Chennaiyin FC captain Goian effusive in praise of coach Owen Coyle

Despite complete backing from producers Vita Dani and Abhishek Bachchan, the CFC crew, led by Englishman John Gregory, progressed at a snail’s pace in the competition, hovering at the bottom of the standings after six fixtures.

As Gregory offered to resign following a period of persistent pain, Chennaiyin welcomed its new director Owen Coyle, who made his debut in ISL.

The Scotsman had been away from the scene for more than 18 months but all he took was 15 matches to steal the show. Picking up a unit that was in the doldrums, Coyle made sure the twotime champion’s turnaround in the league was a box-office hit.

CFC’s campaign culminated with a silver medal finish, a run that earned plaudits from all corners of the Indian football community.

Captain and centre-back Lucian Goian, who played one of the lead roles for Coyle, emphasised the 53-year-old’s influence on and off the field was massive.

“Coyle had some guts to take over the side [at that point in time]. He talked about becoming champion while we were last [but one] on the table. We had scored just four goals [in our first six games]. He knew when to reach out to us in training,” said Goian during an Instagram session hosted by ISL presenter Anant Tyagi.

“He gave each and every member in the squad a lot of confidence. It didn’t matter if we were young or old. He tried to be as positive as he could. It was not easy for the players, but he encouraged us. The boys felt they had the backing of the coach and that was a boost for all of us,” added Goian.

The Romanian remarked Chennaiyin failed to kick off in the initial phase of ISL 6 due to unfamiliarity within the squad. The club had opted for fresh faces during the 2019 summer transfer window, overhauling almost the entire overseas contingent.

“We had a completely new team with a different set of players. We didn’t know each other well and it took time [to gel]. If you look at clubs like FC Goa and Bengaluru FC that made it to the play-offs, they retained the core. And, it was an advantage for them,” he stated.

“We began badly; we didn’t score at all. That put more pressure on the attackers. We conceded goals too. It killed me because I wasn’t used to shipping in so many,” said Goian, pointing out the away contest against Hyderabad FC was when things started to fall in place. “After that match, we were more serious and built a good relationship around the dressing room. An amazing streak of games followed.”