COACH CONTROL: Weight of expectations have only increased for Chennaiyin's Materazzi
CHENNAIYIN FC HAVE decided to retain Italian superstar Marco Materazzi as the head coach and manager of the side. Last season he executed the same duties, along with that of a player. It was his first time at managing a side and for someone who was a debutant coach, what he achieved was quite remarkable. Chennaiyin FC finished the regular ISL season as the table toppers, and lost out to Kerala Blasters in the semi-finals in a heavily fought double-leg battle.
As a player, Materazzi has been to the proverbial top of the footballing world. Footballing achievements collected throughout his career include 5 Serie A titles, one UEFA Championship, one FIFA Club World Cup, and four Coppa Italia and Spercoppa titles. He was also part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup winning team, scoring a penalty in the final (after being head-butted by Zidane, which nobody has forgotten). Ironically, in the second leg of the semi-final against Kerala Blasters, he missed a penalty and got red carded, which contributed towards their loss.
But the success of Chennaiyin FC in the inaugural ISL becomes especially significant when you factor in the fact that the Chennai franchise was the last one to be formed. The players assembled weeks after others had already started training, and had a very short window to organize themseves into a unit. Putting together a team at such short notice and then driving them to the top of the table in an intensely scheduled competition like the ISL speaks volumes about Materazzi's mangerial skills. Now that he has taken on the role of managing the team full-time, and with the time he has had to prepare the squad in their pre-season tour, Materazzi will have a clear shot at taking care of unfinished business and achieve what remained beyond reach last time.
Talking about his return for a second stint at managing CFC on the official ISL website, Materazzi said,
"I am very happy to continue with Chennaiyin FC for another season. Despite starting our preparations late last season we still managed to be one of the best performing franchises of the ISL. It was only possible thanks to the support I got from the owners, management, staff, players and the fans of Chennaiyin FC. I am already looking forward to the second season and we are working very hard to build a strong squad. All throughout my playing career I have always aimed to be first so of course the goal for the second season will be to become champions.”
Chennaiyin FC CEO Ashish Shah also expressed happiness to have the Italian back at the helm of the squad,
"We are delighted to have retained Marco as our manager for the second season. Our performances were excellent under his guidance last season and we aim to do even better this time. Marco was inspirational both on and off the pitch, bringing the best out of both the domestic and foreign players. We look forward to a successful second season.”
Whether or not he can replicate the success of the previous season and take it further remains to be seen. But if things do go his way, he has the chance to build a lasting legacy in Indian football as the man who established Chennaiyin FC as a major force in ISL, and helped build a loyal fan culture in a city where football had long been relegated to a neglected corner.
That sounds much better than being remembered as the man who got head-butted by Zidane.
