Chennai: Instead of bringing all the teams to two or three venues in one state, the All India Football Federation has decided to conduct matches in different zones. Top two teams from each zone will qualify for the final phase of the tournament.
C.M. Ranjith has been named coach of the Tamil Nadu Santosh Trophy team.
The former State Bank of India forward, a veritable fox inside the box in his playing days, will be in charge of the state at the national football championship for the first time in his coaching career.
Ranjith is gearing up for the important assignment in right earnest. “Along with state selectors P.
Thulasi and Robin Charles Raja, I have picked a preliminary squad after trials. I'm planning to conduct a fitness camp in the middle of December. After a break for Christmas, the squad will reassemble in January ,“ the coach said.
The format of the Santosh Trophy is different this year. Instead of bringing all the teams to two or three venues in one state, the All India Football Federation has decided to conduct matches in different zones.
Top two teams from each zone will qualify for the final phase of the tournament to be conducted in Siliguri, West Bengal.
Matches in south zone will be staged at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai from January 26. So the primary target of Ranjith will be to take Tamil Nadu to the final phase. The experienced coach has asked the Tamil Nadu Football Association to appoint Ooty's Rajeev, an AFC 'B' licence holder, as his assistant.
Tamil Nadu's best performance in the Santosh Trophy was reaching the final in 1972 and 2012. The main problem for the state in recent times is finding a dependable goal-scorer. In other words, a player with the goal-scoring prowess of a youthful Ranjith is what Tamil Nadu need urgently .
According to Robin, the response was “overwhelming“ for the trials. “We saw nearly 100 outfield players and 16 goalkeepers. The preliminary squad is good,” he added. Ranjith, a no-nonsense coach, knows his football. The TFA should give the SBI officer all the support and autonomy he needs to steer the state to the elusive title.
