Kolkata: “In the first half if the score was 4-0 for them, it would have been fair.” Manolo Marquez’s assessment of the 1-3 defeat to Jamshedpur FC, one that ended FC Goa’s unbeaten run of 12 games, said it all.
The defeat meant Khalid Jamil had done the double on the man who also coaches the senior national team and has won the Indian Super League (ISL). It was Jamshedpur FC’s eighth win in 10 home matches in ISL11. “You come to the furnace, you get burnt,” said Eric Paartalu on commentary.
The result took Jamshedpur FC to second place, a position they can reclaim if they win in Bengaluru on Sunday. After finishing second from bottom in the last two seasons, Jamshedpur FC have 34 points from 18 matches. There are six matches, or 25% of the league, to go but barring 2021-22 when Jamshedpur FC won the league shield, this has been their best season.
Clearly, Jamil has not lost his touch. Clearly, what he did with Aizawl FC and NorthEast United was no fluke. “Incredible narrations,” is how Mukul Choudhari, CEO of Jamshedpur FC, described Jamil winning the I-League with Aizawl FC in 2016-17 and being the only Indian coach to make the ISL semi-finals in 2020-21.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” said Jamil, sitting alongside Choudhari and speaking from Jamshedpur in a Zoom call. Which journey was harder, this or the one with NorthEast United? “I can tell you after it is confirmed,” he deadpanned.
The table is tightly packed and Jamshedpur FC and FC Goa are in a close race to take the second semi-final spot after Mohun Bagan Super Giant so Jamil being taciturn is understandable. But there’s more to that.
Not too long ago, Jamil, 47, was about to take up a job in the third tier of Indian club football. Or go to Nepal. “The situation was not good when they (Jamshedpur FC) gave me a chance,” said the first Indian head coach in ISL.
So, accepting Jamshedpur FC’s offer on December 30, 2023 when Scott Cooper left the club 10th in the standings and with two wins from 12 matches became a matter of pride for him. “Bahut fakr ki baat.”
Under Aidy Boothroyd, who had guided Watford to the Premier League, took them to FA Cup semi-finals and taken over England’s under-21 team when Gareth Southgate moved up, and Cooper Jamshedpur had floundered. Now, they looked to Jamil.
It helped that Choudhari and Jamil go back to when they were at Mumbai City in the aughts. When David Booth left, Jamil managed to stave off relegation. With limited resources, Jamil regularly got the now-defunct I-League team to mid-table finishes.
For a team owned by an iron and steel major, it fits that Jamshedpur FC has shown remarkable tensile strength this season. They started well, went through a slump where they shipped 13 goals in three successive defeats, recovered but then lost to bottom-ranked Hyderabad FC – Jamil attributed it to overconfidence – before beating Punjab FC and Goa.
“When you lose three games by such a big margin, clubs tend to sack coaches,” said Jamil. “Here, when I saw a red card (in the 1-5 loss to Chennaiyin FC, their only home defeat this term), I wanted to leave but the management kept faith in me. Mukul Sir knows I take defeats badly so he told me to relax. That helped us bounce back. And we have a good bunch of players.”
It is a squad of cast-offs and young players that Jamil has been able to forge into a fighting unit. Like he did at Aizawl FC. Ask him how and he says: “By giving players freedom, confidence and space. Let them play how they want to play..” It is also important to take feedback from players, especially the seniors, he said.
Albino Gomes and Ashutosh Mehta were part of Aizawl FC but injury to the former and a doping suspension for the latter had derailed their careers. Jamil signed both this term. He has got defender Prateek Chaudhari, 35, to play 16 matches. Xavi Hernandez was deemed over the hill but Jamil has got Jamshedpur FC’s attacks to go through the creative Spaniard.
“You need to check for their hunger,” said Jamil. “See, how much they want to play. That and discipline.”
One on one, Jamil is known to be able to motivate players and this season is proof of how he has stoked the hunger that has got Jamshedpur FC to punch above their weight. They are difficult to break down and direct in attack. To that broad plan, Jamil makes tactical tweaks depending on opponents. By putting an extra player in midfield, he disrupted FC Goa’s passing rhythm. “We didn’t know how to play against them,” said Marquez.
His teammates for club and country will tell you Jamil, a commanding midfielder whose career was blighted by injuries, is a fun guy to be with. Equating that with the man looking grave in black is difficult and though Jamil accepted he has changed, it is not by
much. This, he says, with a laugh.
