I-League: Derrick Pereira’s Pune FC legacy

Pune FC is deservingly considered to be the most professional I-League club but often their matters on the pitch are ignored mainly because they haven’t won any major trophy since their formation in 2007.

However, Pune have still been one of the most consistent teams in the last four years, finishing third in their debut season in 2009-10 before back-to-back fifth place finishes in the last two campaigns. Unlike most clubs, they don’t spend their entire budget on players and, besides Subrata Pal, have rarely recruited any stars.

The reason they have been competitive despite functioning on a tight budget is undoubtedly Derrick Pereira. The former India international has been in charge of all 103 I-League games of the Pune club and has consistently kept them in the top five.

On Saturday, Derrick will be in charge of his last game as Pune coach because next season he will be taking charge of the club where he became a legend as a player, Salgaocar. A win over Pailan Arrows would see Pune clinch the runners-up spot, their highest I-League finish and thus would be a fitting farewell for Derrick, who is going to leave behind something special at the six-year old club.

In 2009, when Derrick took charge, Pune FC were promoted to the I-League for the very first time. Derrick already had an excellent CV and was considered one of the best Indian coaches around as he had won the league title and Federation Cup with Mahindra United, besides taking them to the AFC Cup quarter-finals.

But it was his stint at Vasco earlier that must have encouraged Pune FC more to get his signature, because Derrick had guided the Goan club to consecutive third-place finishes between 2001 and 2003 in the National Football League (NFL). At Vasco too, Derrick didn’t have a big budget to work with and yet he made them competitive and enhanced his coaching credentials.

Besides results on the pitch, Derrick had always been a well respected coach, who has never really been involved in any big controversy and, more importantly, had the ability to get the best out of unknown players and convert them into stars.

At Pune FC, he exceeded expectations, because he oversaw the development of youngsters like Anas Edathodika, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gurjinder Kumar while players like Arata Izumi and Subrata played with the confidence that they either didn’t have or had lost midway through their career and amidst all that, he kept the team competitive.

Anas Edathodika (in red), one of many success stories under Derrick Pereira

Pune surprisingly finished third in their first season and showed the rest of the league that it was possible to be consistent without having a big squad or a team full of stars. Not that every club had taken that example seriously but the few ones who did, like Shillong Lajong, have the financial stability now that every professional club craves for.

Another feature during Derrick’s reign was the regular participation of Pune FC in almost every cup competition. The trend now among I-League clubs is to ignore tournaments like the IFA Shield and Durand Cup, citing fatigue, but Pune have consistently appeared in almost every competition as their coach has never complained about the heavy fixture schedule despite having a small squad.

It’s true that at Pune, Derrick never had to deal with the pressure of delivering trophies but that shouldn’t undermine his four-year stint because he managed to outperform clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, whose budgets are thrice more.

History tells us that even the likes of Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar and Mohammedan Sporting have failed to maintain their status in the top flight. Even recent examples of Shillong Lajong and United Sikkim are proof of that. Pune on the other hand have been an exception and that is largely thanks to coach Derrick, who has done wonders with limited resources.

Dutchman Mike Snoei will face a tough task to repeat the consistency of Derrick especially if the Red Lizards continue to operate in a similar budget. A time will come when the investment from the owners (Ashok Piramal Group) on players will increase and one day Pune will win major trophies like the I-League.

All that success may come under a different coach but the club will forever be indebted to the contribution of their first-ever coach in the I-League for laying the foundations for a brighter future.