I-League 2018-19 Team Profile: Chennai City FC

Published at :October 23, 2018 at 6:25 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : I-League)

The southerners look determined to put the past to bed this season.

With a completely new-look squad, Chennai City FC are embarking on a new journey this season in the I-League. It’s their third season at the top flight of Indian Football and after making a lot of investment in their squad, Chennai will look to lodge a charge towards a top-half finish at least. After what was a disappointing season last time out, Chennai City have solved much of their problems to put together a vibrant, talented unit ahead of the new season. Despite having the tag of underdogs on most occasions in the I-League, Chennai will look to use that to their advantage and pull off some surprising wins. They have the arsenal to do good this season, but only time will tell how they adapt to the new season with this refurbished unit.

Here we’ll look at how the club is shaping up heading into the season and what can work as their strengths, weaknesses in the I-League this season.

Last Season’s Performance

Chennai City had a disappointing season in the last term

In what was only their second season in the I-League, Chennai City FC barely avoided the bottom spot. It was a really topsy-turvy season for them and despite recording a famous away win against Mohun Bagan, and being relatively strong at home, they were disappointing otherwise. Michael Soosairaj’s brilliance often helped attain crucial points for them, while their sturdy midfield was a savior on many occasions. Chennai City ended the finish with an eighth-place finish, the same as they had finished in the earlier season.

Pre-Season

Chennai City FC had a relatively profitable pre-season campaign in which they went head to head against two of the best Indian Super League sides. They defeated Bengaluru FC 2-1 in their pre-season game and drew with FC Pune City 1-1 in their other one. These results will definitely give them a massive boost of confidence heading into the season and prove how they are not to be taken lightly this time out. They also competed in the CFA (Chennai Football Association) Senior Division and finished fourth in the league.

Coaching Staff

Akbar Nawas will be at the helm of Chennai City FC this season. In what will be his first full season as the manager of the side, Nawas will look to implement his style with a completely new look to the team. It’s quite certain that the Singaporean coach has had a say in how the newly stitched squad has been made up before the I-League. Nawas has a prolific managerial career, as he led Singaporean side Tampine Rovers to a runners-up spot in 2016. He likes to play attacking football, as it was displayed in Chennai City’s last few games in the I-League last season.

Nawas’ assistant at Chennai City is Jordi Vila, who has worked as Barcelona and Manchester City’s technical scout in the past. Vila is the one who spotted talents like Inter’s Mauro Icardi and Sandro Ramirez and has helped Chennai secure some clever Spanish signings. G.R Ingulab is the Team Manager for the season and will be playing a big part in assisting the coach with the management side of things.

Sathish Kumar is Chennai City’s goalkeeping coach this season. The veteran goalkeeper will have a big impact in guiding the club’s goalkeepers, who will have to be their best in earning some crucial points for the club throughout the season.

Transfer Dealings

Ins

Chennai City FC have made a flurry of signings in the off-season. The most prominent ones are their foreign signings, as they have brought in four Spanish players to try and boost their chances this season. Pedro Javier Manzi Cruz has been their star signing, as the striker will be key in their attacking department. Chennai also roped in Sandro Rodriguez Felipe, who has played for UD Las Palmas “B” and is a play-maker.

Eslava Suarez, who can play both at right-back and left-back, has been another proficient signing whose versatility will definitely help them. Nestor Jesus Gordillo is another player who has played for Las Palmas “B” and will add strength to Chennai City’s midfield.

Chennai has also made quite a few domestic signings, including bringing in Regin Michael, Charles Anandraj, and many other talented domestic players. The side has taken a gamble by recruiting many local players, which could be great or cost them dearly in the I-League.

Outs

Many of Chennai City FC’s heroes from last season were roped up by other sides after the season ended. Winger Michael Soosairaj earned a big-time move to Jamshedpur FC, while midfielder Srinivasan Pandiyan also moved to defending ISL champions Chennaiyin FC. Pradeep Mohanraj moved to Delhi Dynamos, while Sebastian Thangmuansang has opted to join NEROCA FC. Dharmaraj Ravanan, Asif Kotayil, have also opted to move on to other sides.

Chennai City FC also opted to let go off all their foreigners from last season. That means that none of Aleksander Rakic, Veniamin Shumeiko, Donghyeon Kim or Jean Michael Joachim will feature for them this season.

Here is the list of players to have departed Chennai City. Vigneshwaran Baskaran (GK), Veniamin Shukmeiko, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Sebastian Thanmuansang, Asif Kottayil, Pradeep Mohanraj, Beautin Antony, Alexander Jesuraj, Pandiyan Sinivasan, Mashoor Thangalakath, Aleksander Rakic, Michael Soosairaj, Donghyeon Kim, Jean Michael Joachim.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Kabir Toufik, Dinesh J, Tenzin Samdup.

Defenders: Tarif Akhand, Eslava Suarez, Ajith Kumar, Sriram B, Shahbaz Alam, Clintu Cleetus, Regin Michael, Prem Kumar.

Midfielders: Edwin Vanspaul, Charles Anandraj, Sandro Rodriguez, Nestor Jesus Gordillo, Karthik.G, Pravitto Raju, Gaurav Bora, S. Rajapandi, Romario Alexander, Mashoor Shareef Thanlkat, N. Vijay, Shine John, Jude Felix Nixon.

