I-League: Churchill family’s recruitments vindicated as Goan club edge closer to title

The Churchill Brothers squad celebrate after beating Mohun Bagan on Sunday (Photo Credit: Churchill Brothers Media)

What makes a league title-winning team? A good coach, big-name players, and strength in depth in the squad are some of the necessary ingredients. But what about the board or the chairman of the club? It is equally important for the coach to have the right backing from his employers to sign the right players.

In the I-League this season, one club that has got it absolutely right in the transfer market is Churchill Brothers. This is not a club that is looked after by a board of shareholders or a single owner like Roman Abramovich. Instead, it’s a club that belongs to a football-crazy family.

Churchill Brothers is a family club in Goa that was established back in 1988, and in recent times have been one of the most consistent clubs in Indian football. The Red Machines won the I-League crown in 2008-09, and following Sunday’s 2-0 win over Mohun Bagan in Kalyani, they are now just two points away from lifting their second title this season.

Every member of the squad, technical director Subhash Bhowmick and the rest of the coaching staff deserve credit, but the success wouldn’t have been possible without the right recruitments that were bankrolled by the Churchill family.

Bhowmick certainly used his experience to get veterans like Sandip Nandy and Tomba Singh, but Churchill Brothers also brought in quality foreigners in the summer. Besides retaining Beto and Gabonese international Henri Antchouet, the Goan club roped in Lebanese internationals Bilal Najjarin and Akram Moghrabi.

Bilal was by far the best defender of the first half of the season and Moghrabi netted 10 goals in 18 matches. They were instrumental in the club’s strong first half showing, but just when Churchill were looking like running away with the title, they were shocked to know that Bilal wanted to leave for UAE club Fujairah.

Despite their best efforts, Churchill couldn’t hold onto the central defender and to add to their problems, Moghrabi also declared his intentions to leave in the middle of the season, and thus was released.

The title race looked to have shifted in East Bengal’s favour, as it was always going to be difficult to get quality foreigners in the middle of the season, but Churchill Brothers managed to do just that. Additionally, to send out a further warning to their fellow title rivals, India captain Sunil Chhetri was also signed on loan from Sporting Lisbon ‘B’.

The Churchill family made the right signings in the winter window also (Photo Credit: Churchill Brothers Media)

Afghanistan striker Balal Arezou and Senegalese defender Lamine Tamba were the two foreign recruitments, but it was the capture of Sunil that ensured a positive morale in the Churchill dressing room.

There are hardly any returns in Indian football, so the only reason the Churchill family took this financial gamble was because of their passion for the game and love for their club.

Sunil, who was having a frustrating time in Portugal, soon repaid the faith that the Churchill family had shown in him by scoring in vital clashes against Pune FC and Dempo.

On Sunday against Mohun Bagan in Kalyani, it was the turn of another January signing to shine. Although Antchouet bagged a vital brace, the performance of Tamba against Mohun Bagan skipper and goal machine Odafa Okolie proved to be pivotal.

Being a former Mahindra United, Pune FC and Air India defender, Tamba has the know-how of Indian football and he showed just that in a powerful display against Odafa. The Senegalese center-back marked the Nigerian striker tightly and put in some useful tackles throughout the game.

Goalkeeper Sandip Nandy was adjudged man of the match for some important saves, but Antchouet and Tamba were the big heroes for the Goan club in Kalyani, and the Churchill family must be lauded for finding able replacements in the winter window.

Even Afghan striker Arezou was lively in the Mohun Bagan game, but like East Bengal’s Andrew Barisic, he still needs some time to get used to Indian football. Hence, the signings of Tamba and Sunil in February proved to be a masterstroke from the Churchill family.

With two games remaining, Churchill Brothers now have one hand on the I-League trophy, and like the players and the coaching staff, the owners, in this case a football passionate family, also deserve huge credit as their recruitments both in the summer and winter windows have been vindicated.