JOVITO LOPES
jovito@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: “My contract with Odisha FC ends on June 30 and Sergio Lobera is set to take over as the team’s head coach. I am yet to decide my next move in keeping with my final objective of being the head coach,” explained Clifford Miranda, the first Indian coach to guide an Indian Super League (ISL) team to the triumph in the Super Cup and also guiding the club to the AFC Cup following a play-off match against Gokulam Kerala which was an icing on the cake.
Betalbatim-born and bred Clifford, in the short span of three weeks as the interim head coach took Odisha to the Super Cup final in Kozhikode on April 26, adroitly managing to put it across the highly-rated Bengaluru FC, to give the first major silverware to his club. It was simply brilliant. Odisha had finished 6th in ISL.
Soft-spoken Clifford disarms one with his simplicity and tactful but highly technical conversation as he gives full credit to the players. “It is they who delivered. They rose to the moment. It was amazing the way they responded. It was simply wonderful. My role was to ignite them to give their best,” echoed Clifford during an exclusive interview with Herald TV alongwith midfielder Princeton Rebello, also from Betalbatim.
Upcoming attacking midfielder Princeton, who was a key player with Odisha, agreed that it was coach Clifford who had finally groomed him for the big task and that he had always had a fascination for Clifford right from the latter’s playing days. He was simply brilliant as a player. “
“Clifford is my guide, my mentor. It is coincidental that we both are from Betalbatim, and that both of us belong to the key midfield. Clifford’s coaching style is simple, yet captivating. The coach has an art and skill to bring out the best in you. He is a coach of a different mould. His motivation is what I admire. Football needs feet but it also needs brain and that’s where lies the big difference,” Princeton, whose contract with Odisha ends in 2024, emphasised.
“Clifford made a difference to my football. He raised my confidence, he improved my decision-making. He taught me how to raise my faith even during difficult moments. I have donned colours for India at the youth level and now, I look forward to earn a place in the Senior National team, which is my dream,” remarked Princeton, who opined that the dynamics of football and coaching are changing and that new ideas come from young minds. While Clifford is just 41, Princeton is 23.
Soft-spoken Clifford is an epitome of smartness and adaptability which goes pretty well with young players. He has a knack of appealing to both their hearts and minds as he stresses that brain has a very important role in playing football. The conversation with the coach, gives a clear understanding that age alone does not define knowledge and stresses that young players grow up differently now and that one must bring out the best in them by using the players’ language with lots of tact, imagination and perseverance, which is the job of a coach.
When Clifford took over, not many had given Odisha much of a chance to even make out of the group stage, let alone winning the prestigious trophy. And, he sent a very strong message that winning the trophy was not a fluke as Odhisa put it across Gokulam Kerala just three days later to win a place in the AFC tournament. Indeed, a very memorable, nay glorious achievement for Clifford and his boys including especially Princeton, who was at his best as an attacking mifdielder, which is one of the toughest jobs on the playfield.
“Planning plays a crucial role. It’s a journey. It’s a process which is very important where one has to plan to every minute detail. I got the opportunity and I had to prove that I was capable and that I had the capacity to deliver. And, with God’s blessings, we emerged successful,” added Clifford.
“Team work, team spirit, coordination, creativity had to be injected into the preparation. I have the belief that Indian coaches are also capable of delivering when it matters the most. But most importantly, it is the players who had the belief that they could come on top. The victory is all down to the players, and of course not forgetting the technical staff, management, fans, well wishers,” added Clifford.
Clifford complimented the Odisha Government for its all-out, full-fledged support for Odisha FC. The Government has placed their football infrastructure at the disposal of the club without levying any charges. And mind you, the Odisha Government is going very big on other sports also, like hockey.
“I have certainly to do much more. I cannot rest on the latest laurels. I need to work twice as hard and even much more. I need to raise the bar so as to prove that we have the necessary tools to raise further the football standard in India with local talent and also with local coaches. It calls for a new dynamic, progressive, innovative model right from grassroots to youth development as one needs to innovate to survive in the highly competitive world,” reasoned out Clifford whom I would describe as an epitome of humility personified. Clifford will be remembered for getting the top performance from his players in both Super Cup championship as well as the play-off for AFC Cup. Two golden achievements with a Goan at the helm of affairs.
Meanwhile, it was in the last week of April that Odisha FC signed Spanish Sergio Lobera as their new head-coach. Lobera had left Goa in 2020 to join Mumbai City.
