Chirag United Kerala aiming high

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On October 22, in the 15000-seated Bangalore Football Stadium, Chirag United Kerala will face the Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club (HASC) with a rejuvenated team and newly incorporated morale after its failure in the Federation Cup, 2012.

The opening match itself of the league will be the clash for survival for both the teams. But what Chirag United Kerala will be looking for, is a victory and cannot compromise on a draw.

“There is increased morale and confidence among the players. Whatever we have faced in the Federation Cup will not torment us again in the coming season. We will be counting on the confidence of the players,” says Bino George, assistant coach of Chirag United Kerala.

What brings confidence to the team is that it will be playing its best eleven, which was missing during Federation Cup due to injury. The club has added about seven players more to the squad, who were unavailable during last month’s Federation Cup campaign.

Indian Under-23 defender Shahabaz Saleel, Jagdeep Singh, Noushad K and the Ghanaian defender Charles Dzisah will add more strength to the team for the first match. In midfield, Asif K will be returning to the squad after injury.

“These are the main players we missed during Federation Cup. There will be a lot of changes in the line up from the team that played in Kolkata last month,” he pointed out.

As the Brazilian striker Alex is returning after he was found unfit, the team will be playing with one forward up front.

“We will have an attacking formation. We have already set our plans and the players have to execute them correctly on the field. The whole team and management are expecting a good start in the I-League,” he pointed out.

Bino says that the new Sri Lankan coach of Chirag United, Mohamed Nizam Packeer Ali has already jelled with the team.

“The coach has already started to actively involve in the practice sessions of the team. This has motivated the players a lot. In the first away match, we will be trying to be more aggressive and win the match rather than looking for an away draw. The next two matches with Pune FC and Mohun Bagan will be difficult, and we cannot afford losing points in the opening match itself,” he said.

However, the team had a lot of problems in the pre-season training, says Bino. “We have not played a practice match with a good professional team. This was a major problem for the Federation Cup and we were not able to solve it prior to I-league. Besides, we have not practised in a good ground, becoming a major setback for us,” he says.