Hyderabad FC and the Miracle in Madras
Hyderabad FC created history by becoming the first team in the history of the ISL to win a game with an all-Indian playing and support staff when they beat Chennaiyin FC at the Marina Arena in Chennai on Saturday, March 9.
The Nawabs were feted by the Chennaiyin faithful after the game, with loud cheers reverberating across the practically empty Arena.
The people of Chennai once again showcased why they are among the most knowledgeable and well-behaved sports crowds in the country.
Head coach Thangboi Singto looked up to the night sky with emotions that were hardly palpable to the spectators, yet the wry smile with which he and his wards thanked the home supporters was contagious.
Hardly one to show emotion, Singto was pleased beyond delight at what had transpired that night in Chennai, and gracious enough to let a tear or two escape his bespectacled eyes. His boys had finally arrived.
"It's such a relief" - Thangboi Singto
To not speak of Singto while speaking about this Hyderabad team - of whom only Joao Victor and Laxmikant Kattimani remain to maintain any semblance of the 2021-22 ISL-winning side - is to do him a great dishonour.
The victory over Chennaiyin is greater than the sum of what Hyderabad could have expected, with Victor and newfound sensation Mark Zothanpuia both missing out due to suspensions.
Playing with a team whose oldest outfield player was Makan Chothe at 24, Singto achieved that which coaches have tried and failed for years.
This feat - of winning with an all-Indian playing squad - has never been achieved in Indian football before, and hardly looks like being surpassed.
After the game, joy seemed to be writ large on his face, but so was the relief at finally having been smiled upon by the footballing Gods, who had tested him and his wards enough.
"It's such a relief. The boys worked so hard for this, that it is hard to explain what it means to us right now. Their hard work has been exemplary, and the way they have believed in themselves, and us coaches - we knew this day was coming," Singto told Sportskeeda.
But Singto is not alone in this endeavour that Hyderabad have embarked upon; Shameel Chembakath is another man who has stood by him, and the club, through thick and thin.
Although the foreign first-team coach Conor Nestor, brought on board by the club ahead of the season left after terminating his contract in December, assistant coach Shameel remained by Singto's side.
The former Kerala footballer, whose career was cut short due to injury, has played second fiddle to Singto's electric guitar this season, and has been vital for developing impeccable temperament among the youngsters.
"This win is for everyone who has been with the club through thick and thin. Yes, we worked hard behind the scenes, but the players listened to everything we had to say and trusted us with everything, be it strategy or tactics or gameplay. It is such a sweet result," Shameel said to Sportskeeda.
The members of the Hyderabad backroom staff are modest enough to discount their contributions, maintaining that the players were the architects of this vital win.
To be sure, the Nawabs will finish last this season no matter what, but this win has reinvigorated their spirit and replenished their flagging confidence.
One can expect them to be a different team altogether when they regroup after the international break comes to an end.
The stars of the night for the Yellow and Black were naturally overjoyed with the result, but as always, humility ruled the roost even as they said that they were delighted with what transpired.
"I cannot tell you how happy I am! This is the result of so much of hard work and effort put in training sessions and matches over the last few months. Finally, we made it!" Player of the Match Alex Saji confided in Sportskeeda.
If Alex was the one who stood tall in defence by hardly letting a ball go past his ambling limbs, it was his partner Mohammad Rafi who sacrificed himself for the team in the dying stages of the game to get sent off for a second yellow card.
"I am very, very happy with the win. It was a true team performance by everyone, and we are all extremely pleased with what we have achieved. Thanks a lot to the travelling fans as well!" Rafi told Sportskeeda.
Makan Chothe, who was critical in building up play for the Nawabs in both halves of the game, and who had set the juggernaut rolling with his stellar headed goal against NorthEast United in their previous game, was over the moon.
"This is such a massive result. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us through the highs and the lows and believed in us. We have finally picked up our first win and clean sheet of the season," Chothe said to Sportskeeda.
Lalchhanhima Sailo, whose cross was picked out by Sajad Parray in the melee to tap in for the sole goal scored in the game, knows that this is but the start for Hyderabad FC as they mean to go on.
"I am happy with the way everyone in the team performed today. I cannot tell you what was going through my mind when that ball was picked up by Sajad. I just thought, 'Well, let us see if the ball goes in,' and it did!" Sailo told Sportskeeda.
The Miracle in Madras
For all the happiness that the 'Miracle in Madras' - as it is wont to be called in footballing circles across the country - bestowed upon Hyderabad, the latter know that their job is far from over.
They still have three more games to play in this campaign after returning from the international break and will hope to finish with at least ten points by the end of the season.
With reports of a new investor almost finalised, brighter days lie ahead for Hyderabad.
The financial duress that they were going through may be eased soon, although it is the fortitude and spirit of the young Nawabs that need to be celebrated for now, and which will hold them in the days to come.
For these young Nawabs have shown that economic strength and foreign firepower need not necessarily translate into victorious performances; the old-fashioned qualities of pluck and bravery still hold true when men come face-to-face with crises.