Can NorthEast United bear the heat this year?
One of the most supported clubs of the Indian Super League (ISL), NorthEast United did not live up to expectations in their first season. The team then lead by Kiwi Coach Riki Herbert finished optimistically 8th in the table, having won just three games of 14 played.
However, despite being at the bottom of the table, the team managed to draw six games and lose five, which is statistically the most promising, if not the best amongst the last three teams in the table, i.e. FC Pune City (4W, 4D, 6L) and Mumbai City (4W, 4D, 6D).
Last year’s points table was clearly indicative of the fact that the team played well defensively, they were amongst the best 3 teams in terms of the number of goals conceded (13), but desperately lacked a game finisher. They scored just 11 goals, which is the second lowest amongst all. The reason why the team flunked to the bottom of the table was solely because they couldn’t convert the opportunities they had.
John Abraham, the celebrity owner of team wasn’t at all disappointed with the team’s performance in the first season as he stressed upon the fact that he had the youngest side in the tournament and his primary aim was to provide youngsters of the North East India with opportunities to showcase their talent. He has been quite vocal about his desire to add every North Eastern player to his NorthEast United team in the coming seasons of ISL, but does it this serve the purpose of building a great team? Only time will tell.
New season, new ownership pattern, new coach
NorthEast United has been through a process of complete mutation for the second season of the ISL. John is now the 95% owner of the team, with Shillong Lajong deciding to sell all its shares in team to focus on their principal vision of building their youth development programs, thus making the Bollywood star sole owner of the club. There has also been a facelift in the coaching staff of the team, with the team roping in Venezuelan football manager Cesar Farias as their head coach.
The ex-Venezuelan national team manager is credited to be the first and only manager who managed to take the team to the semi-final stage of Copa America. He also managed Venezuela's U-20 team that made it to the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Veteran Indian coach Santosh Kashyap has been roped in as the Assistant Coach of the team. 49-year-old Kashyap is one of the most respected faces in Indian football, having managed teams like Mohun Bagan, ONGC and most recently guided newly promoted Royal Wahingdoh to a third place finish in their debut season in the I-League.
With the addition of new managerial forces, fans of the team would surely expect a new attitude in the team game play. Head coach Farias in an interview to the ISL media team said, "At NorthEast United FC, we will work a lot with the offensive part to generate scoring opportunities from the flanks and in the centre of the attack. With a lot of breaking runs inside out and vice-versa and in each training session we will make emphasis on these aspects of the game."
This was an attitude which the team clearly lacked in the first season of the tournament.
The Squad
NorthEast United has totally refurbished its club, retaining only seven players from the last season. Portuguese Miguel Garcia and Zambian Kondwani Mtonga are the only international players which the team has retained while goalkeeper Rehenesh TP, Robin Gurung, Boithang Haokip, Aiborlang Khongjee and youngster Alen Deory happen to the Indian faces retained in the team.
Marquee Player
NEUtd has replaced their last season’s marquee player Joan Capdevila by signing Portuguese winger Simao Sabrosa for this season. The Highlanders, as the team is fondly called in the North East, indicated a huge shift in its gears by dropping Capdevila not just from the defence, but from the team and signing Benfica legend Simao Sabrosa.
Simao Sabrosa, known to many, has played for teams like Barcelona, Benfica and Atletico Madrid. Until last season, he was with Espanyol. He played for Barcelona at a time when Louis van Gaal was their coach. In 43 appearances for Barca, Sabrosa has 3 La Liga goals.
At his prime, he was with Benfica, where in 172 appearances he scored 76 goals before moving to Atletico Madrid.
Sabrosa earned 85 international caps for Portugal between 1998 and 2010 in which he scored 22 goals. He represented Portugal in two World Cups and as many European Championships, helping it finish second at Euro 2004 and reach the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
35-year-old Sabrosa is surely a good signing for the team considering the lack of attacking intent which the team had in their last season and having played in the Spanish League until last season, Sabrosa would probably take less time to hit form.
Other players to look out for
Rehenesh TP
22-year-old Rehenesh managed to catch everyone’s attention last season with his brilliant goalkeeping skills. He made 12 appearances for NEUtd last season and managed to keep 5 clean sheets. He has also been brilliant in the just finished I-League for Shillong Lajong where in 15 appearances he had 5 clean sheets.
With Rehenesh already retained in the squad, NEUFC already has a brilliant goalkeeper in their side. The addition of Lalthuammawia Ralte from I League Champions Bengaluru FC into their list of goalkeepers now have increased their bench strength. The team has also roped in French Goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano, who played 9 matches for Chennaiyin FC last season as their goalkeeper coach, adding further value to the guardian of their posts.
Robin Gurung
Shillong Lajong defender Robin Gurung would be another Indian to look out for in the team. Last season he held the fort for North East United alongside Miguel Garcia and showcased spectacular tackles. He has made 14 appearances for Shillong Lajong in the last season of the I-League, making him one of the most consistent players in the team.
Alen Deory
Alen Deory, 19, made history by being the youngest player of the tournament last season. He played just five matches last season for NEUtd but impressed everyone immensely with his dribbling skills and speed. This was probably the reason why he happens to be one of the five Indian players to be retained by the team.
A product of the Tata Football Academy and the IMG Academy, he was one of the two players who went to the United States for training under the IMG-Reliance Scholarship. He is also one of the two Assamese players (the other being Holicharan Narzary) in the Guwahati-based franchise of the Indian Super League.
Nicolas Velez
Another player to look out for is Argentinean Nicolas Velez. The 25-year-old forward joined NEUtd from the Singapore League side Warriors FC. He is a product of the famed River Plate youth academy having played in the same team as Tottenham Hotspur star Erik Lamela and Juventus man Roberto Pereyra.
He joined Warriors in 2014 and in his first season he scored an impressive 21 goals in 26 appearances, second only to Brazilian Rodrigo Tosi (24 goals) helping Warriors FC to the S.League title. He was also named the S-League Young Player of the Year the same year.
North East United Full Squad:
The current squad of North East United looks promising with 12 players of the region in the team. John is a man of his words he meant to have the maximum representation of the team by the players from the region. There was an outage amongst the fans when he did not sign local lads Jackichand Singh and Eugeneson Lyngdoh, but the team seem to have balanced itself by bringing in Sabrosa and Nicolas Velez.
The team also has a mixture of youth and experience with the average age of the team being 27 years.
Expected Formation: 4-3-2-1
Expected Starting XI: Rehenesh TP, Miguel Garcia, Aiborlang Khongjee, Zohmingliana Ralte, Robin Gurung, Boithang Haokip, Kondwani Mtonga, Sanju Pradhan, Simao Sabrosa, Holicharan Narzary, Nicolas Velez
