Team Herald
PANJIM: Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi has been long enough in football to understand that once you have reached on the top, it’s always difficult to maintain that position.
Chennaiyin FC staged a remarkable comeback last season after being at the bottom of the points table.
“Last year we showed both quality and character to bounce back from the bottom of the table and make it to the playoffs. I think Chennaiyin FC eventually won the trophy, deservingly,” said Materazzi.
Can Chennaiyin FC do the same this year? “It is always more difficult to retain the title than winning it but I believe in my squad to go all the way again,” he added.
Chennaiyin FC’s success last year was built on the scoring prowess of Colombian striker Stiven Mendoza. The star striker, now playing for New York City FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS), worked his magic right through the tournament.
This year, Chennaiyin FC are not blessed with a talent like Mendoza who can instil fear in the most disciplined of defences and have also lost Bruno Pelissari to Delhi Dynamos but they will continue to carry a goal threat as long as they have Jeje Lalpekhlua in the team.
Jeje stood out for Chennaiyin FC with six goals and three assists last year and has since then continued with his irrepressible form, scoring goals on the international front as well.
Another big loss for the franchise is goalkeeper Edel Bete. The Armenian goalkeeper won the ISL title for two successive seasons with two different teams and has now signed-up with FC Pune City. How much of that will impact Chennaiyin FC remains to be seen but the signing of Jamaican international goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr could help calm nerves.
Marquee player and captain Elano Blumner will be another major foreign absentee this season.
The franchise retained nine players from the first year and now have a record 14 players from last season. No team can afford such a luxury and working with the same core group will help Materazzi a great deal.
This has already reflected in pre-season friendlies in Italy where Materazzi’s team has already won three successive friendlies.
“We are going to take one game at a time and are well aware that every team has improved. The ISL is a very competitive league with games coming thick and fast over a short period so for me every team stands an equal chance of making the top four and that is our first target. After that we will see how well we can do in the knockouts,” said Materazzi.
