New-look Hyderabad FC ready to take on challenges in the ISL this season
Hyderabad FC travel to Kolkata to take on East Bengal in their inaugural encounter of the 10th edition of the Indian Super League. The match takes place on 30 September, Saturday.
The Nawabs were initially slated to play their first game on 22 September against FC Goa. But that game had to be postponed owing to the late selection of a few important players from both sides into the Indian national team. The latter team is participating in the Asian Games being held in Hangzhou, China.
Their opponents, East Bengal, meanwhile, played their first game of the season against Jamshedpur FC on Monday and were held to a goalless draw by the Red Miners.
Hyderabad FC have already played East Bengal in a friendly earlier this year in a preseason game. They earned the bragging rights by beating the Torchbearers 1-0 at the latter's famed home ground in the Calcutta Maidan.
This will give the Nawabs enough knowledge against the foibles of the Torchbearers, and allow them to bring their A-game to the fore. Head coach Thangboi Singto, addressing the media at the Maidan in Gachibowli on Thursday, assured that the team was ready for the challenges lying ahead.
A lot of changes have been made at the club, with transitions ruling the roost. But it needs to be said that the true character of Hyderabad FC, which is to come back strongly even when pushed down to the floor, has been shown.
The entire foreign contingent apart from club captain Joao Victor has left the club, as have the Indian trio of Halicharan Narzary, Akash Mishra, and Rohit Danu. What's more, there are several changes at the top as well.
Former manager Manolo Marquez has been snapped up by FC Goa, and Irishman Conor Nestor has been brought on as first-team coach in his place. Thangboi Singto, as mentioned earlier, is the head coach of the Yellow and Black Brigade.
New signings expected to do well for Hyderabad FC
A lot of new signings have been made by Hyderabad in the recently concluded transfer window. This includes the likes of Vignesh Dakshinamoorthy, Joe Knowles, Jonathan Moya, Makan Chothe, and Petteri Pennanen.
However, the biggest signing of them all is perhaps that of Oswaldo Alanis, who replaces centre-back Odei Onaindia at the club. Alanis, who has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico, is expected to bring a lot of expertise to the club with the wealth of experience that he has.
He is also expected to start alongside India international Chinglensana Singh at the heart of the Nawabs' defence. The club saw a lot of off-field troubles earlier in the year, which resulted in them being assailed with a dual transfer ban by both the AIFF and FIFA.
This meant that they could not quite register their players until some time ago, and had to play the entirety of the Durand Cup with a second-string side. However, the club has cleared the dues they owed to Adil Khan and Nestor Gordillo - the two players who complained - and their financial woes are now a thing of the past.
They have registered all their players and are eagerly looking forward to the start of the new ISL season. The club will also be helped by the fact that their early exit from the Durand Cup allowed them to go on a preseason tour of Kolkata, where they played a host of top-quality sides.
They also played Sreenidi Deccan and NEROCA at home after returning, and the side seemed to gel well in those encounters.
It is, however, going to be a bit challenging for the Nawabs, given that a lot of their players have not played with each other in the past in a competitive environment. They may take some time to know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Management confident of doing well in the ISL
Despite the scepticism of many of the club's supporters and pundits, the top management of the Yellow and Black Brigade remains optimistic about their chances.
Both head coach Singto and first-team coach Nestor have repeatedly mentioned that the good processes put in place at the club will come good, either now or in the future.
The players were undergoing rigorous training sessions at the club's training facility located in Aziz Nagar, about 20 kilometres north-west of Hyderabad.
The supporters of the club remain buoyant of their chances against East Bengal despite the possibility of Chinglensana, Gurmeet Singh, and Abdul Rabeeh missing in action. Their absence is owing to them being called up to the national team for the Asian Games.
However, the Indian team were beaten by Saudi Arabia on September 28 in the round of 16, and if the trio manage to arrive in Kolkata in time, they are likely to play a part.
A long and hard league season beckons the Nawabs, who will want to emulate the success they had in the 2021-22 season. They followed that up with a semi-final finish in the 2022-23 season.
Hyderabad, true to their character, will try to overcome the challenges that have been set for them, and knowing them over the years, it is one that they will most likely succeed at.