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Gokulam Kerala FC, one of the heavyweights in the I-League, the second-tier of the Indian professional football structure, are gearing up for the season ahead. They appointed Domingo Oramas as their head coach. The Spaniard took over from compatriot Francesc Bonet earlier this year.
Two-time winners of the I-League, Gokulam Kerala will be hoping to go all the way this year and get promoted into the Indian Super League (ISL). This will be the key motivating factor for the Malabarians this season.
Oramas, known for his highly demanding style of possession-based and offensive football, will bring a lot of expertise to the club. Under his tutelage, the club did extremely well in the season-opening Durand Cup, where they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semifinals after being beaten by East Bengal in the quarterfinals.
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Oramas has a big task ahead of him, and he does not shy away from admitting it in this exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda. The 49-year-old is known for his affability off the field, but on the field, he remains as sharp as a hawk.
The I-League season is slated to begin tentatively in the last week of October, and this gives Oramas just about enough time to work his magic in Kozhikide. Having worked in Spain and Ecuador in the past, Oramas knows how to turn Gokulam's fortunes around.
Here are the excerpts of his interview with us:
Q. First of all, congratulations on being appointed the head coach of Gokulam Kerala. How does it feel to be involved with a club with such a rich heritage and culture?
Oramas: For me, it is an honor. The Gokulam family - from the first moment - accepted me really nicely. I am very happy about that. Mr. Praveen is working really hard to do the best for the club.
I am really excited about being here. I am keen on doing well too. It will be a very good challenge.
Q. What made you come to India, and choose Gokulam Kerala in particular?
Oramas: Gokulam Kerala is a serious club, with a big project. This is what I look for the most whenever I am willing to relocate and try out a new challenge. The club needs to be serious about its prospects and have a decent project in hand. And Gokulam ticks all the boxes here.
In my mind, it was very easy to choose and make this decision. India is a wonderful country with very pleasant people.
Q. This is your first coaching stint in India. What are your expectations from the football here?
Oramas: I want to grow with the club. I think Indian football is growing and our club is as well. We are on the right path to do it. Gokulam Kerala has a lot of things in place which makes me appreciate the club.
We want to introduce the effort culture and we are working a lot to have the best club and team possible.
Q. What were your first impressions when you linked up with the squad? Do you think the squad has enough hunger and desire to push forth?
Oramas: We are very ambitious, and we are very happy with the squad's attitude every day. We have brought experienced foreign players and we have a very good mix of young and experienced players. This is the key for me.
As a manager, I need to have a good mix of experienced and young players. They also have to mingle well in the team, which I see is happening well here.
Q. How is preseason going on? Have you started training with full intensity?
Oramas: Yes, training is going on at a very high intensity. We played the Durand Cup and put up a very good performance. We have also played a few friendly matches against very good teams.
We are planning about every week because we want to be ready and fit for the first I-League match. Preseason is necessary to know players, implement our ideas, get fit...and we are on the right path.
Q. What is your philosophy of management? What style of football can we expect to see from the Malabarians this season?
Oramas: The most important thing for me is to make Gokulam Kerala a compact and disciplined team with a clearly offensive character. We are working towards achieving it. It will be a big challenge for my style of football to be implemented by the lads in the first season itself but we are trying to do our best.
As I said, we are trying to become a highly offensive side. Our character needs to be developed in such a way.
Q. What are your thoughts on the mixture of youth and experience in the squad? How do you intend to strike the right balance?
Oramas: I love to work with young players, and we have a lot of them at the club. Mixing experienced players and young players is necessary; they feed off each other. We are very excited about our squad.
We don’t see age, we see players' performance and we help them improve and understand football better.
Q. How big a challenge do you think it is to manage Gokulam Kerala, which is one of the biggest clubs in the I-League? How will you embrace the pressure?
Oramas: I am used to working with pressure. In elite football, every club has a lot of pressure to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. The team needs pressure to concentrate every moment.
I would say that pressure is necessary for us to perform at our optimal level. It is not a bad thing at all.
Q. The club had a fantastic run in the Durand Cup, only losing by a small margin to East Bengal in the QFs. What impressed you the most about your side in the tournament?
Oramas: In the Durand Cup we did extremely well. I have seen a lot of progression since we finished the tournament. After that, we played against FC Goa and Odisha FC and I think the team is improving and adapting to our football idea.
Durand Cup was really good to know how our players would fare in highly competitive games. It gave us an idea of what to work on and what we were doing well.
Q. Where does Gokulam Kerala stand in comparison to its competitors, especially Sreenidi Deccan and Mohammedan?
Oramas: I don’t know. We are thinking only about ourselves. I suppose that the I-League will not be easy.
At this moment, we are focussing only on our improvement. That is all that matters to me for now - to work on bettering ourselves.
Q. What are your thoughts on the passionate fans of the club? How do you like the city of Kozhikode?
Oramas: We need our supporters and for them, we must put in good performances. Nice football and winning matches will attract people to our stadium. Altogether as a big team, we can achieve our goals.
Gokulam Kerala is a big family and our president is making a big effort to bring the best football to our city. I like Kozhikode a lot. It is a quiet city, with nice people. The people are crazy about football!
Q. Finally, do you think Gokulam Kerala is ready to win the I-League this season and make the jump into the ISL?
Oramas: I think Gokulam Kerala will be ready to win the first match in the I-League. We will have to work on it step-by-step. We will work hard to win every match and look to do so with effort, commitment, and modesty. All big efforts have their reward.
