Expectations have never been higher for Gokulam Kerala – now the reigning I-League Champions and also the current Durand Cup holders. With great accomplishments come greater challenges and that is exactly what Gokulam will have to deal with this season, if they are to scale greater heights. The I-League winners have qualified for the AFC Cup group stages this year, thus making them the first club from Kerala to participate in continental football. Naturally, expectations are sky high.  

Coach Vincenzo sees the upcoming Durand Cup as the perfect platform for him to prepare his entire squad for their fast-approaching I-League and AFC Cup endeavours.

“We know very well that preparation for this season will be hard, because we have a lot of expectations. Especially for AFC Cup which we will be playing this year. We start the season with Durand, which will be good preparation for the I-League campaign. It will provide a good opportunity to establish good chemistry between our players”, he said during the show.

Preparations for the new season have been difficult for Gokulam in an unprecedented way, owing to the pandemic and second-wave situation in India. The coach weighed in on how his side have made the best out of a very bad situation.

“We started on 2^nd August. We have been playing friendly games with local teams. There is a lot of talent over here in Kerala, it also gives us an opportunity to watch other players, and also to help us field a good team tactically in preparation for the season”, he said.

He also gave an insight into how ‘virtual training’ has been for his side. He added, “We are coming back after five months. Players weren’t able to work out properly during this time. The COVID situation in India was so bad for the last four-five months.

“We have tried to maintain fitness via video call, group calls. We have been in consultation with Prof Garcia – our physical coach to maintain a regime for our fitness at a high level. We also did some tactical exercise. Day by day we have been trying to improve ourselves but first, most important for me is the physical aspect. Because 4-5 months without football isn’t easy.

“First of all, it is important to reach a good physical condition. In this kind of preparation, it is important to not get injured. Tactical aspects are secondary in that regard. For now, everything is going well.”

The Durand Cup commences on 5^th September, but Gokulam won’t be playing their first game until 12^th September. They have been drawn into Group D alongside Hyderabad FC, Assam Rifles and Army Red Football Team. Speaking on what we can expect of Gokulam, Vincenzo smiled with his usual confident demeanour and said, “We will see a lot of goals.  If you watch our games, you will see we always score goals. I am very emotional on the bench. I don’t play for a draw. I will love for us to score a lot of goals (in the tournament). In the I-League last season, we scored 31 goals with 10 different goal scorers.”

The core of this Gokulam Kerala side has changed drastically since their maiden Durand Cup win. As a matter of fact, only 11 players remain from Gokulam’s I-League winning squad from last year. The Durand Cup presents Coach Vincenzo with the perfect setting to try and experiment a few combinations.

Can they repeat their success? The answer was straightforward and expected: “I believe we can win this trophy again.”

The Durand Cup returns for its 130^th edition on Sunday, September 5 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK).

CREDITS- DURAND CUP MEDIA

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The coach has transformed Gokulam into a champion team in just a year’s time and has left his mark in India, becoming one of the finest and in-demand coaches.

This year the Malabarians won the I-League title in a tough fight with the Churchill Brothers and TRAU on the final matchday of the league. They finished at par with Churchill Brothers, having the same number of points, but Gokulam won on goal difference.

Annese’s all attacking gameplay worked pretty well for the team; they scored 31 goals in total, the most by any team in I-League this season. According to him, what he did differently was concentrating more on Indian players. Trying to groom and develop the players he already had, especially the local players, was the key to Annese’s success. The Italian coach also unearthed some young players like Emil Benny, the AIFF Emerging Player of the year this season, and he also thinks Benny has the quality to play for the national team one day.

The stakes are high for Gokulam next year as they are all set to play the AFC cup group stage in 2022. Coach Annese wants to defend his I-League title next year and become the first foreign coach to do so. The coach stated, “I am so excited to be a part of the Gokulam family again. We have already set our targets for the next season. We need to repeat our I-League title win and also concentrate on AFC Cup. I am so happy that I can continue my project at Gokulam next year also,” after signing the new contract.

