Top five achievements of Karim Bencherifa in Indian football

1. League and Cup success with Salgaocar

After an unceremonious end to his first spell at Mohun Bagan, Bencherifa took charge of Salgaocar in the latter stages of the 2009-10 campaign. At that time Salgaocar were struggling to avoid relegation but Bencherifa weaved his magic and in the end the Goan club finished in the top half of the table. At the start of the 2010-11 season, no one expected Salgaocar to challenge for the title but Bencherifa compiled a well-balanced team that didn’t have any stars however had a good blend of local and foreign talent. To the surprise of many Salgaocar emerged champions as Bencherifa enhanced his coaching credentials. It was the club’s first league success since 1999 but the silverware didn’t stop there as at the start of the 2011-12 campaign, Bencherifa guided them to the Federation Cup title by beating East Bengal 3-1 in Kolkata. In 18 months, Bencherifa had transformed Salgaocar from relegation battlers to champions of India with the club also qualifying for AFC Cup for the first time.