Tomasz Tchorz: Kerala Blasters have better Indian footballers

The Yellow Army's assistant coach opened up on his journey to Indian football, Mohun Bagan and more.

Due to the ongoing global lockdown enforced by the outbreak of coronavirus, most football players, managers and coaches are enjoying some well-earned rest, while also spending time with family and preparing for the upcoming season. Among them is Tomasz Tchorz, who worked as the assistant of Kibu Vicuna at Mohun Bagan.

In a recent interview with Polish YouTube channel Kanal Sportowy, Tchorz opened up on his experience in India, speaking mainly on his time at Bagan. The Mariners won the 2019-20 I-League with as many as four matches to spare, thanks to the work done by him and Vicuna.

Tomasz Tchorz had stints with Lithuanian outfit FK Riteriai and Polish club Wisla Plock before signing with the Mariners. Speaking on how he received the offer from the Kolkata giants, he said, "It happened during our (his and Vicuna's) work with Wisla Plock, when we were training in Cyprus."

"There we competed against three fairly strong teams, one of which was Henan Jianye FC (a Chinese Super League club). From what coach Kibu told me later, these games were watched by a football agent. He was a Turkish football agent based in Greece and had contacts with other agents, with whom he worked together in other football markets across the world too.”

"According to Kibu, he was impressed by Wisla’s performances and started to follow Kibu’s career going forward. About two days after our sacking, he contacted Kibu and both of them discussed various prospective markets to which he wanted to refer the coach. Some European clubs also asked for us, but Mohun Bagan were the most persuasive and determined side. So, we decided to go ahead and it turned out to be a great experience," he added.

“From what I know, Kuwait was a possible destination, the United States also. From Europe, there was an offer from Croatia. I go where coach Kibu goes. He has the deciding vote. He chose India because Mohun Bagan gave us the most concrete offer. It was a really good offer," the 28-year-old explained.

Tchorz also went on to reveal how massively surprised he and Vicuna were, upon seeing the rousing welcome the duo received once they landed in India. "At first, I thought it was staged, that it was all organized by the club. But, I was wrong. India is a country that likes euphoric situations and a lot of drama and that reflected in our welcome."

"Indian fans treat Mohun Bagan seriously. They say the club is their mother. The passion for the club is passed from one generation to another. Who arrived and from where we were did not matter for them, as long as we reached there to help and take care of their mother. It was a role that came with a lot of responsibility," revealed Tomasz Tchorz.

“I didn’t expect the pressure to be this high," he continued. "The people who own the various teams in India are extremely popular and wealthy. For them, their authority and reputation are most important. They don’t want fans to think bad of them at any cost. So, if something goes wrong there, they act on an impulse.”

"We also had a situation after our first and second league matches which we drew and lost respectively. It was not so bad after all, but a section of the fans was already keen to send us back home. The situation reversed during our winning streak a few weeks later. We became Gods in their eyes," he added.

The pressure, however, did not affect either him or his head coach Vicuna. Tomasz Tchorz himself said, "Although, we did not win the first two matches last season, we knew that we were going in the right way. Like I said earlier, Vicuna and I were hired by the club to create this whole project. We incorporated a certain culture of working, our philosophy of the game and picked the right players for it. Then we trained a lot and played really well as a result."

"During the match that we lost (2-4 against Churchill Brothers), we had a lot of chances, ball possession of nearly 70% and the opponents' goals were a result of our own silly mistakes. Apart from that, we knew that we were going in the right direction football-wise. Slowly, we were able to work things out better and become successful," he explained.

Finally, Tomasz Tchorz also spoke on their appointment at Kerala Blasters, following their I-League success at Mohun Bagan last season. "This (Blasters) is a better team in every aspect. Although, they finished at seventh place in the ISL last season, they have better infrastructure, finances, players with bigger potential... they also have better Indian footballers. This is a promotion for us," he concluded.