#TFGinterview - Khalid Jamil is enjoying life at Aizawl FC, wants to shed his reputation as a 'defensive coach'

OVER THE LAST few seasons, Khalid Jamil has earned himself something of a reputation as a coach who plays a lot of defence. 

The fact that most of the "upset" results he pulled off against the big clubs of I-League were low scoring draws backed up this myth that grew around the longtime Mumbai FC head coach, and everyone came to know and fear Jamil's Mumbai FC as the team that would kill the opponents' flow of attack and grind out one point in crucial matches. 

But now that Jamil has left Mumbai FC and taken on the role of head coach at Aizawl FC, he wants to shake off the tag that he sees as an inaccurate, unfair assessment of him as a coach,

"Strategy is not just about the coach. It's also about the players we have, the kind of opponents we are facing, whether we are playing at home or away. I have adapted my coaching style to whatever situation I faced, and I certainly haven't been all about defence."

Sitting on a plastic chair at the Mizoram Journalists' Association building in Aizawl, Mumbai's beloved Khalid bhai seemed to be taking in the setting. He has moved to a new city, getting used to a new club with a very different history and structure than the club he has spent the last decade at. How different were things now, being at a new club? His reply was as nonchalant as ever,

"There's nothing different. I don't have any problem. I'm enjoying my role here as always. There is a change involved, of course, but I'm adjusting to it."

What kind of change? Khalid took a moment, 

"The fanbase is bigger in Aizawl. And I have a new team. So we have to adjust very quickly. That's the only difference. We played our first match on 7th January, and I had joined the club on 28th December. That's hardly a week's time and we're already playing matches."

While the first two matches, with a draw against East Bengal and a win against Minerva Punjab have gotten Aizawl FC off to a pretty decent start, some are yet unconvinced that the typical Aizawl FC way of playing - fast young players with exceptional midfield skills - can mash well with Khalid's way of playing in the long term. The former Indian international addressed these concerns by saying,

"Look, I haven't changed anything at Aizawl FC. We may be playing in a new formation, but the players are mostly the same. I didn't tell them to do anything but play their natural game. We'll go step by step here. When we're playing away matches we have to be defensively strong, this has always been my strategy. Even in Mumbai FC, we did the same thing; attack at home, be on your guard on the road."

2 Mumbai FC players - Ashutosh Mehta and Jayesh Rane - followed Jamil to Aizawl FC. Those were the only signings he made as a coach. How are these players getting themselves acclimatised to the new team? The gaffer replied,

"They are doing a good job. They came 2 days before playing the first match for the club, away from home. Then they came to Aizawl and within 2 days they were playing the first home game. So they had to adapt very quickly. And I think they found it easier because the atmosphere here is very good. The club is good, the fans are good, the weather is good... so I don't think they had any difficulties at all."

The talk now turned to the elephant in the room. On 22nd January, Aizawl FC will visit Mumbai FC. It will be Jamil's first match at Cooperage, as an opponent team coach. The club that he helped survive its toughest time - years in exile, financial constraints - till it re-discovered a home and a vibrant fanbase at Cooperage, will now be sitting on the away team's bench. Given the history Khalid has with Mumbai FC, it will be one of the remarkable events of the season. But The man himself brushed it off,

"At present I'm not thinking about it at all. Because tomorrow's match against Shillong Lajong, is one of the most important matches of the season for my club. I'm here for Aizawl FC, and that's what I'm concerned about. I'll go step by step, focus on tomorrow's game first, and later bother about Mumbai FC. Lajong are a good side, they are under a good coach, and I have seen them in 2 matches, they are playing very good football. So it won't be an easy match. If we are to beat them, we must be at the top of our game."

Khalid has reasons to put the Lajong match ahead. It's the NorthEast Derby, and the town is already buzzing in anticipation. A few supporters have driven in from Shillong and the local fans are also geared up for a what to them is one of the most exciting games of the season. The Maharashtra Derbies Khalid has played so far - against the likes of Air India, Pune FC, Bharat FC and DSK Shivajians - lacked the scale of festivities seen at this game, so he seemed to be enjoying it all,

"Everybody's telling me that we have to beat Shillong Lajong. It's a Derby match so there's a lot of anticipation going into it. But for us, all matches are the same. That's how we'll play."

And the veteran coach was adamant about the clinical, down-to-earth outlook he was bringing to the table,

"Three points are ideal, but one point is good as well. That's how it has always been for me, and that's how I'll look at the matches against Lajong and Mumbai FC as well. Any game we play, it's the same. You must not lose."

From the cosy little merchandise shop that Aizawl FC have set up near the Dinthar Presbyterian Church, the tickets are selling out fast. Tomorrow, as the town's traffic slowly moves down the windy roads towards Salem Veng's Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the Derby fever will reach its peak. And with it, the Khalid Jamil, who has been through it all in Indian football as a player and a coach, will march his new team into a new kind of challenge of high pressure games - involving a high number of vocal and emotional home fans who fill not only the stands but the hills surrounding it as well -  that despite all his professional nonchalance, he has not faced before in his coaching career.

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