It was a historic season for Odisha FC as they reached the Indian Super League playoffs for the first time under the tutelage of Josep Gombau. However, the management was not too pleased with the sixth-placed finish. They surely expected more from the team and as a result, they parted ways with Gombau ahead of the Super Cup.
Clifford Miranda, who had joined Odisha FC earlier in the season from FC Goa was promoted as head coach for the time being. Miranda worked his magic and the Juggernauts certainly had a different energy among themselves.
They started the tournament with a 1-1 draw against East Bengal followed by a 3-0 thumping against Aizawl FC. They made a huge statement win over Hyderabad FC and reached the semifinals by topping the group. Miranda and Co. edged past NorthEast United 3-1 to reach their first finals in club history.
It was an intense battle against Bengaluru FC but courtesy of Diego Mauricio’s brace, Odisha FC won the Super Cup and Miranda became the first and only Indian coach to win the tournament.
“I am so happy, I can’t begin to describe the feeling. This is the first trophy for the club, and I hope there will be many more to come. This club deserves this trophy, the amount of work that has gone into building this team, every step of the way, makes this moment all the more special,” Miranda told aiff.com after the cup win.
The young coach paid his gratitude to the players for making things work on the field. He described how it was very much enjoyable experience to coach these players who are flexible with the tactics and even when they had to change ideas on the last day, the players were up for it and they simply reflected that on the field.
“This victory is all down to the players, it would not have been possible without them. The way they responded to the tactics was simply fantastic. They just did everything that we asked of them. Even in the final, where we asked them to change the way they play, with just one day of training, it was just amazing how they responded and came up with the goods,” he added.
Odisha FC will now have a shot at AFC Cup qualification as they will play a one off match against former I-League champions Gokulam Kerala FC. The winner of this match will qualify for the AFC Cup. Miranda believes that it is a massive achievement for the club to have a shot at this. He understands the importance of making it to the Asian level and now they genuinely have a chance to make it happen.
“It’s a brilliant prospect for this club. We have to win one more match and we can play in Asia, which will be brilliant for everyone. It would mean a lot for everyone associated with the club to be able to compete at that level,” he concluded.
There were plenty of protagonists in Odisha FC’s maiden trophy win. The likes of Diego Mauricio, Carlos Delgado, Narender Gahlot, Nandhakumar Sekar, Amrinder Singh and others played their heart out throughout the tournament to script history.
