The Durand Cup might have fallen off the perch it once occupied in Indian football. But that didn’t stop its latest winner, the Army Green, from getting a warm welcome at the ASC Centre & College premises, where the team is based, here on Monday.
For the outfit, which has been in existence for about 10 years, the Cup final was its first in a major tournament and with the win — a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory over Neroca FC — it became the first Army team since 2005 to capture the title.
“It was really a good experience for the boys,” said coach Sajith Kumar. “We have been training for this for the past two months.
Five defenders
“We trained assuming that every team we would face would be a better side than us. That’s why we also played with five defenders. That helped us when we faced superior sides.”
This was evident in two of the victories — against Sporting Clube de Goa in the group stage and Aizawl FC in the semifinals, both teams which played in the I-League last season.
In fact, when asked to pick his three most important players, Sajith named two defenders — Herojit Singh and Bobychand Singh, both from Manipur — along with P.V. Linesh, a midfielder.
“We moved from a usual 4-4-2 to 5-4-1,” explained Sajith. “We would defend deep for most of the game and by the end Herojit would step up to become a forward and thereby changing to 4-4-2.
“Yes, one could say that it was defensive, but then we were playing to our strengths and eventually it helped us win.”
Being from the Army, the fitness of his players was one of the biggest factors, said Sajith.
“Team cohesion and synergy within the team was the most important thing,” felt Major General N.S. Rajpurohit, the Dy. Commandant and Chief Instructor, ASC Centre & College. “The players are from different states and coaches too belong to different army units. So all of them coming together was crucial.”
Going forward Sajith hoped that his team would be given the opportunity to play in the BDFA league. As for the Durand Cup itself, he wished that the competition would regain some of its lost glory.
“The big clubs are not playing,” he said. “If clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal play, it will motivate us even more. We can challenge them and try and improve.”
Published - September 19, 2016 09:08 pm IST
