Aizwal FC have sold several players to various I-League clubs and ISL Clubs and it will be a massive challenge to repeat the heroics.
The defending Hero I-League Champions Aizawl FC have roped in Paulo Meneses for the upcoming season and unarguably, the Portuguese gaffer has a lot to do to live up to the expectation.
The 39-year old coach has played for a number of lower division Portuguese sides before and this assignment will be his first major coaching assignment, as confirmed by the club official. Before embarking his journey with the Highlanders, the eloquent coach spoke at a length with www.i-league.org about his target, work procedure, nurturing local talents and much more.
EXCERPTS:
What prompted you to take up the responsibility of Aizawl FC?
I liked the idea that Aizawl FC presented to me. And they liked the project I presented to Aizawl FC. So, we can consider 2 parts for my decision:
Project for the club: This is a club that wants to grow up. We want to develop the young players of the team and put them in the India National Team. I want also improve and develop the professional structures of the club, for example, to help the club to develop several departments (Scouting, Academy Methodology, Marketing etc).
Competitions: As Aizawl FC are the reigning I-League Champion, I have the challenge to defend the title with them and pushing the team to compete in the AFC Champions League next season.
Will there be added pressure on you handling the defending champions?
It’s not a pressure for a football coach, I would rather say this is a good pressure. I need and I like this kind of pressure because It is a very good challenge for me. Players will be highly motivated to compete in the I-League.
We are building a strong core team with young Mizo players. You know, the team had undergone a lot of changes recently as quite a few good players left. But we are in a process of rebuilding the team with a good team spirit. We prefer to go step by step, game by game.
Aizawl FC’s away record was not very impressive. How you will you address it?
This team present an attractive brand of Football. Everyone is very happy with our performance. About the match moments, we have improved a lot, individually and collectively. We have the sole goal- fighting for the 3 points every match, wherever we play.
Aizawl FC are synonymous for roping in local talents. Will you walk the same path as well?
One of the ideas of the Aizawl FC board was to sign a Coach for work and develop the young talents. I would like to mention that Mizo players are very intense, with a good attitude. They work very hard in the training and go under the opposition’s skin in the games.
They also have good Technical skills as well along with the positive mindset. I would like to say that we have some players have talent enough for to play in India National Team and we have a few players who can play in Europe. But, they have to work hard and harder to achieve the next level.
What’ll be your message for the Aizawl FC fans?
This team work very well. These players work hard in the training sessions and they will certainly give their best in the matches to get all 3 points.
I have heard that the supporters are very close to the club and they feel proud of these players. I have already felt the power and the passion of the Aizawl FC Supporters.
I would ask the Aizawl FC Supporters to come to the stadium to support us. I believe we will be stronger together and we can achieve our goal this season.
I see Aizawl have a Leicester City 2016-16 kinda season and will try to survive relegation They have been badly poached by clubs squad has completely changed
This is the first Coaching Assignment of this Portuguese Dude. I just hope they don't fire him in between the season and bring back Jahar Das. They have done that before with the Foreign Coach.
I-League 2019-20: Aizawl FC's Stanley Rozario - Only a good start will help us move forward
Aizawl FC head coach Stanley Rozario has stated that the fixture congestion due to the upcoming I-League 2019-20 season and the ongoing Mizoram Premier League (MPL) will be a worrying factor.
The People's Club is set to kick-off their I-League campaign against Mohun Bagan on November 30 but has the local league ties to deal with, other than a potential clash in the MPL final on December 14.
"It's a worrying factor for me. We will be playing around five to six matches in 15 days. The worrying part is playing in two different leagues and travelling between places. The boys should not get injured and fatigued," the 59-year-old told Goal.
"Psychological pressure will also be weighing heavily on the boys because the matches are all result-oriented. It's a big challenge for me and my boys. The only advantage is that we play our big game against Mohun Bagan at home," he added.
After opting not to participate in the Mizoram Football Association (MFA) Super Cup in order to focus on their pre-season, Aizawl took part in the Independence Day Celebration Football Tournament where they lost against FC Venghnuai in the semi-finals via a penalty shoot-out in August.