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Team FootballCounter went up and close with Gokulam Kerala’s Head Coach, Mr Vincenzo Annese and discussed about his love for Indian movies, time spent at Kerala, winning the I-League and much more..

Excerpts: 

What made you come to India, and how was your experience this year?  

The team called me and offered me this position to come to India. I couldn’t say no because since I was a child, my sister and I saw Indian movies and was always fascinated by the culture and mentality of Indian people. They are always friendly and understanding.

I always wanted to coach in India and be a champion here, so when this offer came, I saw the potential and was pretty excited about this. I’m pleased that I made it, and we Gokulam are the champions this year!

How were your experience with the team and Kerala’s football culture?  

It’s been fantastic; the guys they have played so well. Our start was a bit difficult in the first seven games, but they managed very well and believed in themselves. We were the only team in India who scored with ten different players, so you understand how involved the lads were, and everyone wanted to win.

Kerala has a different place for football in their hearts, and our team has many young players from Kerala; they all are exceptionally talented. We all stayed like a family, tried to keep our phones away and tried to stay together all the time because even they were away from their family.

Can you mention some things which you did differently than others that made you win the title?  

Concentrate more on Indian players. I have seen other teams and leagues who concentrate more on foreign players. I try to develop the team’s local players and give them a fair chance to prove themselves. We didn’t spend much money and believed in the squad. I think that was the key to our success!

I think Indian players have the same quality as others; they need to be appropriately developed. Believing in the local players changed the mentality of my squad. I trusted their quality, and they showed me the results. Some of my players also have the quality and talent to play in the national like I have a special player Emil Benny, who will indeed play for India someday.

One more thing I did personally was to understand the players’ mentality. I tried to stay with them and talk, ate the same food as them. In football, it’s not just about playing, and it’s also about your lifestyle, which I wanted to develop in them. I organised the lads in a professional way.

What was your main objective before the tournament started?

I wanted that people should know who we are; they should start talking about us. People should recognise who we are, what our talent is and how we score goals etc. And obviously, we as a team desired to win the trophy.

Being a coach I think about the club’s future and wish that this team will play in Asia someday, with the same players!

Some weeks ago, you commented, “I felt there is too much focus on defence and clean sheets in Indian football.” Why do you think so?  

Yeah, I think people here talk too much about clean sheets. I don’t why and how does it matter! According to me what you remember, in the end, it is the win, not the clean sheet.

I play to win those 3 points. I like to play attacking football, and that’s what my team showed. It seems crazy, but that’s how people think here. Maybe they are trying to follow England mentality, to play defensive and focus on a clean sheet. Getting the win should be the objective.

For me, 1-1 or 0-0 is also a loss, I prefer games with more goals like 4-3 or 3-2.

You have coached in many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. So what, according to you, are the aspects Indian football is lacking?  

India is a top football side for me. If we talk about leagues in Spain, Italy and England, my opinion is even when England has top teams like Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal etc, they tactically lack to Spain and Italy.

The playing style of England won’t work here in India. Still, many teams here follow the English playing style, which also includes the formation of 4-4-2. 4-4-2 doesn’t always work; that’s why we tried 3 at the back and 4-3-3. That worked very well for us, and we have results.

Do you think India needs to give more importance to grassroots football?

No, I guess India is doing good in grassroots. What India need is to focus more on local players and have experienced foreign coaches. It doesn’t matter where they are from, maybe Italy, England, Spain, France, what they should have is quality and experience. Try to develop the skills of local players that will help.

Mister Vincenzo Annese is just 36 years, but he has an experience of almost a decade where he has managed clubs like Bechem United, Ahli Al-Khaleel, PSIS Semarang, Belize, JFK Saldus. He was appointed in August, and in just a few months, he has rebuild Gokulam into a championship side. He wishes to continue with Gokulam Kerala FC and aims to win the I-League again, being the first foreign coach to do so.

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