Chennai: A new-look Chennaiyin FC squad was unveiled for the upcoming edition of the Indian Super League at a press conference, here, Thursday. From winning the championship twice, the team suffered a disappointing outing last season, finishing at the bottom of the points table and ahead of this year’s edition, the team’s head coach John Gregory has retained twelve players from the start of the previous campaign while vital reinforcements have been made especially among the foreign contingent.
The team management has roped in the experienced Romanian defender Lucian Goian joins the fray after three seasons at Mumbai City FC; along with winger Dragos Firtulescu, Afghan midfielders Masih Saighani, Rafael Crivellaro along with forwards Andre Schembri from Malta and Nerijus Valskis from Lithuania adding further firepower. There are also many young guns in the form of Rahim Ali (19), Hendry Antonay (19), Reamsochung Aimol (19) and Deepak Tangri (20).
Local midfielder Dhanpal Ganesh is back fit after missing majority of the last campaign with a knee injury. He is joined by another top Tamil Nadu talent in right-back Edwin Vanspaul, who joined the club in the summer.
Speaking about the team for this season, coach John Gregory said, “After the poor performance in season-5, we decided to make a fresh approach. Maybe we didn’t work as hard as we had done in season-4. We just freshened up everything. We’ve made necessary changes to our squad for the coming season, and there’s a lot of positivity in the camp. We’ve had a great pre-season in Ahmedabad and Jamshedpur, and the boys have come together really well a proper unit. Now it is important for us to carry this preparation and momentum into the new ISL season,” he said after introducing the players.
“We made a lot of mistakes on and off the field. Maybe we didn’t work as hard as we did during our winning run in season-4. I don’t see it (last sesason’s performance) as a failure, I look at it as a lesson. Now, generally there is a much better feeling around the camp,” he said.
With the coach yet to announce the captain who would lead the side for this season, he said, “I would like to state that all my players have the ability to captain the side but until we announce our team officially for the first match in Goa, this season, it is left in the open,” he said.
Chennaiyin FC forward and India international Jeje Lalpheklua, who is associated with the team right from the inaugual season said, “Our main target is to win the championship this year. Currently, everything is going well and we are together as a family and we need to give our best as soon as possible.”
Dhanapal Ganesh, fresh after injury said, “This year it is a new team and we have worked hard and are confident that we can do well this year. My aim is to play all the matches for the side but it all depends on the team composition and the coach.”
New signing Lucian Goian said, “From my very first contact with the club and the coach here, I have always trusted in the vision to win the ISL championship. It’s a club that knows how to win, and I trust the project and the coach (John Gregory) to guide us in achieving success.”