Club aims for a trophy in 2018-19 season
The Indian Super League welcomed a new club to its fold on August 27, 2019. The new club, Hyderabad FC replaced FC Pune City, which was going through operational difficulties.
Hyderabad has a rich football history, with 8 players from the city making to the national team which qualified for the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
One of the most successful coaches of the Indian national team, Syed Rahim was from Hyderabad. He led the Indian team to a gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games, the1962 Asian Games and the fourth position at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
The team is co-owned by Vijay Madduri, an IT entrepreneur and Varun Tripuraneni, who was CEO of Kerala Blasters from 2017 to 2019, and led operations of Chennaiyin FC from 2015 to 2017.
Squad analysis
All eyes will be on the seasoned players of the league such as Marcelinho, Marko Stankovic, Adil Khan and new star signing Bobo to spur Hyderabad FC in their debut season.
In Kamaljit Singh, the team has an able shot-stopper who has good leadership skills. The 23-year old Indian goalkeeper was named the captain of the team. Singh had a breakthrough season after being signed by FC Pune City in 2017.
He is a youth product of the AIFF Academy in Goa. Starting off as central defender, he switched positions to goalkeeper. He was trained by Croatian coach Tomislav Rogic at the King’s Cup’s preparatory camp in New Delhi.
Adil Khan is an experienced player who can play as a defender and a defensive midfielder.
Starting off his career at Sporting Clube de Goa in 2008, the 31-year-old Indian defender made 74 appearances for the club across 5 years from 2008 to 2013. In 2014, he joined ISL club Delhi Dynamos and made 7 appearances for them across the season.
He suffered a major injury in 2014, but recovered and joined ISL club FC Pune City in 2017. Khan made 37 appearances for them across 2017-2019. During the 2018-19 season, he worked with current Hyderabad FC coach Phil Brown.
Khan has been praised for strong tackling skills, being committed in duels and his ability to play across the field, with strong performances at defensive midfielder, defender and right-back positions.
He has made 183 tackles, 53 interceptions and 133 clearances in 42 ISL appearances.
Marcelo Leite Pereira, or Marcelinho started his career at Spanish giant Atletico Madrid’s B team in 2006.
The 32-year-old Brazilian winger joined ISL club Delhi Dynamos as a free agent in 2016. He scored 10 goals in the season, winning the ISL Golden Boot.
After 7 months at Brazilian club Avai FC, he returned to the ISL, signing with FC Pune City. He reached the semi-finals while playing for the team in the 2017-18 season.
Marcelinho has been noted for his ability to utilize the wing spaces to help teams move the ball forward. Though primarily a left-winger, he can play as a right-winger and an attacking midfielder as well. He has scored 24 goals and supplied 16 assists, along with creating 90 goalscoring chances in 46 matches in ISL.
Marko Stankovic began his career at Austrian club DSV Leoben in 2003. He joined Austria Wien on a free transfer in 2010. He scored 23 goals and provided 15 assists in 126 games from 2010 to 2014. He helped the team win the 2012-13 Austrian Football Bundesliga.
In 2018, the 33-year-old Austrian midfielder joined ISL club FC Pune City on a free transfer, and made 15 appearances across the season, working with current Hyderabad FC manager Phil Brown.
Stankovic has been described as an experienced midfielder who is creative and energetic, has good ball control in the midfield and is adept at decision making during the game. He can play as a defensive midfielder as well.
He has created an impressive 41 chances in his 23 matches in the league.
Nestor Gordillo began his career at the youth academy of Tenerife in 2008.
Gordillo joined the B team of Atletico Madrid in 2016 and made 20 appearances for them across the 2016-17 season. In 2017, he was signed by Cornella, where he played 22 games in the 2017-18 season and won the 2017-18 Copa Catalunya.
The 30-year-old Spanish midfielder was signed by I-League club Chennai City FC in 2018. He played a key role in the club’s 2018-19 I-League title win by netting 9 goals and providing 6 assists in 19 games.
In July 2019, the AIFF banned him for 4 months until December 2019 and fined him Rs. 50,000 for negotiating a transfer with ISL club FC Pune City. He was instructed to pay compensation of three months’ salary to Chennai City as well. Gordillo filed an appeal to reduce the ban but was unsuccessful. He will not be available to play for Hyderabad FC for the first 8 matches of the season. The earliest he can make an appearance is the match against ATK on December 21.
He has been recognized for his ball-playing skills, strong vision, ability to deliver defence-splitting passes and propensity to score goals even as a midfielder. He delivered 44 key passes in Chennai City’s title winning season.
Deyvison Rogerio Silva, or Bobo started off his career at Brazilian club Corinthians in 2003.
He joined the Turkish club Besiktas for a transfer fee of 2 million euros in 2006. At Besiktas, the 34-year-old Brazilian striker scored 95 goals across 222 games from 2006 to 2011 and helped the team win the 2008-09 Super Lig. He is the all-time record goalscorer for the club.
Bobo joined the Australian A-League club Sydney FC in 2016. He helped the team win the 2016-17 A-League title. He led the team to the 2017-18 A-League Premiership title with 27 goals in the season, winning the A-League Golden Boot in the process.
Bobo has been described as a goal machine, and has earned praise for his ability to contribute in the build-up play and deliver assists. He is adept at contesting aerial duels and can deliver through balls as well.
Hyderabad FC will face a tough start to the season, with 4 games in a span of 11 days. Their first two games, versus ATK on October 25 and versus Jamshedpur FC on October 29 are away from home and will pose a challenge to the team.
Head coach Phil Brown has stated that his ultimate aim is to make the team competitive and win a trophy this season.
It remains to be seen whether the new team is able to return Hyderabad to the pinnacle of Indian football.
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