#TFGtake: End of an era for Mumbai FC, a fresh start for their first legend

IF THERE'S ONE THING you can say about Khalid Jamil, it is that he has never had it easy.

There are multitudes of football fans in India who have come to dislike Jamil. Most of them are fans of the likes of Bengaluru FC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan who have had some rough run-ins with Mumbai FC over the last few seasons. But some are disgruntled Mumbai FC fans who want to see the club challenge for trophies, and don't think their long-standing head coach is the man to do lead them into it. 

His tenure at the Cooperage-based club, the longest stint as a head coach in the history of the league, has branded Mumbai FC as a club perpetually dwelling in mid-table, trying hard not to get relegated. But throughout that 7 year spell, Jamil has had to deal with stuff that few managers have had to put up with.

Khalid's journey through football itself is full of a number of unusual anecdotes. Although born and brought up in Kuwait, Jamil started his professional career as a footballer in his own country. Coming from a promising academy background, a young Jamil got offers from multiple big clubs, including East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. But he turned them down, reportedly because his faith prohibited him from playing for a club sponsored by alcohol companies. Instead, he chose to sign for Mahindra United, beginning a professional relationship with the city of Mumbai that would last for the entirety of his playing career.

In his 12 years as a top division midfielder, he never once played for a club outside Mumbai. Most of them were spent in Mahindra United, and some at Air India. When Mumbai FC was established in 2007, he joined the club as a player, dedicating his last 2 playing years as a senior figure and a semi-mentor in the club. He played 7 matches for India as well. 

By the time he had hung up his boots, Jamil was already a well-respected man in the club: he was heavily involved with the youth team and his teammates looked up to him. Throughout the Indian football circuit, he had earned a reputation as a man of strict principle, with a high work rate and almost unprecedented level of commitment. He was one who could be trusted for the long term, with hard arduous tasks. And as luck would have it, that's exactly what Mumbai FC were faced with. 

With the historic Cooperage Stadium caught up in a crooked litigation, the club was rendered homeless and had to play their home games in Pune and Kolhapur. Mumbai FC's owners, the Essel Group, understandably refrained from spending big on the team or promoting the club at a time they could not even play in their home city. The idea was to survive the seasons of exile on a tight budget, and few could get that job done like Khalid Jamil.

So he did the best out of the limited resources he was allotted. Built teams out of youngsters and senior players who were considered past their prime by the big clubs. It was nothing too fancy; they did not challenge for the title and the last few seasons saw them fight hard against relegation. Still, Mumbai FC came to command a certain kind of grudging respect from their opponents due to their disruptive style of play that rained on many of the big clubs' parades and got points out of them: mostly draws, but significant ones nonetheless.

As a manager, Jamil's persona was an intriguing one. Very soft-spoken off the field, he was a fiery mouthful on the pitch. His matchday antics include multiple spats with match officials, and the infamous "bandagegate" incident when he pretended to be hit by a bottle thrown from the stands in Bengaluru: arguably the biggest act of trolling committed by an Indian football manager. Mumbai FC's playing style, too, seemed to reflect his irritation-inducing mannerisms: a decidedly defensive approach aimed at throwing the opponents off their attacking game. The anger he provoked among opponent fans gave birth to one of the modern-day rivalries in Indian football between Mumbai FC and Bengaluru FC. To his credit, it took Ashley Westwood's heavyweights more than two and a half years to finally beat Jamil's Mumbai FC. 

But amidst all this, Jamil was silently sweating away for one of the most crucial aspects of his job at Mumbai FC: overseeing the youth teams. He regularly attended their practice sessions and was present at the bench in MDFA league games, and promoted multiple players through the ranks. The likes of Jayesh Rane and Ashutosh Mehta, names that Mumbai FC fans swear by, were introduced into first team football by Jamil and both acknowledge their gaffer's role in helping them mature as players. 

But the relevance of the Khalid Jamil brand of management started coming into questions since last season when Mumbai FC finally returned to Cooperage. Now playing in front of a home crowd and the organically developing a dedicated fan following, the club needed to project an ambitious image of itself to capture the imagination of a city known for its ruthless pursuation of material success. And while Khalid Jamil's coaching held some sort of a cerebral appeal for hardened fans, for new and casual fans it was nothing more than a cynical survivalist way of playing that lacked the vivaciousness of the big clubs or the money-splashing glamour of ISL franchises. So, in order to switch to a more aggressive stance, Mumbai FC have decided to part ways ways with their once-essential foulweather leader. 

The fans should be happy. Because this may mean that the club is finally resolved to put up a fight for the title. Although in order to do that, the management must follow up with an appointment of a strong head coach and a steep increase in squad budget. A good few attacking players also must be signed around November-December. But the Yellow Brigade faithfuls also must be respectful, because one of the biggest reasons their club can come out of their shell and reach for greater heights is none other than Khalid Jamil. Had he not fought tooth and nail to keep them up through those years of homelessness and poverty, they would not even be here. Whether they have liked him as a coach or not, he is the original Mumbai FC legend. And also one of the most influential figures in Mumbai football in recent times. 

It will be interesting to see where Jamil goes from here. He is just 39 and already holds the prestigious record of having the biggest tenure at a top division club. A number of clubs have been eyeing him over the last few years but he has stuck with Mumbai FC, perhaps out of loyalty to the club or to the city that has been his home throughout his professional career as a player and a head coach. But maybe now, as the club he nurtured for so long gets ready for a new phase in its existence, it's time for him too to look for something beyond Mumbai. Free from the obligation to perpetuate a struggle for existence in a volatile football landscape, maybe a fresh start is just what he needs to reinvent himself as a manager and aim for something bigger.