I-league 2012-13 General Discussion thread

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  • rudrarudra 2958 Points
    Also the best thing is that di ridder is the coach, who can also work on the PR section!!! Di ridder has a cartoon school in Kolkata, so his team can work on it...cost cutting!!!
  • shankarshankar 2600 Points
    may be they have given the name of URO to the USFC trails as it will give their sponsors the reach also...<div><br><div>like it had been with many cases including MUPC which got the sponsors name along with it..</div></div>
  • Ya, just like with Mohun Bagan, no one calls them McDowell Mohun Bagan. They call them Mohun Bagan but I am pissed off.<br><br>
  • rudrarudra 2958 Points
    usaindia wrote:

    <br><div><br></div><div><font style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(221, 232, 240); ">Hailing from a family full of lawyers, Caetano Pinho has forever had to contend with being the odd one out. His decision to go against family tradition and take up football as a profession, however, has never been met with any overwhelming objection. The Pinhos' Goan background may have had something to do with that. And Caetano doesn't mind revealing that unlike him, many in his clan have managed to pursue both vocations simultaneously and successfully.<p>“I did promise my father that I too would be successful at both, but somehow football has taken serious precedence over time,” he says. He doesn't admit it now, but for a brief period in mid-2011 Pinho would have been pardoned for being tempted to reexamine if not regret his career choice. It was around the time his club ONGC had just been relegated from the I-League after their maiden season in the country's premier football competition. The club’s poor showing had not gone down well with the management, who it was believed were even considering the most extreme of repercussions. For a company which supports 16 difference disciplines of sports around the country, they had after all pumped in the maximum amount of money into the football club's coffers.</p><p>Elsewhere, to add to coach Pinho's worries, the curtains had just abruptly come down on JCT, one of the most established football clubs in the country. Just 12 months earlier, the city's own Mahindra United had met with a similar disastrous outcome.</p><p>With the possibility of yet another shutdown looming large, a number of ONGC's regular players, even the senior ones, had decided to jump ship, leaving only seven or eight behind. In this steadfast lot was skipper Jatin Bisht.</p><p>Now in addition to sharing the reins of the ONGC Football Club, Pinho and Bisht have also been bound by a spiritual bond during the four years they have been together. And for the two God-fearing individuals this was a time for living on a prayer.</p><p>“With both of us being employed with ONGC, we would not have been as affected by the club's closure as the many younger players in the team, and it was mainly for the sake of those 20-odd guys that we prayed for the club to stay afloat," recalls Bisht, who as a habit only eats after he's done with his extensive puja.</p><p>And Bisht still gets emotional while describing the relief in the camp when their pleas were finally answered. “I will never forget the day when I and the seven others who were left in the team were practising in Surat and (Vivek) Bhowmick da, the manager who was chiefly instrumental in convincing them, gave us the good news,” says the ONGC captain, who was part of the Indian team for a five-year period in the 2000s.</p><p>That Bisht, Pinho and their boys haven't looked back ever since and come from the brink to regain promotion into the I-League for the 2012-13 season is a triumph of skill, belief and determination combining together into one force. But ONGC's road to redemption had commenced on a sketchy note, with them having to first deal with the inevitable headache of finding players to fill their squad.</p><p>“Amidst the euphoria of the club not shutting down, we suddenly panicked as we were left with only 7-8 players and just five days to go for the I-League <a href="http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/oil-stocks-on-the-rise-again/944195/#"; class="kLink" id="KonaLink0" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit !important; border-top-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-top-color: transparent !important; border-right-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: transparent !important; border-left-color: transparent !important; border-image: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-attachment: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline !important; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; position: static; font-size: inherit !important; "><font color="#0000ff" style="font-size: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; position: static; "><span class="kLink" style="border-top-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; width: auto !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; position: static; ">Division </span><span class="kLink" style="border-top-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; width: auto !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; position: static; ">II</span></font></a> to commence. And we weren't commanding a great budget either,” says Bisht.</p><p>And with most of the quality players already having associated themselves with other clubs, ONGC had to scour the amateur leagues around Delhi for fresh talent. Contracts were dished out and it was only with a day or two left that ONGC finally boasted a full-strength side—with regards to numbers anyway.</p><p>“They were just asked to sign up at the last minute. Thankfully we got a great bunch of boys who were ready to give their all for the success of the team. And the coach was exceptional too despite this being his first season,” the skipper adds.</p><p>Bisht and Pinho do not shy away from insisting that the expectations from this hastily arranged rag-tag bunch was pretty low even in the ONGC camp, and that qualification for the I-League was not even being discussed to start with. But one by one, the young lot began notching up impressive wins against some seasoned opponents and before they knew it coach Pinho was reseting the goals for the season.</p><p>“They were mainly amateurs, but they taught us to believe in them, and that trust is what really made the difference. It was a case of 15-20 men performing way above their skills,” the coach admits.</p><p>“But having to motivate ourselves in Division II after just a single season at the top level was indeed a challenge which we had to overcome," adds Bisht.</p><p>At the end of the 12 games in the 2011-12 I-League Division II season, ONGC had finished with 22 points, the same as United Sikkim who finished top after having beaten the Mumbai outfit in both their encounters. It took a 1-1 draw against Aizwal FC in their last league contest for ONGC to secure promotion.