Out of the game
Chirag United Kerala players were in for a shock on Monday morning when they discovered that their Sri Lankan coach Nizam Packeer Ali was asked to leave his office by the team management for his failure in pulling the team out of an imminent relegation from the I-League.
The coach has been a favourite amongst the players since he took over in October 2011; constantly boosting their morale and preaching professionalism to the team that had survived the threat of a shutdown only a couple of months before.
What is so absurd about this situation is that it has come at a time when just seven matches remain in the season and any shuffles will only add to the stress of the players.
“Why remove him now?" asked a player who preferred anonymity for fear of a management backlash. “If the idea was to expel him, the management should have done it when the team was on a losing spree. But, we just won a game, so why now?" The player was referring to the team’s last match against Air India, which they won 3-1 on February 12.
However, striker and stand-in captain Anil Kumar is hopeful the team will move ahead —all they need is to play their hearts out to stay in the I-League.
“Though he is popular, it is the management’s decision and we can’t say anything about it. But I believe the coach did well, if only the players were able to play according to his plans,” said Anil. “There are only a few games left and what is important is for the players to realise that they need to avoid silly mistakes,” he added.
Chirag’s assistant coach Bino George said, “Whatever you do, at the end of the day the coach will be evaluated looking at the results and the team is way back in its performance.”
However, it is disturbing to realise that along with a string of suspensions and injuries, the team has perhaps not been treated with the level of professionalism that was expected.
Australian Michael Matricciani, who hasn’t played for the best part of two months and is set to fly back home soon says, “You can’t expect the team to perform, if you don’t treat your players properly. Most of them sleep on the floor and that is not how you prepare for a win.”
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