Pune FC - Culminating off-field professionalism into on-field success.
It was December 2, 2012. Being a football maniac from childhood, the glimpse of a match between the Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and Pune FC attracted me more than my books. As it turned out, I happened to find myself mesmerized with some prolific and stunning play by the ‘Unpredictable’ Pune FC.
Some say – “All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.”
Pune FC, also known as the ‘Red Lizards’, was formed barely five years ago. Who knew that with time, Pune would establish themselves as one of the top teams in the country. Nobody could have ever thought of it. But since the last 2-3 years, they proved that they are not just a team to fill up the total number of clubs to play in the I-League, but are there to truly compete.
Right now, Pune FC is the most professional football club in India. Starting their journey in 2007, this football club formed their own academy, ‘Pune FC Academy’. Surprisingly, they are one of the few clubs to have an academy and this is laudable as even established clubs like East Bengal and Dempo don’t have one. Astonishingly, Pune FC has their own online TV channel, “PFC TV”, similar to Manchester United’s MUTV and Barcelona’s BARCA TV. That’s not it. Pune FC is the only club in Indian football history to provide season tickets to their supporters following a European model. While most clubs spend their entire budget on players, Pune FC spend heavily on youth development and have a proper backroom staff as they also have video analysts, scouts and everything a professional club should have. Another key reason behind their success is that they almost kept the same set of players from the very start, with some key addition like Abhra Mondal, James Moga and talented Arata Izumi. Not only have the same players been retained, but Pune FC have also kept Derrick Pareira as their head coach since 2009.
After finishing fourth in the 2009 I-league 2nd division, Pune FC got their permit to compete in India’s national domestic football league, the I-League. Not been recognized like other big teams, everybody thought that this team might struggle to stay in the league. Surprising everyone, Pune FC finished in 3rd position in the 2009-10 I-league. Since then, Pune have been playing some great football. They are quite adept at surprising even the big guns of the I-League. Let’s take a look at Pune FC’s standings in the past I-Leagues-
| YEAR | STANDING |
| 2009-10 | 3rd (42 Points) |
| 2010-11 | 5th (36 Points) |
| 2011-12 | 5th (46 Points) |
The question of Pune FC actually winning the league has already risen. After playing 13 games so far in this season’s I-League and also defeating East Bengal, Salgaocar and Dempo, they are currently in 2nd position in the league table. Let’s take a look at Pune FC’s form this season.
| DATE | MATCH | RESULT |
| 08.10.2012 | Pune FC vs. ONGC FC | 3-2 |
| 11.10.2012 | Pune FC vs. Mumbai FC | 3-2 |
| 29.10.2012 | Pune FC vs. KEB | 0-1 |
| 04.11.2012 | Pune FC vs. Churchill Brothers | 0-1 |
| 09.11.2012 | Pune FC vs. Pailan Arrows | 2-0 |
| 24.11.2012 | Pune FC vs. United Sikkim | 2-2 |
| 27.11.2012 | Pune FC vs. Sporting Clube de Goa | 2-1 |
| 09.12.2012 | Pune FC vs. Salgaocar FC | 2-0 |
| 15.12.2012 | Pune FC vs. Dempo SC | 5-1 |
| 22.12.2012 | Pune FC vs. Prayag United | 3-1 |
| 29.12.2012 | Pune FC vs. Shillong Lajong | 2-1 |
| 05.01.2013 | Pune FC vs. United Sikkim | 2-1 |
| 09.01.2013 | Pune FC vs. Prayag United | 0-2 |
We can’t predict what will happen with Pune FC. We really don’t know whether they will win the I-League title or not. While fans are comparing Prayag United as ‘India’s Real Madrid’, then all we can expect is that tomorrow will be that glorious day when someone will call Pune FC ‘India’s Manchester United’. As their fans chant, “Who are we….PFC!”