Just two days to go and it’s that time of the year again where the country gets gripped by football fever. The Indian Super League has become the most anticipated sporting event in the country and the third edition is bound to be an entertaining event. There has been a lot of hype and build up to it and the ISL has made a cricket loving country love football too.

The Northeast has always been passionate about football and this is evident in the number of footballers that come out from the region. They play in every league in the country and most of the top players in the country are from the Northeast. Legendary footballer from Manipur, Renedy Singh talks to Jessica from TNT-The Northeast Today about his coaching role with ISL team Pune City FC and what the experience has been like so far. This is the second time around that he will be the assistant coach to the club with his coaching debut being last season.

Last year Renedy retired from playing competitively and made a career change to coaching. He talks about the transition from player to coach and how different and difficult it is, he says he is still learning and it’ll probably take him another couple of years to get a grasp of things completely before he can think of being head coach in any team. He currently works alongside Antonio Lopez Habas who was head of Athletico Kolkata last season but has now taken over the reins of Pune City FC. “ It’s amazing how far Indian football has come thanks to the ISL, before we could never think of coaches like Antonio Habas and Zico coming to India, but now we are getting such a great opportunity to learn from people with such vast experiences and that too in top flight football,” he says.

Times were very different from when he started playing football 19 years ago, now the footballers from the country have such amazing opportunities and it makes him extremely happy to see these youngsters grow into better players. Indian football is definitely improving with the onset of the ISL and he expresses how it is evident in the quality of football in the country. He is especially delighted with how Bengaluru FC are doing in the AFC Cup with them being in the semi-finals, he wishes them the best. He singles out Eugeneson Lyngdoh who he has much to say about and admires the player’s skill and determination.

When asked about the Northeast he says, “Of course, I am biased about the region and I hope in years to come there will be at least two more teams from there, maybe in Shillong and Aizawl. The Northeast people love their football and it would be good not only for the players but for the fans who are so passionate about the game.” Being the only person from the Northeast in a coaching capacity in the ISL, Renedy hopes that more footballers will take up coaching more intently. Although there are a few who have started in the smaller leagues, he would like to see more names on a larger platform.

Talking about his club Pune City FC, Renedy is optimistic that they will do better this season. He laments about how last season they performed so well in the opening half of the season but found it difficult to register a win towards the end. With now being on the coaching side of things, he sees how much pressure there is for a head coach. Morale is key in any game and the head coach has the added responsibility to make sure all the players are in good head space. Although he is hopeful that Pune City will go further this season, he also realizes that they have to take it one game at a time.

–By Jessica Passah

jessica.passah.2@gmail.com