In the MPL, Aizawl conceded only three goals till the 10th round that included eight clean sheets. However, interestingly, they lost their Round 11 match against Mizoram Police FC 6-5 despite leading 5-1 in the first half.
"Sometimes it happens in football. After leading 5-1 at half-time, it was like a nightmare. I want to say, at this point in time, that this is very good for the players and for me also. Suddenly dropping like this after winning continuously helps you learn a lot from a situation like this," Rozario admitted.
The club has so far managed with only two foreigners, Liberian midfielder Alfred Kemah Jaryan and Ugandan defender Juuko Richard Kassaga, while Nigerian defender Eze Kingsley Obumneme has been the latest addition among the overseas recruits.
"This is totally a developmental team. We have inducted nine boys from our academy and around 15 boys are below the age of 20. The boys have been improving and developing but it (the standard) won't work in the I-League. We need some more foreigners and they need to train and acclimatise to the weather other than understanding our philosophy. I'm also eyeing some of the local talents from the local league to strengthen our side," the Aizawl coach revealed.
Given the young squad at his disposal, the former Shillong Lajong and United Sikkim tactician mentioned that he enjoys working with an enthusiastic bunch of northeastern boys for a reason.
"Northeastern boys have that talent and potential to upset any big club and I'm always happy to work with northeastern teams. I'm looking forward to a positive start (in the I-League) as a winning start will give more motivation and confidence to the boys.
"I don't want to commit anything such as 'we want to finish in the top half' or anything like that but I want a good start. Only a good start will help us move forward. Otherwise, it will be very difficult, because last year the same thing happened before I came in and brought them up from 10th to a seventh-place finish.
"So collecting points in the starting itself will help us from getting in trouble in big matches as every team will also get stronger and better as the league progresses," Rozario reasoned.
Comments
Aizwal FC have sold several players to various I-League clubs and ISL Clubs and it will be a massive challenge to repeat the heroics.
The defending Hero I-League Champions Aizawl FC have roped in Paulo Meneses for the upcoming season and unarguably, the Portuguese gaffer has a lot to do to live up to the expectation.
The 39-year old coach has played for a number of lower division Portuguese sides before and this assignment will be his first major coaching assignment, as confirmed by the club official. Before embarking his journey with the Highlanders, the eloquent coach spoke at a length with www.i-league.org about his target, work procedure, nurturing local talents and much more.
EXCERPTS:
What prompted you to take up the responsibility of Aizawl FC?
I liked the idea that Aizawl FC presented to me. And they liked the project I presented to Aizawl FC. So, we can consider 2 parts for my decision:
Project for the club: This is a club that wants to grow up. We want to develop the young players of the team and put them in the India National Team. I want also improve and develop the professional structures of the club, for example, to help the club to develop several departments (Scouting, Academy Methodology, Marketing etc).
Competitions: As Aizawl FC are the reigning I-League Champion, I have the challenge to defend the title with them and pushing the team to compete in the AFC Champions League next season.
Will there be added pressure on you handling the defending champions?
It’s not a pressure for a football coach, I would rather say this is a good pressure. I need and I like this kind of pressure because It is a very good challenge for me. Players will be highly motivated to compete in the I-League.
We are building a strong core team with young Mizo players. You know, the team had undergone a lot of changes recently as quite a few good players left. But we are in a process of rebuilding the team with a good team spirit. We prefer to go step by step, game by game.
Aizawl FC’s away record was not very impressive. How you will you address it?
This team present an attractive brand of Football. Everyone is very happy with our performance. About the match moments, we have improved a lot, individually and collectively. We have the sole goal- fighting for the 3 points every match, wherever we play.
Aizawl FC are synonymous for roping in local talents. Will you walk the same path as well?
One of the ideas of the Aizawl FC board was to sign a Coach for work and develop the young talents. I would like to mention that Mizo players are very intense, with a good attitude. They work very hard in the training and go under the opposition’s skin in the games.
