Churchill Bros begin title defence

Defending champions Churchill Brothers would look to start their campaign on a winning note when they take on Salgaocar FC in the lung opener of the I-League here on Saturday. The defending champions hope to retain their crown despite seeing a lot of their star players leave at the end of the last campaign.

Churchill Brothers coach Sukhwinder Singh, who has taken over from Subhash Bhowmick, believes his side were well prepared to defend the title. The former JCT coach was happy the way his team played in the Goa Professional League (GPL). They are the only undefeated team so far in the league and lead the table.

Churchill are a mixture of experience and youth and has the ability to score from set-pieces. Young blood Richard Costa, Alesh Sawant, Elvis Barreto and Jaison Vales have been outstanding performers in the local league. Among the foreigners, Portuguese Hugo Machado is the right find to replace Roberto Silva, who has moved to Dempo.

He, along with Henri Antchouet, can give tough time to rival defenders. Nigerian Hammed Adesope, along with D Ravanan and Denzil Franco, looked solid in the defence. Others like Lenny Rodrigues, Bikramjit Singh and Sukhwinder Singh will provide the required support. ‘Our task is cut out and we are working hard with the players to reach the peak. We have some strategies and are currently working on the same,’ Churchill Technical Director Sukhwinder Singh said.

Salgaocar, who did not get a good start in the last season of the I-League, would look to put up a spirited show under their new coach Derrick Pereira. They started well in the GPL but somehow could not maintain consistency and have slipped to fourth position. ‘We are at a stage where we are building up the team, so I don’t want to put too much significance on one player. The youngsters are showing a lot of promise and I hope they combine well along with the foreigners,’ Salgaocar coach Derrick Pereira said.

‘But yes, Francis Fernandes will be one player who will be key for us this season,’ he said, adding ‘our target is to perform well and finish among the top.’ On a high after their Durand Cup triumph, qualifiers Mohammedan Sporting will face last season’s runners-up Pune FC as the seventh edition of the I-League kicks off in a low-key affair on Saturday.

After the departure of ONGC, the I-League is being deprived of a title sponsor while the telecast issue is yet to be sorted out as an All India Football Federation official says the broadcast may only begin from round two. The I-League had earlier suffered a setback as it was reduced to a 13-team affair after Mumbai Tigers pulled out, days after Pailan Arrows was disbanded by the AIFF.

There’s already a gloom especially in Kolkata after the collapse of chit fund companies as high budget team like United SC are left in the lurch without a title sponsor. Further there’s a discontent among various clubs who have refused to loan out players for the upcoming IPL-style franchise tournament early next year. Amid all this, the seventh I-League, and 18th overall (including the earlier National Football League) will begin with three matches -- Mumbai FC v Sporting Club de Goa and Churchill Brothers v Salgaocar being the other two.

Having won the Durand Cup after 73 years yesterday, Mohammedan Sporting will look to start with a bang as they return to the top tier league after four years, while a new look Pune outfit will look to find rhythm under Dutchman Mike Snoei, who replaced Derrick Pereira. Bucking the trend, Mohammedan Sporting have invested heavily with a star studded foreigners line-up in Luciano Sabrosa, Penn Orji, Tolgay Ozbey and Joshimar d’Silva.

Wih immense experience in Indian football, particularly in Kolkata, Mohammedan Sporting under Nigerian coach Abdul Aziz Moshood will be the team to watch out for this season. ‘It’s an honour to guide the team to a victory after 73 years and it is their perseverance of all years (that paid). I respect them for that,’ the Nigerian said.

‘Our main objective is to develop youngsters at the club. In this season, you will see good young players getting a fair chance in the first team,’ Pune FC coach Snoei said. Its expected to be a cracker of a match.