New Chennaiyin coach searches for stability

CHENNAI:  A fortnight ago, Chennaiyin announced the appointment of Montenegrin Bozodar Bandovic as their new coach for the 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL) season. Unlike previous managers such as Marco Materazzi and Owen Coyle, Bandovic isn’t a familiar name in these parts given that he was a manager in the Thai league for much of the last decade. He had a lot of success in Thailand alright but is now confronted with the arduous task of reviving Chennaiyin’s fortunes after the two-time ISL champions finished a lowly eighth under Hungarian coach Csabo Laszlo last season.

It is completely uncharted territory for Bandovic, of course, considering that he had no idea about Chennaiyin before coming into contact with the club officials. However, the 51-year-old is now catching up on Chennaiyin’s past matches and hoping to adapt to the demands that his new job will throw up.
“I had never followed Chennaiyin FC before I took up the job. After the first communication with the club, I started to look at many games and I have now seen most of the games they played last season,” said Bandovic in an email interview with this daily.

Having seen the club’s travails last season when their ineffectiveness in front of goal was particularly glaring, Bandovic is aware that he will have to bring in a lot of changes in quick time. “There are many challenges for me to improve the team. Last season was very bad for the club. It’s very important for me to bring stability. The club needs to be stable and at the top of the league every year. Even if they don’t win the league, they need to be at the top. Two titles in the past are good, but we will have to think about how we can make the team win titles again,” he assessed.    

While Bandovic has vast experience in the Thai league, it was with Greek giants Olympiacos that he learned the ropes of management at the highest level. He had a couple of stints as assistant coach and caretaker coach at the Greek club, which included donning the role of No 2 to former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde. Bandovic has fond memories of his years in Greece.

“I learned a lot from Valverde about planning, training, preparing for a game and communication with the players. At Olympiacos, we had very big players who cost a lot of money. It was good to learn how he dealt with players inside the locker room. He’s a great coach,” Bandovic added.