They also have good Technical skills as well along with the positive mindset. I would like to say that we have some players have talent enough for to play in India National Team and we have a few players who can play in Europe. But, they have to work hard and harder to achieve the next level.
What’ll be your message for the Aizawl FC fans?
This team work very well. These players work hard in the training sessions and they will certainly give their best in the matches to get all 3 points.
I have heard that the supporters are very close to the club and they feel proud of these players. I have already felt the power and the passion of the Aizawl FC Supporters.
I would ask the Aizawl FC Supporters to come to the stadium to support us. I believe we will be stronger together and we can achieve our goal this season.
They have been badly poached by clubs squad has completely changed
The curious case of Aizawl FC's champions from 2016-17 season
The People's Club Head Coach - Standly Rozario Henry has accepted the club's offer and decided to extend his stay at Aizawl FC till 2021!
https://twitter.com/AizawlFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
I-League 2019-20: Aizawl FC's Stanley Rozario - Only a good start will help us move forward
Aizawl FC head coach Stanley Rozario has stated that the fixture congestion due to the upcoming I-League 2019-20 season and the ongoing Mizoram Premier League (MPL) will be a worrying factor.
The People's Club is set to kick-off their I-League campaign against Mohun Bagan on November 30 but has the local league ties to deal with, other than a potential clash in the MPL final on December 14.
"It's a worrying factor for me. We will be playing around five to six matches in 15 days. The worrying part is playing in two different leagues and travelling between places. The boys should not get injured and fatigued," the 59-year-old told Goal.
"Psychological pressure will also be weighing heavily on the boys because the matches are all result-oriented. It's a big challenge for me and my boys. The only advantage is that we play our big game against Mohun Bagan at home," he added.
After opting not to participate in the Mizoram Football Association (MFA) Super Cup in order to focus on their pre-season, Aizawl took part in the Independence Day Celebration Football Tournament where they lost against FC Venghnuai in the semi-finals via a penalty shoot-out in August.
In the MPL, Aizawl conceded only three goals till the 10th round that included eight clean sheets. However, interestingly, they lost their Round 11 match against Mizoram Police FC 6-5 despite leading 5-1 in the first half.
"Sometimes it happens in football. After leading 5-1 at half-time, it was like a nightmare. I want to say, at this point in time, that this is very good for the players and for me also. Suddenly dropping like this after winning continuously helps you learn a lot from a situation like this," Rozario admitted.
The club has so far managed with only two foreigners, Liberian midfielder Alfred Kemah Jaryan and Ugandan defender Juuko Richard Kassaga, while Nigerian defender Eze Kingsley Obumneme has been the latest addition among the overseas recruits.
"This is totally a developmental team. We have inducted nine boys from our academy and around 15 boys are below the age of 20. The boys have been improving and developing but it (the standard) won't work in the I-League. We need some more foreigners and they need to train and acclimatise to the weather other than understanding our philosophy. I'm also eyeing some of the local talents from the local league to strengthen our side," the Aizawl coach revealed.
Given the young squad at his disposal, the former Shillong Lajong and United Sikkim tactician mentioned that he enjoys working with an enthusiastic bunch of northeastern boys for a reason.
"Northeastern boys have that talent and potential to upset any big club and I'm always happy to work with northeastern teams. I'm looking forward to a positive start (in the I-League) as a winning start will give more motivation and confidence to the boys.
"I don't want to commit anything such as 'we want to finish in the top half' or anything like that but I want a good start. Only a good start will help us move forward. Otherwise, it will be very difficult, because last year the same thing happened before I came in and brought them up from 10th to a seventh-place finish.
"So collecting points in the starting itself will help us from getting in trouble in big matches as every team will also get stronger and better as the league progresses," Rozario reasoned.
https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/i-league-2019-20-mpl-aizawl-fc-coach-stanley-rozario/340g1q6qnegeztxnqam087lu
Coach Rozario said he was pretty happy with how Aizawl have performed in the league so far.