) and a stunning free-kick (76′) ensured a win for Dave Roger’s men with a semi final spot still wide open.

DSK Shivajians started the game with the returning Subrata Paul in goal after a controversial few weeks. As many as six U22 players started in the playing XI with Kim Song-Yong in attack and Juan Quero pulling strings from midfield.

Bengaluru FC started in their usual 3-4-2-1 with Udanta Singh, Sunil Chhetri and Daniel Lalhlimpuia in the attack, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Cameron Watson controlling the midfield alongside Nishu Kumar and Khabra manning the wings. New signing, Cornell Glen for the second game running started at the bench.

In a cagey first-half, both sides started in an expected manner with Bengaluru FC dominating possession and DSK Shivajians working on the counter. The mid-afternoon heat made it difficult for players as they tried preserving the energy which meant less action in the first half. Couple of notable chances that did came along was for Bengaluru when John Johnson’s header was saved on the line by jerry while a Nishu Kumar cutback was met by a Daniel’s first time shot that was well saved by the DSK custodian.

Also Read: Kingfisher East Bengal play out a draw against Churchill Brothers in Hero Fed Cup opener

Second half saw more action as the blues went ahead looking for an opening while DSK slowly built confidence in their counters. Blues captain Sunil Chhetri had a hard time controlling the game as he was well marked by an impressive jerry.

In the 69^th minute, DSK finally managed a successful counter when Chhangte was brought down in the box by the blues keeper Ralte. Juan Querro stepped up for the spot kick and made no mistake by sending the keeper the wrong way as he dispatched the ball in to the net. Rocked by the goal, Blues went forward again but once again on a counter Udanta in a desperate attempt to stop chhangte from getting one-on-one with keeper, fouled him at the edge of the box. But keeper Ralte’s poor wall judgement meant Querro sending in a perfect ball past the two man wall in to the net with the blues custodian stranded to his feet.

Blues poured men forward in a desperate attempt to find goals but failed to break the Shivajians defence. In the last minute of the injury time, Captain Sunil Chhetri almost scored from a free kick outside the box only to be denied by a diving Subrata.

Dave Rogers’ men now have three points, alongside Bengaluru but a better head-to-head record seeing them placed second in Group B ahead of Bengaluru FC. DSK has a good chance of making it to the semi final if they manage to win against Churchill brothers on Friday.

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Mumbai FC’s relegation to the second tier of the domestic league was confirmed following the Goan club Churchill Brothers’ resounding 6-1 win over new entrant Chennai City FC.

The win took the Goans’ points tally to 20 which meant Mumbai FC, who are on 13 points after a 1-1 draw against Lajong, with a game in hand, will be shown the exit door, even if they collect the maximum available points, which will take their tally onto 16 points with DSK, Minerva and Chennai city being immune to relegation. This is the first time, Mumbai FC would be relegated since their entry to the top tier back in 2007

DSK Shivajians, the other team from Maharashtra, are in a bit of turmoil themselves. Based on reports from Pune press, the D S Kulkarni conglomerate is allegedly believed to be in a financial instability. Not only had they dismissed important support staff from the Liverpool partner academy, but a dearth of arrears had yet to be handed out to the coaching staff, the players and even the support staff since the beginning of the league in January. In fact, so dire was the situation that the players and academy staff actually resorted to going on strike for their salaries in the mid march.

With Shivajians survival for next season in doubt, Kenkre FC, who are currently plying their trade in the second division finals, could be the only side from Maharashtra in top flight football provided they finish at the top.

Also Read: Indian colts handed tough draws for 2018 U-16 and U-19 AFC Championship qualifiers

Currently occupying the third position after 4 games with 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss, Kenkre can still pull off the miracle. A loss to table topper Neroca FC and draws against Delhi United and Lonestar Kashmir had hurt Kenkre’s start to the finals campaign. But the recent 2-0 win against second placed Southern Samity could well be the much-needed driving force for the remaining fixture with 6 games yet to go.

While there is no denial that Maharashtra has been a cricket dominant state, in recent year’s football too had begun to find its feet. Mumbai FC, Pune FC earlier and now DSK Shivajians in I league and Mumbai City FC and Pune City FC from ISL have played an important part in this growth. While the ISL has just been a 3 month affair, I-league clubs like Mumbai FC and DSK play for a longer duration and even though they have limited fans they are a loyal bunch.

Before ISL, Mumbai FC was the side that brought the cities football enthusiast together. A look at Mumbai’s yellow brigade will tell you that these fans are no less passionate about the club. While Kenkre have been a source for footballers within the Mumbai circuit, It’s now time that the club carry the expectation of the entire Mumbai football, not just for fans but for the overall development of the game around these regions.

Also Read: Mumbai Strikers, RBI romp to easy wins

It’s not impossible to achieve for a young and comparatively small club to achieve its mark at the top flight, Aizawl FC is a prime example of that, the north-eastern club that was almost relegated last year has turned the tables this year with their performances now that they have almost pocketed the I league trophy.