Forwards: Pedro Javier Manzi Cruz, Ameerudeen, Ranjeet Singh Pandey, Shem Marton.

Formation & Tactics

Chennai City FC have mostly operated in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation under coach Akbar Nawas. They are tipped to set up with the former and tend to use their impressive Spanish players to keep play moving. Edwin Vanspaul and Charles Anandraj will sit ahead of a flat back four which consists of some experienced candidates. In the attacking front, Nestor Gordillo and Pravitto Raju are expected to take the flanks. Chennai’s Spanish attacking midfielder Sandro Ramirez will pull the strings in the final third while Pedro Javier Manzi leads the line for them.

Chennai City FC probable lineup in I-League 2018-19 season

Under coach Nawas, Chennai has shown the tendency to play a possession-based style of play. This involves moving around the ball in midfield, which is often cramped up by Chennai City, who put in many men to put pressure on their opponents and win the ball. This possession-based style could see them play some soothing, fluid football which will be a big upgrade from what we’ve seen in the past few years.

Sando and Gordillo will be pivotal for them to keep the ball moving and creating goal-scoring opportunities, as Chennai look to frustrate their opponents and pass the ball into the net. Cruz will have big boots to fit, as he’ll have to match up to the standards of Joachim, who had a prolific outing for Chennai last season. The local boys, Romario, Raju and even Gaurav Bora will have much to prove, as they aim to show how there’s more than Soosairaj for Chennai City.

This Spanish style of football attained Nawas quite a lot of success back in Singapore and he’s made the boys train rigorously in pre-season to get accustomed to his style. While maintaining possession-based football in the I-League is a difficult thing to do, we have to wait and watch how the Southern underdogs perform under Nawas in his first full season.

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Strengths

Chennai City’s biggest strength this season will be their solid midfield. They have made some very smart signings in strengthening their core and signed some intelligent midfielders at that. The midfielders will have to perform at a high level if they are to properly put Nawas’ possession-based football into use this season. The likes of Edwin Vanspaul, Pravitto Raju and Charles Anandraj are all hard-working, creative players but the Spanish signings in Sandro Ramirez and Nestor Gordillo will be key for them dominating matches. Chennai also have a prolific goal-scorer in Pedro Javier Manzi, who compliments their style really well.

Weaknesses

Chennai City’s biggest weakness has to be their lack of depth in many areas. While they might be well packed in midfield, they are still lacking in quality defenders and can be in for trouble if their starting defenders pick up injuries. The same goes for the striking department, as Pedro Manzi is their only real hope when it comes to leading the line. This team is also lacking in chemistry and hasn’t operated at a top-level yet. A lack of a proper leader could also haunt them this season.

Fixtures

26.10.2018- Chennai City FC vs Indian Arrows- Nehru Stadium

01.11.2018- Chennai City FC vs Churchill Brothers- Nehru Stadium

04.11.2018- Gokulam Kerala FC vs Chennai City FC- EMS Corporation Stadium

13.11.2018- Quess East Bengal vs Chennai City FC- Salt Lake Stadium

16.11.2018- Aizawl FC vs Chennai City FC- Rajiv Gandhi Stadium

Chennai City FC first five fixtures in I-League 2018-19 season

Players To Watch

Pedro Javier Manzi

A player who has been brought under Vila’s recommendation, Pedro Manzi must have something special in him for the person who saw the talent of Mauro Icardi to have been impressed by him. Manzi played in the lower divisions of Spanish football for the past few years, but his impressive reputation as a striker caught Chennai’s attention. He already scored a brilliant goal against Bengaluru FC in pre-season and looks to have adapted to Chennai’s system well. Manzi will be key to their goal-scoring prowess this season and look to make a big impact in his first season in Indian Football.

Edwin Vanspaul

Vanspaul was one of Chennai City's star players last season

Edwin Vanspaul emerged as a really industrial player for Chennai City FC last season. He showed a lot of energy in his game and played the role of box-to-box player really well. While he didn’t really score or assist many, Vanspaul was always seen running around with purpose trying to win back the ball or create something for his team. He plays with his heart on his sleeve for Chennai City and after deciding to stay with them for another season, Vanspaul will continue his excellent work in the centre of midfield for them.

Sandro Rodriguez

Sandro Rodriguez has quite a lot of experience playing in the Segunda Division in Spain and will look to use that experience to help Chennai this season. Sandro was also a signing made by Vila’s recommendation and is a really creative and versatile midfielder. He can roam ahead pretty well and is solid in the centre of the park. Sandro also has the ability to orchestrate things well for Chennai and also gives them a viable goal-scoring option. He impressed in pre-season for City and will look to make a big impact and be a majestic, creative force for Chennai this season.

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What To Expect

Chennai City has definitely bulked up their squad and brought in some experienced individuals to take them out the slump they’ve been stuck in over the past few years. With Akbar Nawas attaining the kind of unit he wanted in order to have a positive effect on his team, Chennai looks capable of playing some promising football this season. While a title challenge could be far-fetched, they will definitely push for a top-half finish. Who knows, if things go their way, they could even go all the way for the I-League title.