The Tamil Nadu football team will start its Santosh Trophy campaign on Tuesday with a familiar quest: equal its best entry in the competition log, if not better it.
That, as a brief look-up shows, has come twice, in 1972 and 2012, the team finishing runner-up on both occasions. But this is looking far ahead with a boost from the past. For the bid, as of now, seems distant. Newcomer Telangana needs to be tackled first; in the first match of the South Zone qualifying round at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.
The team’s training, long-drawn and phased, with the hoard of personnel selectively cut short from 41 to 29 to 20, should stand it in good stead.
“We had a one-hour session in the morning when the players shadow practised their moves from different positions to strike a rhythm. I gave a pep-talk afterwards. The boys are motivated,” coach Robin Charles Raja said on Monday.
The team will benefit immensely from the presence of players with top-level exposure; captain Mohanraj has played for Atletico de Kolkata in the ISL and Mohun Bagan in the I-League; midfielder Pradeep and defender Kali Alaudeen have played for Mumbai FC.
However, it is tricky taking on a team formed anew — one is left with little to gauge its calibre. “From what I gather, it’s a team of young players but some of them are quite experienced. We are taking no team lightly,” Robin said.
Not a pushoverTelangana coach E.S. Shyam is reported to have said that his team, despite being relatively young, will not be a pushover in the group of four. Andaman & Nicobar will take on Kerala in the other match of the group.
The top team from the two groups will qualify for the main draw. For now, that will keep them going.
Tuesday’s matches: Tamil Nadu vs. Telangana; Andaman & Nicobar vs. Kerala.