</p><p>“The controversial game against Royal Wahingodh did help us turn around our fortunes, but then we beat them convincingly in the return encounter. Every point we earned was crucial for our promotion,” insists Pinho. Pinho and Bisht haven't wasted a single moment ever since to start looking ahead towards their second shot at making an impression in the country’s foremost <a href="http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/oil-stocks-on-the-rise-again/944195/#"; class="kLink" id="KonaLink1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit !important; border-top-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-top-color: transparent !important; border-right-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: transparent !important; border-left-color: transparent !important; border-image: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-attachment: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline !important; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; position: static; font-size: inherit !important; "><font color="#0000ff" style="font-size: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; position: static; "><span class="kLink" style="border-top-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; width: auto !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; position: static; ">football </span><span class="kLink" style="border-top-width: 0px !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; width: auto !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; position: static; ">league</span></font></a>. And their preparation for their next challenge has begun with a brief rewind to where they went wrong during their previous stint at the big stage, when they finished 13th on the table.</p><p>There were plenty of errors committed according to both coach and captain. “I think we started too slow, and lost a couple of important matches at the top. It was a tough job fighting back from there, and eventually we couldn't catch up with the rest. We picked up well later on beating East Bengal and Mohun Bagan but it was a little too late,” says Pinho.</p><p>Bisht believes his team had faced similar problems two years ago with relation to signing players like they did this time around. “We didn't have the right blend of experience and youth. The schedule is such that Division II finishes a tad too late, by which time most of the players are already settled into their new teams. So we had to make do with whoever comes our way,” says Bisht, who is employed at an officer level with ONGC.</p><p>This time, however, Pinho is confident that the management will be eager to provide the team with more funds, considering their remarkable climb back into the top flight.</p><p>“Around this time last year, they were considering scrapping the club. But I'm sure now they will be willing to do much more for our sake. And that will only enhance our chances of a better show,” he says.</p><p>Compared to the 2010-11 season, Bisht will be among the very few individuals to have previous I-League experience when ONGC take the field this time. Having represented the likes of Salgaocar, Mahindra United, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting, the talented mid-fielder is aware of what is required to achieve success at this level. And he is desperate to help his team finish a respectable fifth or sixth this time around. For that he believes, ONGC will have eradicate a number of their mistakes from two seasons ago.</p><p>“We were playing the same attacking pattern of football both home and away, which resulted in a lot of losses. The ideal scenario is in going all out in home matches, and ensuring that we safeguard our interests on the road. We can be satisfied with a single point away," explains Bisht. He insists that only the presence of a dozen or so experienced players will bring in that maturity.</p><p>“Another area we need to strengthen is our defense. We made amateurish mistakes against Sikkim. And the I-League teams will rout us if we don't fix these issues. A couple of sturdy African defenders is what we are targeting presently,” adds Bisht, while expressing his desire to witness the emergence of more Indian-origin strikers like ONGC's Kailash Patil in the I-League.</p><p>Not getting to play at their home ground in Cooperage was also a let down, says Bisht.</p><p>“It almost felt like we were just playing away games, considering the lack of home support at our 'home' venue in Kolhapur and the overnight travelling before each game," he says. Pinho adds that being a public-sector team means ONGC find it more difficult to create a fan-base around them.</p><p>“The ONGC family is huge with around 36, 000 employees around India. We do get awesome support via emails but we rarely get to see it on the ground,” the coach explains. Despite ONGC's disappointing show last time around, there are some memories from then that Bisht and Pinho remember fondly.</p></font><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(221, 232, 240); "><font style="font-size: 12px; ">“Especially beating my former team East Bengal with a young outfit like ONGC was indeed special,” says Bisht. And having survived the most fascinating of rollercoaster rides over the last two years, both Pinho and Bisht can't wait to fashion some more in the coming months.</font></p></div>
  • rudrarudra 2958 Points
    Looks like ONGC gonna take the club seriously
  • usaindiausaindia 1671 Points
    rudra wrote:
    Looks like ONGC gonna take the club seriously

    <br><div>it will be good if we they can find new talents ,they should just send some scouts to NPL see if anyone has skills to make it to i-league you can get them for cheap</div>
  • rudrarudra 2958 Points
    usaindia wrote:
    rudra wrote:
    Looks like ONGC gonna take the club seriously

    <br><div>it will be good if we they can find new talents ,they should just send some scouts to NPL see if anyone has skills to make it to i-league you can get them for cheap</div>

    <br><br>Looks like they are mainly scouting Goa league clubs<br>
  • usaindiausaindia 1671 Points
    rudra wrote:
    usaindia wrote:
    rudra wrote:
    Looks like ONGC gonna take the club seriously

    <br><div>it will be good if we they can find new talents ,they should just send some scouts to NPL see if anyone has skills to make it to i-league you can get them for cheap</div>

    <br><br>Looks like they are mainly scouting Goa league clubs<br>

    <br><div>i think the problem with NPL is we and Nagaland new papers covering it no one else</div>
  • usaindiausaindia 1671 Points
    we can hope for top 7 finish for arrows with pappas and they should start collecting transfer fees if they sell some players<div><br></div>
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