Kolkata: Here’s a stat: In four seasons as head coach in the Indian Women’s League (IWL), the worst performance for Anthony Andrews has been a second-place finish. Here’s another: With an 85% win record, Andrews is the most successful women’s team coach in the top flight in India. Not bad for someone who will be 30 next January and started coaching as a side hustle.
“Age should not be a problem for any coach,” Andrews told HT after his third IWL title, this time with East Bengal. “You get respect for what you do on the pitch. If that is helping the players, you have earned their respect.”
It is evident Andrews has, at East Bengal. A club official told HT that as they overhauled the roster with India internationals (Ashalata Devi, Soumya Guguloth, Anju Tamang, Panthoi Chanu and Sandhiya Ranganathan) and foreign players, some of them said they were signing because he was coach. Explains why East Bengal paid Gokulam Kerala to get Andrews who had a year on his contract there.
Put that to Andrews and he said: “I think we have built that trust. And the players know how I work. And everybody wants to win.”
Win East Bengal did and in some style. They had a 100% record at home and dropped only five points in the eight-team, 14-match competition on way to their first IWL title. It was also some turnaround for the 104-year-old club who had finished sixth among seven teams in 2023-24.
“The competition was good – HOPS who were relegated, beat Gokulam Kerala and the table changed – but we had players who had previously won. They passed on the experience to the new players,” said Andrews.
This title gave Andrews validation. “The pressure was on me to prove a point. The mental toll was so heavy that you start to doubt yourself. That too after having proved yourself,” he said.
Andrews was referring to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointing him head coach and then removing him before he could join because a number of India players wrote to the federation asking for Thomas Dennerby continue till the Olympic qualifiers.
“In two years, I have not spoken about it. But I’ll tell you this: no human being should be made to go through what I did. I had thought of quitting. The federation did what it had to do and I have nothing against anybody but I will tell them this: do not disrespect an Indian coach unless you have seen them work.”
Let’s not talk about this, Andrews says again, lifting his cap and putting it back again as his players enter the banquet hall where we are sat for their pre-training evening snack. “But I felt more pressure to prove myself. I think I have. Missing the IWL title by two points last season and winning it this time.”
Has he asked the players about their letter? “No. Don’t want to either. But they have asked me to join the national team.” For now, his attention is on East Bengal, the Kanyashri Cup they play for the Kolkata league beginning this week, the Asian Women’s Champions League and giving “200% to defend the IWL title.”
Andrews has an AFC A licence, the second highest coaching badge in the continent. What began as a way to augment income because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the right leg when he was 19 is now a profession. “I was paid per session for working with toddlers in Mumbai’s Premier India Football Academy (PIFA). Initially, it was just for the money.
“It helped me have surgery but then I had another ACL injury on the same leg and it was then that I started coaching seriously.” From PIFA, to Minerva Punjab’s youth team to clubs in Gujarat and Karnataka, Andrews was ploughing along when Gokulam Kerala came up with an offer.
Working with the women’s team needed preparation, Andrews said. “I spoke to people, read up all I could and spent five-six months to prepare. The player management aspect becomes more important because their mental and physical abilities can be under stress during the menstrual cycle.”
It takes time to build that trust, to get players to open up about this, said Andrews. “I think I am fortunate to have grown up among sisters.”
The first to start video analysis at East Bengal, Andrews and his staff of eight maintain a Google calendar on the squad’s menstrual cycles. “Our players understand talking about it is for their benefit. It helps us find solutions in deciding on training load for that player and how she can be used on match day if at all.”
