NorthEast United appoint Floyd Pinto as Indian assistant coach

The 35-year-old joins the Highlanders following a spell with RoundGlass Punjab FC.

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit NorthEast United FC have appointed former Indian Arrows manager Floyd Pinto as their Indian assistant coach, Khel Now can confirm. The 35-year-old has put pen to paper with the Highlanders ahead of the 2022-23 season. He is also expected to team up with the new coaching staff in Guwahati ahead of the Durand Cup next week.

“NorthEast United FC have reached an agreement with Floyd Pinto as the Indian assistant coach,” a source close to developments told Khel Now.

Pinto replaces former Shillong Lajong manager Alison Kharsyntiew as the Indian assistant coach at NorthEast United. He’ll be a part of NEUFC’s new head coach Marco Balbul’s coaching staff alongside experienced English assistant coach Paul Groves.

Prior Experience

Pinto began his coaching career with Kenkre FC’s U-16 team and then progressed to the U-18s in 2009. He was also appointed as the head coach in 2011 before entering the national team dynamics.

In 2015, Pinto entered the dynamics of the youth national teams as an AIFF U-18 manager. And in 2016, he was appointed as the assistant coach of the India U-17 national team.

Pinto was a part of the team when history was being scripted as India made its maiden appearance at a FIFA World Cup (U-17). He also parallelly managed the Indian Arrows under then head coach Luis Matos. 

During his time with the Arrows, Floyd Pinto also worked with the India U-19 squad both as a manager and an assistant manager. In 2018, Pinto was promoted to the role of head coach at Indian Arrows following the departure of Luis Matos.

He managed Indian Arrows and the youth national teams in multiple tournaments. However, he was relieved of his duties as the AIFF wanted him to grow more and gain more experience under their technical team’s supervision.

Following the completion of his training under the AIFF, he joined RoundGlass Punjab FC as an assistant coach to Curtis Fleming. He also worked with Ed Engelkes for 12 games after teaming up with former Bengaluru FC manager Ashley Westwood. 

Pinto has a plethora of experience about young talent in Indian Football. His experience and valuable inputs can go a long way in the development of a youth core at NorthEast United.