Delhi United FC rope in ex-India U17 World Cup coach Hugo Martins as manager ahead of 2018 I-League 2nd Division season

What's the story?

In a massive shot in the arm to the Delhi United Football Club (DUFC), the coaching staff will now be beefed up with the addition of Hugo Martins, who will be fresh from his coaching stint with the Indian squad which participated in the recently-conducted FIFA U-17 World Cup and will assume the role of head coach ahead of the upcoming edition of the second division I-League.

In case you didn't know

DUFC, which is headed by Chairman Krishn Anand Tripathi and president Dr Sandeep Kumar enjoyed a good run in the 2016/17 edition of the 2nd division I-League when they finished third on the points table, falling only agonisingly short of a promotion to the top division.

The Heart of the Matter

The club, which will participate in the upcoming I-League second division competition will be boosted by the presence of the experienced Martins, who will look for some inspiration from his time at the U-17 World Cup.

Joining Martins at the club will also be 20-year-old assistant coach Francisco Guimaraes who has also played some football during his junior years.

The Portuguese, who will take over the head coach's role from last season's coach Harjinder Singh was thrilled at the prospect of managing the group of youngsters for the upcoming season which was quite visible as he spoke to the media about the task at hand.

"We are truly excited, with tremendous motivation and ambition to help grow Delhi United" he said and added, " We believe we can influence our methodology and leadership a higher quality game and organization to always be closer to victory,” expressing his thoughts ahead of assuming the role of head coach for the upcoming season.

What's Next?

The I-League second division, which will witness no foreign players' participation with the sole aim of nurturing local talent is scheduled to be contested from March-May that will see Delhi United Football Club in action.

Author's take

It is an exciting news for DUFC fans that Hugo Martins is going to be at the helm of things at the club as the players can learn a lot from a coach with this kind of international experience.