Chennai City FC, the new champion in the first division of the St. Joseph’s-Chennai Football Association league here recently, is on a mission to replicate that success in the senior division.
With a wonderful blend of attack and defence, Chennai City FC scored a whopping 62 goals (11 matches) and conceded just four goals to win all its matches.
Rohit Ramesh, owner of Chennai City FC, says one of the primary objectives of the team now is to “win the [senior div.] league and score an average of 2-3 goals in every match. We want to raise the bar.”
Striker Samuel Jackson from Ghana, was the toast of its campaign, emerging the top-scorer with 23 goals.
“It was a complete team work. But Soosairaj (left winger), Rejin (forward), Beautin (right wing) and Samuel Jackson (striker), who was the prize catch, played a vital role,” says Rohit.
He attributes the success to the meticulous pre-season training the team had. “We finished our sourcing of talent by September last year and by the next month had started training. We had enough time and space to train at Kumararaja Muthiah HSS.”
The other highlight of the team was the composition of the unit wherein the majority of players came from Thoothoor (a costal village in Kanyakumari district).
E. Sugumaran, secretary Chennai Football Association and coach of Chennai City, says he selected youngsters from the village because of their superior fitness and skill. “Moreover, the fact they regularly play football on the beach sand does help in ball skill and control,” he says.
Rohit is of the opinion that the dimensions of the senior division league will change even more in the coming years with the entry of more private clubs — five now (if Madras Sporting Union defeats Income Tax in the first division play-off match for the second place, it will be six). “It will certainly improve the quality of football. More players will opt for private clubs,” feels Rohit.
Will Chennai City FC be able to do an encore in the senior division? Sugumaran admits that it would be difficult, but asserts “we will do our best.”