AGENCIES, KOZHIKODE: Head coach Clifford Miranda, who became the first Indian coach to win a major trophy for an Indian Super League club, was very quick to transfer all the credit to his players.
Clifford, who rose from assistant coach to head coach of Odisha FC, was ecstatic as it was his first trophy at the National level. He gave all the credit for his players saying: “This victory is all down to the players. It would not have been possible without them.” “The way they responded to the tactics was simply fantastic. They just did everything that we asked of them. Even in the final, where we asked them to change the way they play, with just one day of training, it was just amazing how they responded and came up with the goods.”
“I can’t describe how happy I am. It’s a wonderful moment, for the club, its fans, the players and staff, for myself and my family,” Clifford, the former India midfielder, said. It was after all, the first silverware for Odisha FC.
The players acknowledged the brilliant work undertaken by Clifford, who played for India from 2009-14, earning 45 caps and having scored six goals. Soon after the final whistle was blown, the players themselves surrounded their head coach and lifted him in unison to toss him into the Kozhikode night sky, once, twice, thrice? Perhaps more. Nobody was counting. People were just busy enjoying the moment they had been longing for.
Clifford, who started his career with the Salcete FC and moved to the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur where he honed his skills for four years, is now preparing his team for the tough AFC Cup match on April 29. He is taking the assignement on a highly professional manner, even though he does not know if he will continue with the club as his contract expires next month. That speaks of his passion for football which has been unique right from the time when he donned colours for Dempo from 2000-15 and won five national titles as well as the Federation Cup.
“It’s a brilliant prospect for Odisha FC. We have to win one more match and we can play in Asia, which will be brilliant for everyone. It would mean a lot for everyone associated with the club to be able to compete at that level,” Clifford said.
It is a matter of fact that not many had given Odisha FC much of a chance to even make it out of the group stage, let alone win the trophy. Undoubtedly, Clifford has come a long way since joining Athletico de Kolkata in 2015 and, two years later, switching to coaching after being convinced by his former coach Dereck Pereira
. He believes that the support his club has received from the Government of Odisha has gone a long way in pushing the club forward.
“Step by step, the club has built on a solid foundation in Bhubaneswar. The Odisha Government has helped a lot in terms of providing great infrastructure and training facilities. I believe they are the best in India,” said Clifford. “It’s not just football, but the State is supporting so many different sports like hockey as well.,” he added.
On the future prospects, Clifford explained: “Our club still has a long way to go. Our youth development needs to be more robust, we need to improve our scouting as well. If we concentrate on these aspects, this club can go very far.”
“I hope this increases the belief that club owners have in Indian coaches. Having said that, I also think that as Indian coaches, the onus is upon us to get better, and to work harder. It is one thing to say that we are not given opportunities, but we must be able to convince the club owners and the decision makers that we are capable of doing good things,” said Miranda.
“We will only start getting these chances when the owners see that we are capable, and for that, we need to do more than what we are doing presently. There are examples of foreign coaches that have come in, who are maybe not quite at the same level as the Indian coaches, but are able to convince the owners that they are the right people to take the team forward,” said Clifford. “So it is up to us to work twice as hard as every other coach out there, and to convince the club owners and officials that we are the ones that deserve the opportunities.”
“We also need to be technically very well informed. It’s not just the owners that you need to convince, it’s the players too. I also think that as Indian coaches, the onus is upon us to get better, and to work harder. It is one thing to say that we are not given opportunities, but we must be able to convince the club owners and the decision makers that we are capable of doing good things,” said Clifford.
Clifford has been leading the cause for the Indian coaches since taking over the reins at Odisha but believes that it is something that all coaches from the country should prove to the world, rather than to wait for their opportunities. That amply justifies his ambition to one day coach a team from Europe. One can only wish Margao-born, 41-year-old, UEFA Pro Licence coach Clifford further success.
