SINGAPORE - When Akbar Nawas took over as head coach of Chennai City last year, the Indian football club had only three games to stave off relegation from the I-League.
They beat Churchill Brothers 3-1, lost 7-1 to East Bengal, before securing safety with a 2-1 win over Minerva Punjab in their final match.
A year later, former Tampines Rovers coach Akbar, assisted by ex-Hougang United coach and fellow Singaporean K. Balagumaran, helped Chennai complete a remarkable turnaround after Saturday's (March 9) come-from-behind 3-1 win over Minerva at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Tamil Nadu sealed a first league title for both club and coach.
With 13 wins, four draws and three defeats, they amassed 43 points, one ahead of second-placed East Bengal.
It is believed that the duo are the first Singaporean coaches to win a professional football league title outside of South-east Asia.
And they did it in swashbuckling style, scoring 48 goals in 20 matches, and never relinquishing their place at the top of the 11-team league from the third match week.
The Times of India summarised their triumph as "befitting their dominant campaign, the fulcrum of which was a sustained possession-based football".
Akbar, 43, told The Straits Times: "It is a great satisfaction after accepting the challenge of taking over a relegation-threatened team, and then winning the league within a year.
"Our team perform best when we are chasing the game. Thus, we didn't panic when we were behind (against Minerva on Saturday). I told the team we must end every attack with a chance at goal. I was pretty confident we could bounce back and win like we had done before."
Â
His sidekick Balagumaran, 54, added: "It is so overwhelming, I don't know if we are still in a dream.
"When we got here, the players we had were not from football academies, they were from the streets and so unpolished.
"Many of them are playing in their first professional season and now they have won their first professional league title.
"Personally, it is also the highlight of my career, but I hope there is more to come, and I also hope this opens the door for more Singaporean coaches to venture abroad."
With the league win, Chennai are eligible for the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifiers.
Football News: A goal by Michail Antonio ensured West Ham United became the first visiting team to win at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium as Mauricio Pochettino's th
Premier League: Spurs beaten for first time in new stadium
Manchester: Manchester City celebrated their domestic treble with an open-top bus parade on Monday, drawing an estimated 100,000 fans to the streets of the city centre. Pep Guardiola's City side
Treble winners Man City enjoy parade - msn.com
Tottenham blew the chance to cement their top four spot as London rivals West Ham became the first away side to win at their new ground. Michail Antonio's second half strike prove enough to earn
Football: West Ham's Michail Antonio scores winner as Spurs
worldsportstale.com/soccer/football-west-hams-michail-antonio-scores-winner-as-spurs-suffers-first-loss-at-new-stadium/
04/27/2019 Comments Off on Football: West Ham's Michail Antonio scores winner as Spurs suffers first loss at new stadium LONDON (AFP) - Mauricio Pochettino admitted his Tottenham stars are suffering from fatigue after they lost for the first time at their new stadium as Michail Antonio fired West Ham to a surprise 1-0 victory on Saturday
Premier League: Tottenham 0-1 West Ham - Spurs suffer first
Tottenham paid the price for thinking Wolves were beaten, says Mauricio Pochettino. He also said he didn't care that people would criticise his side as 'bottlers', insisting it is just the
Pochettino slams arrogant Spurs - guardian-series.co.uk
Time for Sanchez, Lukaku to shine LONDON • Caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has challenged Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to step up for Manchester United after confirming that the injured Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard will be out for up to three weeks.
Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United
Singapore Football News - Singapore international forward Ikhsan Fandi has signed a two-year contract with Norwegian second-tier side Raufoss, the club confirmed on Sunday morning (Singapore time).
Football: Ikhsan Fandi focused on task as he begins his
The power behind the 'baby-faced assassin': Beautiful wife of new Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who met him when they were both football training and their three children who don't even
Atletico extend lead over Real with narrow win over Eibar La Liga / 20 April 2019, 7:09pm / Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone gestures during their La Liga clash against Eibar on Saturday.
Atletico extend lead over Real with narrow win over Eibar
Football: Brighton to face Man City in FA Cup semi-finals after beating Millwall on penalties, Watford to play Wolves Brighton players celebrate on the pitch after beating Millwall to reach their
FA Cup semi-final draw: Brighton face Manchester City
Feb 27 (Reuters) -Sergio Aguero's penalty gave champions Manchester City a 1-0 win over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to stay a point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Man City 1-0 West Ham: Sergio Aguero penalty seals narrow win
The third edition of the annual China Cup featuring four teams from two confederations will be held from March 21 to 25 in Nanning, Guangxi. The 32-year-old is expected to miss between 10 and 15 days after limping off late in the recent 4-1 win at Real Betis in La Liga.
Injured Suarez to miss China Cup for Uruguay | Sport24
Hungry Wolves beat 10-man Manchester United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers repeated their FA Cup defeat of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United as a Chris Smalling own goal gave them another 2-1 win in a pulsating Premier League game on Tuesday.
Hungry Wolves beat 10-man Manchester United
Gabriel Jesus fires twice as Manchester City snatch top spot from Liverpool by beating Everton Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus scores their second goal in their game against Everton at the Etihad
Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool
0 comments:
Post a Comment