The Indian Arrows team will see a new coach at the helm this year. Floyd Pinto took over from Luis Norton de Matos at the start of the Cotif Cup.
Made up of the players who featured at the Under-17 World Cup, the team finished bottom of the league after picking up 15 points in 18 matches. Pinto is confident that his side will be a force to reckon with and that the experience of playing in the professional I-League will be a crucial step for the development of his wards.
How do you reflect on the way the last season went for the Arrows? What are your key takeaways from it?
Last season was a good breakthrough for the Indian Arrows in the sense that we got a chance to play against professional I-League teams. Having played the U-17 World Cup, it was an opportunity for the boys to test themselves against pro footballers in the national league and get crucial minutes under their belts.
I feel the boys really benefited from that first season in the I-League.
How much do you think the players have grown in this time period? What can we expect this season?
The players have grown immensely, I would say. Right through the time before the World Cup and then playing there and in the AFC U-19 qualifiers, and after that the I-League, the exposure has only continued as we toured Spain, Croatia and Serbia. The boys have been through a lot and it was a tough season in the I-League which had matches against some of the most renowned Indian clubs.
This season I expect the team to face no nerves and there will be no fear of playing professional opponents. We can approach this season in a much more confident manner and we hope to showcase what we have learnt from the past season and the exposure trips.
We have added some names, including those from the AFC U-16 squad, keeping in mind the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers in 2019.
We’re going to use the I-League to give these boys good experience and game time, which will only mean better things for us in the AFC U-19 qualifiers.
Barring the Argentina match, the team did not have much success in pre-season when it came to the results against the other teams. However, they did draw plaudits for the way they played. Your thoughts on this?
In the last season of the I-League, we finished bottom of the table but that doesn’t mean it was a disappointing campaign for us. We learnt a lot, the boys got a lot of game time and they matured as individuals as well as footballers.
In pre-season, we could have gone and played club and age-group teams and win as many matches as we wanted. However, that’s not going to help the development of these players and so there’s no point playing such games.
Each and every match we played in pre-season – against the likes of Argentina, Venezuela, Croatia, Serbia and France, and then against two ISL clubs on returning to India – has pushed the boys beyond their limits and that is what we want in every game we play.
This is what we expect to happen in the I-League as well, which will only help enhance the development of the boys and further convince fans and clubs that these players are capable of competing at that level.
Personally, how has it been making the step up to the head coach position at the Arrows?
It’s been very smooth so far! Working with these boys has been a lot of fun and it’s a good challenge I’m looking forward to in the I-League. I feel we are progressing as a team and are looking forward to having a better season than last year.
The U-16 Indian team also recorded a commendable showing at the AFC U-16 Championships in Malaysia. To what extent do their performance rub off against your team?
All youth teams are closely in touch with each other and whether it is us beating Argentina or the U-16 team reaching the quarters in Malaysia, it gives everyone a boost and sense of pride. We’re a big family and we wish each and every player the best.
We are with each other in the high as well as low times. So, we are going to feed off the momentum given by the U-16 players and take it forward into the I-League and also the qualifiers of the AFC U-19 Championships next season.