Federation Cup 2009: Malabar United | Team Profile
We continue our analysis of the Kerala teams in Federation Cup qualifying stages, this time with Malabar United…..
Team Name: Malabar United
Introduction:
Malabar United is the new kid on the block in Kerala Football. Formed on August, 2007, the club is originally registered in Kochi but has its training base in Kozhikode. Malabar United has many NRIs on its board and prominent businessman Mohammed Mannil as its Chairman.
Past Achievements:
Malabar have already created some ripples in the professional circuit by finishing third in their debut State Club Championships last year and also reached the semifinals of the Cochin Premier League. They also had the distinction of qualifying for the I-League Second Division last year but were unlucky to be placed in the same group as Viva Kerala and Salgaocar, who eventually got promoted. Despite giving a strong performance, they could not go beyond the group stages. But, they will be surely looking forward to become a prominent power in the Kerala football circuit in the coming months.
Form Guide:
As there are only hours before the kick off of the Federation Cup South Zone Qualifying matches, Malabar United is riddled by several woes such as having only a few practice matches, training sessions, and half of the squad is missing from the line up.
However, when we consider the past match with Viva Kerala in the Dronacharya Trophy, the team has shown adept performance with good attacking play. Though United lost the match, they were able to hold the lead for about 60 minutes in the match.
“We have a bright prospect in the coming tourneys and remember we had not received enough time to prepare for the match.” said Najeeb, technical advisor of the club to Football Kerala.
Transfers:
IN: Benjamine Haokip, Mangson Gangte (both ADE, Bangalore), PA Javed (Akbar Travels, Mumbai), Mohammed Shihab (Viva Kerala), Moun Gangte (Golden Threads FC), Vincent S (Titanium XI), Firoz K (Evergreen SC, Manjeri), Javed PA, (Central Excise)
OUT: Faizal Rehman MA (Mumbai FC), Vijesh Kumar (Salgaocar SC), Dipankar Chowdhury (Shan-E-Hind FC, Madhya Pradesh)
The Coach:
Another interesting aspect of the match is that it will serve as a preview match for N M Najeeb who is yet to take the charge of the club officially. The former SBT coach will watch the match as a team’s former coach and the coach of a team he will coach in the near future.
The former Indian international had a considerable amount of success during his stint with SBT as he helped them to qualify for the National Football League twice and won the Kerala State League and the Kerala State Club Championships among other things. He was looking after the SBT junior team after he resigned as the coach of their senior team and eventually got the call from the Calicut-based club.
Weaknesses:
There are about 24 players in the squad and most of them have exams, so could not attend the training sessions. The key players to miss will be striker Asif K, and midfielder Daison Devdas. Also we will be missing some of the key foreign players.
Whatever the result is, the match will be keenly watched and adjudged as the most important match played at the start of the season by both the teams.
Squad List:
Siyas P, Pramod P, Jafar A, Jaseer Karnath, Jithesh CK, Rejulesh A, Sharath Das, John SM, Shamjith V, Jacken Sebastain, Prasoon, Benjamine Haokip, Mangson Gangte, PA Javed, Mohammed Shihab, Moun Gangte, Vincent S, Firoz K, Javed PA, Jackson Victor.
Key Players:
The key players who would show up in the match for Malabar United are Javed, K Firoz, Jithesh CK, Sharath Das, and Jackson Victor.
Compiled by Kevin K for footballkerala.com
