“The Durand Cup is Getting Better and Better” – Noel Wilson

The 133^rd IndianOil Durand Cup didn’t go as expected for the young Chennaiyin FC reserve side as they finished third in Group D after going down in both of their opening encounters and winning the final game. But the campaign has been full of exposure for the promising youngsters under their new coach Noel Wilson. The former India international took charge of the Chennaiyin FC reserves side prior to the season and will later join Owen Coyle for the season ahead. 

Noel, who spent his playing career across clubs like MohunBagan, Churchill Brothers FC and Mohammedan SC also featured in the Durand Cup on many occasions. Speaking about the historic tournament’s progress over the years, he said, “I think the tournament is getting better and better with all the teams from ISL being a part of it; especially with the teams playing their first team which in one way gives good experience to the reserve teams of club like ours or Mumbai City FC. The tournament has totally changed from my playing days – be it the format or the infrastructure in place of all the hosting cities, everything is getting better and better.”

The 133^rd edition of the Durand Cup brought two new host cities – Shillong and Jamshedpur. The home of Jamshedpur FC and the Tata Football Academy (TFA), Jamshedpur played host to Group D. 

Wilson, who spent quite a few years of his youth career in the TFA and later worked as a coach with Jamshedpur was really pleased to see the tournament being played in the Steel City. “Once a tournament comes to a new host city, it’s always good for the fans. The fans would get more games of football to go and watch. It’s a good opportunity for the local fans;with more competitive games in the city, the parents will also get involved and they’ll send their kids to TFA and other academies and eventually they’ll get to be a part of Jamshedpur FC. It’s always a positive thing when there are tournaments of such stature organized in cities where there’s already an established club, hence it should be more beneficial for Jamshedpur FC.,” said Wilson. 

He then went on to shed light on the performance of the Chennaiyin FC’s youngsters in the tournament and was hopeful of seeing some of the boys making it big in their career. “I have joined the Chennaiyin FC recently and have been able to train the reserve side for the Durand Cup. The team also comprises of a few of the youngsters from the first team as well as few players who came for trials with us. It has been a good experience for me with a new side. As football is growing and getting better and better, as a coach there’s more to learn from other teams as well as from my own players. For our players, it has been a good experience for them and now they know where they have to improve to reach the next level.”

Noel, who played under various renowned coaches, has been able to implement his learnings in his coaching career. 

Speaking about his coaches’ influence on his coaching career, he said, ”I have been with many coaches and every coach has given me some or the other thing. Starting from my youth career, I had Mr Sampath, who was my coach when I was in SAI and when I came back to TFA, I had Mohammed Habib sir. I then went on to play under T K Chathunni, Gregory Testvin, Subrata Bhattacharjee, and Subhash Bhowmickamong many and after that I met David Booth in Mumbai FC.I think every coach have taught me one thing or the other which has been helpful for me as a coach now. But, I look up to David Booth the most as he’s sort of a player’s coach. He knew how to take care of his players, and now I see the same with Owen Coyle as well. They know how to handle players on the field and off the field as well, which I feel is a very important aspect of a coach. These little details are the things which I try to implement in my coaching style.“

Wilson then went on to speak about the team’s preparation and his expectations for the upcoming ISL season and said, ”I think coach Coyle has had a plan to put together this team, which I believe is much better than last year’s team. The team is very well balanced with good foreigners. I think this season will be a good season for us and we are going to get some good results.”