The Shers will put their best foot forward to reach the playoffs for the first time.
Punjab FC, in their debut Indian Super League (ISL) season, didn’t have the ideal start but after the January break made a promising come back and missed out on the playoff spot by a whisker. The Shers with a revamped squad will look to mark their territory from early in the season as they will kick off the ISL 2024-25 season away to Kerala Blasters FC on Sunday.
Previous Season
Under Greek tactician Staikos Vergetis, Punjab FC finished 8th in the league phase of ISL 2023-24 season and didn’t make it to the playoffs. However, what caught everyone’s eye was how the team with just one win from the first phase of the season turned the table around to secure five more victories in the second phase of the league. Led by the attacking trio of Luka-Jordan-Talal, the Shers displayed an attacking brand of football and showed promises of how a newly promoted club with a limited budget can compete with the bigger teams.
Manager’s Profile
The Shers let go of Staikos and his team after the end of the last season and went on to bring another Greek mastermind in Panagiotis Dilmperis. He is accompanied by his countryman and assistant coach Konstantinos Katsaras and Indian assistant coach Sankarlal Chakraborty. Dilmperis, who has majorly spent his coaching career in the Greek lower divisions and in the USA with Rochester NY FC, prefers to focus more on his attack while keeping the defence compact.
Summer Signings
Having let go of five of their last year’s foreigners and a handful of Indian players, the Shers brought in new cavalry to strengthen their squad. Filip Mrzljak, Mushaga Bakenga, Ivan Novoselec, Ezequiel Vidal and Asmir Suljic have joined Slovenian Luka Majcen to fill the void left by the five outgoing foreigners.
Having four of the six foreigners in their attacking half, Filip Mrzljak will be asked to dictate the play with his experience in the midfield and Ivan Novoselec to lead the defensive line of the Shers. On the other hand, wingers Nihal Sudeesh and Ninthoinganba Meetei were brought in to add more dynamics to the Shers’ attack and Vinit Rai joined the side to bring stability to the team’s midfield.
Likamabam Rakesm Meitei joined on loan from Kerala Blasters FC to provide an option in the left-back position and Muheet Shabir joined Punjab FC from Real Kashmir FC in the I-League and will be Ravi Kumar’s competitor for the goalkeeper’s position.
Youth Talents at the Club
Punjab FC enjoyed a triumphant season at the youth level in the previous season as they won the Reliance Foundation Development League remaining unbeaten and then went on to finish 3rd in the PL Next Gen Cup in the UK, a first for an Indian club. The Shers U-17 side also were on the prowl and won the Dreams Sports Championship defeating East Bengal FC in the final.
Punjab FC already possess a quite young Indian roster with the likes of Tekcham Abhishek Singh, Manglenthang Kipgen, and Ricky Shabong making a name for themselves in the last season. They have promoted two exciting, young and prolific wingers, Muhammad Suhail and Singamayum Shami to the first team as well as have signed Likmabam Rakesh on loan from Kerala.
Pre-season
The Shers featured in the 133rd edition of the Durand Cup with almost a full-strength squad as they were yet to sign their sixth foreigner and Argentine Ezequiel Vidal joined the side midway through the tournament. Punjab FC made it to the quarter final of the tournament for the first time in their history, and presented a tough fight to Mohun Bagan SG in the quarter finals only to get knocked out after losing in the penalty shootout.
However, in the group stage, the Shers defeated CISF Protectors and the reserve team of Mumbai City FC by comfortable 3-0 margins whereas they played out a 1-1 draw against ISL counterpart Kerala Blasters FC. After a not so successful Durand Cup campaign, Punjab FC played a friendly against CISF Protectors at their home turf to prepare for their opening match and won the friendly 5-0.
Tactical Approach
Dilmperis, in his first few competitive matches in the Durand Cup, has shown his idea of intensively using the wings to create attacks. The tactician mostly prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation where one of the two holding midfielders moves up depending on the opponent and the situation of the game. As a part of his Greek background, he prefers being compact in the defence and will very much depend on the quick runs of his wingers on the transitions.
Ravi Kumar will be Dilmperis’ first choice in the goal but it will be a fierce competition between Khaiminthang Lhungdim and Tekcham Abhishek Singh for the right-back position. While Ivan has cemented his place as one of the centre-backs, it will be either Suresh Meitei or Melroy Assisi who will accompany him to lead the defence. A position where Punjab FC may seem to struggle is their left-back slot; Dilmperis didn’t show much confidence in Nitesh during the Durand Cup and Denechandra Meitei is not part of the Shers’ initial ISL squad. Late signing Likmabam Rakesh may be able to make that spot his as we move forward in the competition.
Staikos’ ever-so-dependent Nikhil Prabhu will once again be crucial for the Shers to cover for their attacking midfielders defensively as well as to lead the attacking transitions with his accurate long balls. Accompanying him will be the two foreigners Filip Mrzljak and Ezequiel Vidal. Filip, being the team’s engine will control the tempo for the Shers in possession whereas Vidal is more likely to have the freedom up front to trouble the opposition’s defence.
Dilmperis will also have the liberty to play Vinit Rai or Rickey Shabong in Filip’s place which will free up a foreigner’s for his three. The two new signings, Ninthoinganba Meetei and Nihal Sudeesh will provide the width down the wings for Dilmperis’ side whereas Norwegian Bakenga is likely to start ahead of Slovenian Luka Majcen.
Challenges Ahead
As mentioned above, the one position where Punjab FC is really lacking quality at the moment is their left-back position and the opposition teams will be quick enough to exploit that with quality wingers. At the same time, goalkeeper Ravi Kumar’s performance was questionable on various occasions throughout the last season and it will be a worry for coach Dilmperis.
Punjab FC looks very strong in their attack but at the same time vulnerable in their defence and it will be interesting to see how the Greek mastermind balances his team out.
Early Expectations for the Season
In their opening three fixtures, the Shers will face Kerala Blasters away from home and then return back home to host Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC. The two of the opening three fixtures will be a test for the Shers and will pave their path for the season ahead.
Predicted XI
Ravi (GK); Lhungdim, Suresh, Ivan, Nitesh; Nikhil, Filip; Ninthoi, Vidal, Nihal: Bakenga
Full Squad
Goalkeepers
Ravi Kumar (1), Muheet Shabir (78), Ayush Deshwal (47)
Defenders
Khaiminthang Lhungdim (12), Melroy Assisi (14), Likmabam Rakesh Meitei (On Loan) (26), Tekcham Abhishek Singh (27), Ivan Novoselec (Croatia) (33), Nitesh Darjee (45), Nongmeikapam Suresh Meitei (74)
Midfielders
Nikhil Prabhu (4), Ricky John Shabong (6), Samuel Kynshi Lyndoh (11), Vinit Rai (16), Manglenthang Kipgen (17), Ashis Pradhan (23), Filip Mrzljak (Croatia) (24), Shami Singamayum (25)
Forwards
Asmir Suljic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (7), Mushagalusa Bakenga (Norway) (9), Ezequiel Vidal (Argentina) (10), Mohammed Suhail F. (29), Leon Augustine (31), Ninthoinganba Meetei (44), Nihal Sudeesh (On Loan) (77), Luka Majcen (Slovenia) (99)
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