SINGAPORE - When Akbar Nawas took over as head coach of Chennai City last year, the Indian football club had only three games to stave off relegation from the I-League.
They beat Churchill Brothers 3-1, lost 7-1 to East Bengal, before securing safety with a 2-1 win over Minerva Punjab in their final match.
A year later, former Tampines Rovers coach Akbar, assisted by ex-Hougang United coach and fellow Singaporean K. Balagumaran, helped Chennai complete a remarkable turnaround after Saturday's (March 9) come-from-behind 3-1 win over Minerva at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Tamil Nadu sealed a first league title for both club and coach.
With 13 wins, four draws and three defeats, they amassed 43 points, one ahead of second-placed East Bengal.
It is believed that the duo are the first Singaporean coaches to win a professional football league title outside of South-east Asia.
And they did it in swashbuckling style, scoring 48 goals in 20 matches, and never relinquishing their place at the top of the 11-team league from the third match week.
The Times of India summarised their triumph as "befitting their dominant campaign, the fulcrum of which was a sustained possession-based football".
Akbar, 43, told The Straits Times: "It is a great satisfaction after accepting the challenge of taking over a relegation-threatened team, and then winning the league within a year.
"Our team perform best when we are chasing the game. Thus, we didn't panic when we were behind (against Minerva on Saturday). I told the team we must end every attack with a chance at goal. I was pretty confident we could bounce back and win like we had done before."
Â
His sidekick Balagumaran, 54, added: "It is so overwhelming, I don't know if we are still in a dream.
"When we got here, the players we had were not from football academies, they were from the streets and so unpolished.
"Many of them are playing in their first professional season and now they have won their first professional league title.
"Personally, it is also the highlight of my career, but I hope there is more to come, and I also hope this opens the door for more Singaporean coaches to venture abroad."
With the league win, Chennai are eligible for the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifiers.
Christian Eriksen's 88th minute goal finally breaks Brighton and Hove Albion's brave resistance to give Tottenham Hotspur a precious 1-0 victory in their quest for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Eriksen's late goal secures precious win for Tottenham
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 12, 2019, with the headline 'United will attack PSG, vows Solskjaer'. Print Edition | Subscribe.
United will attack PSG, vows Solskjaer - theworldnews.net
San Antonio could even keep Rudy Gay around next season, who was the best player for the team in Game 7. Gay scored 21 points and prevented the Spurs from getting blown out in the first half. He
My San Antonio Spurs Are Back..AGAIN! - YouTube
Keep foot on pedal, warns Solskjaer. Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been impressive under the guidance of caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his assistant Michael Carrick
Dimitar Berbatov Warns Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Upcoming
Newcastle fans, who had seen their side narrowly escape defeat in the home match with Championship Blackburn, were given some respite from their top-flight struggles with a replay win against
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer enjoyed a dream start as Manchester United's interim manager as his side thrashed his former club Cardiff City 5-1 in the Premier League on Saturday
Solskjaer makes dream start as Man Utd thrash Cardiff
Portland ties the Western Conference series 1-1 with a 97-90 victory. and the Portland Trail Blazers turned back the Denver Nuggets 97-90 on Yim's bow tie habit led to "Bow Tie
McCollum leads Blazers past cold Nuggets, 97-90
HISTORYMAKER Homes is the premiere DFW home builder offering new DFW and Houston homes for sale in numerous beautiful new communities.
Google Переводчик
Learn Spanish with Fluencia, the easiest way to learn Spanish from the creators of SpanishDict Explore SpanishDict We've combined the most accurate English to Spanish translations, dictionary, verb conjugations, and Spanish to English translators into one very powerful search box.
Contact Us | Axe
Rooney bags first MLS hat trick in DC romp. By. Wayne Rooney scored three goals on Saturday night to lead DC United to a crushing 5-0 victory over Real Salt Lake. Rooney registered his first
Football: Rooney bags first MLS hat trick in DC romp
Football: Fandi Ahmad rues missed chances in U-22s' 1-1 draw
Newcastle United beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 after extra time while Championship side StokeCity threw away a two-goal lead as they suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat by third-tier ShrewsburyTown in FA
FA Cup: Newcastle get extra-time win, Stoke fall to
Hugo Lloris saved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 90th-minute penalty to secure what could prove to be a vital 1-1 draw for Tottenham Hotspur in a scrappy north London derby against Arsenal on Saturday.
0 comments:
Post a Comment