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Unpredictability is no more unpredictable in the world of I-League. Salgaocar FC won the trophy in its' comeback season,2010-11. Minerva Punjab scripted a winsome tale to tell last season, winning the championship in just its' second season. Upsets are a consistent part of I-League, yet, none expected Chennai City FC to be at the top halfway through the I-League. Chennai City FC were fighting for survival in the last two seasons finishing 8th on both the occasions. What led to such a turnaround? Let's have a look.
#3 The Youth Project
Chennai City FC's uprising has a lot to do with their youth development and scouting of local talents. The team is filled with local talents with few making waves through their constant performances. One being Edwin Vanspaul. The right-back has already provided 5 assists and stands just behind Dawda Ceesay, the captain of Churchill Brothers with six assists. The performance throughout the season especially against Shillong Lajong where he provided three assists and earned a penalty, had scouts' eyes glued onto him. Though formal offers have to be made, ISL clubs, ATK and NorthEast United have already shown interest in the right back.
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The other full-back Ajith Kumar has already earned praises and is considered to be the left-back for the future. Romario Jesuraj, Gaurav Bora, Sri Ram has also chipped in with some brilliant performances. Michael Soosairaj has clearly laid a path for the youngsters to follow. Michael Soosairaj and Sinivasan Pandiyan were the breakout stars from the last season with one plying his trade for Jamshedpur FC and knocking at the doors of the national team and other back to Chennai City FC on loan after an unsuccessful stint for Chennaiyin FC.
The outcome seems to be sudden but the process to reach the zenith was long planned. “We want to give chances to players from Tamil Nadu. There is no point being a local club if all our players are from elsewhere. We have to go step by step, without taking a rash decision. It is a learning process for us and I think we will be competitive for years to come," Chennai City owner, Rohit Ramesh had told the Express back in January 2017.
#2 'Foreigners'
Foreigners have been the mainstay of the I-League teams since its commencement. Okolie Odafa, Ranti Martins, Mahmoud Amnah, Chencho Gyeltshen and many others had a lot of contributions in the title-winning season of their respective teams. Chennai City FC management have done a tremendous job in recruiting foreigners who could execute Akbar Nawas's system. The Spanish goalkeeper Nauzet Santana and Roberto Eslava are the focal points of the system. Both are good with their feet. Santana, apart from being a good goalkeeper, he is a tremendous ball distributor. Eslava is a ball playing defender who starts the attack from the defense. He provides David Luiz-esque defense splitting long balls and is also a huge threat from the corners and free kicks.
The attacking trio is the reason behind Chennai City F.C. scoring the maximum number of goals this season. Pedro Manzi, the captain has chipped in with 11 goals and 1 assist, scoring 3 hat-tricks in the process. He is also the joint top scorer along with Willis Plaza playing two games lesser. Nestor 'the speedstar' Gordillo wrecks havoc in the left wing troubling the defense with his speed and silky dribbling. He has bagged in 6 goals and 4 assists till now. Sandro 'the creator' Rodriguez is the playmaker and in charge of the free kicks and corners. He is the focal point of all the attacks. Jozef Kaplan is used scarcely, mostly to kill away the games.
Akbar Nawas and his support staff
Akbar Nawas has instilled his calming influence on the players. He believes in the Pep Guardiola's possession-based football and makes his team play in the exact manner. Chennai City's play is building attacks from the back with their goalkeeper being a very good ball distributor. The 4-2-3-1 system keeps on fluctuating to 3-4-3 during attacks. With the full-backs coming inside to the midfield region and the defensive midfielder falls back to create a triangle of 3-men defense. This has led to his right-back, Edwin Vanspaul providing 5 assists. The management did extremely well to recruit foreigners who can execute Nawas's system. Even during pressure situations the Lions seem to play from back keeping the ball in possession. The average possession kept by Chennai City in the 12 games is 62% with the highest being against Real Kashmir, 78%, in the losing cause. They are even termed as the 'comeback kings' due to the recent comebacks against Gokulam FC and East Bengal F.C..
Will the Lions do another Leicester City? It's for the time to tell.