With the ISL-I league merger yet not guaranteed, Mumbai FC at present situation will find itself out in the second division and with that expectation from the fans would be high on Kenkre FC, if top flight football has to return next year at cooperage.

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Mumbai coach, Santosh Kashyap made one change to his starting lineup from the side’s previous outing against Mohun Bagan. An injured Thoi Singh was replaced by Brazilian Anderson Raimundo da Silva. While DSK Shivajians made three changes, as three attack-minded players were introduced by manager David Rogers; Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Sanju Pradhan and Sumeet Passi started for the hosts.

The Maharashtra derby started off in a pretty unusual manner; with both sets of players displaying little control and precision when circulating the ball. Due to which gaps began to appear, all over the park. The hosts, in particular, seemed to make most of the opportunities presented, testing Kattimani time-and-again in the Mumbai goal. On a similar occasion, Holicharan Narzary found himself with space and time to measure a volley past the Mumbai goalkeeper to give the hosts an early lead on 15 minutes.

In the aftermath of the opener, Santosh Kashyap reacted quickly and made a substitution, replacing Clyde Fernandes for the experienced Steven Dias; in an attempt to get themselves back into the match.

Much to the anguish of Mumbai, DSK Shivajians grew into the match, dominating possession and created chances at will. While Mumbai couldn’t string together any passes to cause real damage to their opposition, failing to penetrate through or create positive moments in the match. As the game approached the half hour mark, Sanju Pradhan and Juan Quero combined well down the right, to set up Narzary for his second goal of the match in 27 minutes.

As the first-half of the match came to a closure, DSK Shivajians seemed to have had a firm grip on the game with a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the away side, Mumbai had a half to forget and start afresh, if there was to be a fightback or any effort, in their bid for survival.

Matters went from bad to worse for Santosh Kashyap’s side, when the home team scored their third goal just three minutes into the second-45. Sanju Pradhan found his name on the scoresheet, after some neat combination play with Quero; in a move which was constructed by the Shivajians’ no.12 and finished off with fine accuracy.

Lallianzuala Chhangte, DSK Shivajians’ second-half substitute, scored in 67th minute, collecting the ball from the halfway line – scoring against the run of play with a delicate finish past Kattimani’s right to make it 4-0 for the hosts. Jerry Mawihmingthanga made good use of his pace to take full advantage of the space behind Mumbai’s defence and score DSK Shivajians’ fifth goal of the match in 83 minutes.

With the game approached the final moments, Mumbai trailed to their rivals 5-0, in a match they were expected to turn their fortunes around. But Santosh Kashyap’s side faced trouble in every department, lacking the resources to answer positively under pressure yet again.

Mumbai had little or no positives to take back to Mumbai after their 5-0 defeat at the hands of DSK Shivajians. As they prepare themselves for two must-win matches at home. Meanwhile, DSK Shivajians can take a breather, but just so – after an all-round performance against Mumbai lifted them four points clear of rock-bottom Mumbai.

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The home-side, DSK Shivajians made three changes to the side which faced East Bengal; under-22 players Jerry Lalrinzuala and Rohit Kumar came into the team along with Ongnam Milan Singh. The visiting team made two notable changes, which saw Shahin Lal Meloli take the gloves in this match and Mudampara Malsawmfela started in the forward line.

The two sides made a very lively start to the match, finding early gaps to exploit; but lacked the control in the final third, to create any real damage on the opposition goal.

DSK Shivajians settled in well as the match progressed, looking certain to score. Meanwhile, Chennai were on the backfoot for the first quarter, with little support for Charles De Souza up-front to create any real damage on the break.

The finest opportunity to take the lead came in the 26^th minute when Juan Quero’s freekick from the edge of the Chennai City penalty area was parried away by an all-stretched Shahin Meloli in-goal.

Neither of the two sides presented the ability to penetrate with an incisive pass, as the match progressed. The goal, which was distant, but not unexpected to arrive, came on the stroke of half hour. Juan Quero’s free kick, long way out from the Chennai’s penalty, found an unmarked Kim Song Yong on 30 minutes, who headed the ball into the net, giving Shivajians the lead.

The first-half did not really have much to fathom up on, apart from the goal; as both sides seemed to talk too much time on the ball. The two sides headed into the halftime break, desperately needing to up the tempo in the second half of matters

DSK Shivajians doubled their lead, 10 minutes in the second-half. Juan Quero, who looked particularly lively at the start of the second-half, found Kim Song Yong with a neat diagonal pass, dissecting the Chennai defence. In his attempt to cut inside, Song was fouled by Celmente inside the box, leaving the referee with no other option but to produce a yellow card and award DSK Shivajians the penalty. Quero stepped-up and put the ball past the goalkeeper to give Shivajians a two-goal lead, as the match closer to the hour mark.

As the match entered into the final 20 minutes both teams made a number of changes to impact the game; Chennai City brought in a few fresh legs, while Shivajians gave new players a chance, having been 2-0 up.

In the end, neither of the changes came to make any significant impact on the full-time result, as the hosts recorded maximum points against Chennai City with a two-goal margin.

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DSK vs East Bengal: Fan Crowd

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