Not much difference between Indians in I-League and ISL: Gokulam Kerala coach Vincenzo Annese

Hair parted through the middle and with a harsh white light peering from above his left shoulder Vincenzo Alberto Annese appeared on the Zoom call only to disappear almost immediately, like Gokulam Kerala did in the first part of the 2020-21 I-League this term. Dodgy internet, said the 36-year-old Italian peripatetic coach after re-joining from Kozhikode. Like his team’s march to the I-League title on Saturday, the first national league crown for a team from the football-crazy state, this time the connection stayed stable.

Annese peppered the interaction with numbers: Gokulam had 100 shots more than opponents and that they were the only team that had 10 different players getting goals was mentioned twice because, according to him, usually four or five players regularly score for teams in an Indian season. “I love so much, statistics,” he said.

Not holding back is also something the coach, who has worked in 10 countries including Palestine, loves. Be it expressing surprise at head coach Igor Stimac’s comment about I-League’s lack of quality or about the pace of the game in India. The last comment was made in the context of Gokulam Kerala playing the 2023 AFC Cup, the reason why Annese said he is making an exception and staying on in Kerala. (Full Interview From KICKS FOR FREE Podcast)

Excerpts:

It was a bit of a slow start for Gokulam Kerala FC, seven points from the first six games. What changed after that?

Honestly, we were always playing good. We scored more than all teams (even after) we missed some penalties (three) in a small league of 15 games. Indian teams tend to play classic 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 and with this lockdown I understood better the quality of my players to play with 4-3-3. We had changed the style of playing and because we didn’t have pre-seasons, the first five-six games were like pre-season for us. This was my difficulty in the beginning but we managed to do very well and we deserved to win the trophy… Without sounding arrogant, I was confident of my team for the way they played.

For most of the final game against TRAU you were trailing 0-1 before winning 4-1. How strong was your belief then?

Everybody in the dressing room was looking at each other (at half-time) but we were still sure that we would win. We had had 19 shots and that’s something most teams don’t do in 90 minutes. Against (Roundglass) Punjab, we were losing 3-1, we came back to win 4-3 and we had lost (missed) a penalty! My team believed in itself. Because in training we would often try to play 8v11, play in difficult situation so we knew we would be able to do it.

This was a breakthrough season of sorts for Naocha Singh, Vincy Barretto, Mayakkannan and Emil Benny. Were you surprised by how they evolved as players?

Benny had never played in I-League, only street football. Mayakkannan, all the time, was one of the dangerous players. Naocha was amazing in the attacking phase. No one barring (Bryce) Miranda (left winger) of Churchill Brothers has Barretto’s speed. He is one player who has the talent to play in the national team. At least two or three of my players must be there (in the national team).

I heard the (national) coach (Igor Stimac) say that no player from I-League can play in the national team. I was very surprised. I don’t believe that if we play a team from ISL we will lose 3-0 or 4-0. I believe we will create a lot of problems fort them, maybe win. Only the foreigners make the difference in ISL. About Indians in I-League and Indians in ISL, I think there is not much difference. For me, Vincy Barretto, Naocha, Benny have the quality to play in national team. I am really surprised how Naocha is not in the India under-23 team, he is only 22 (21). In I-League, nobody could attack the space and run 90 minutes like him. (And) He makes at least four-five crosses every game. He is solid in defensive phase too. India don’t have a player like Benny who can dribble past a player in a space of one square metre.

Deepak Devrani too made a lot of improvement under you. What were the areas you told him to work on?

He was one of the experienced ones whom I pushed to the young players. I would joke with him that you won with Mohun Bagan (2014-15) but you hardly played. Here in Gokulam you play all the games so don’t say that you have won before too. We had only one experienced player who had won the league.

What do you think Gokulam FC need to do to be competitive in the AFC Cup given that Indian clubs haven’t done to well in that competition in recent past?

First, you need to keep the same team and this is very difficult if not impossible. Already Sebastian (Thangmuangsang) has gone to (ISL team) Odisha (FC). When two, three, four, five players start to leave because they have better salary, it will be very difficult. Also, in Asia, you must work on the physical aspect of the game. Because the rhythm of the game is more fast. In India, because of the behaviour of referees or the players, the game is slow. There are stoppages for small impacts (challenges). When you play in Asia, they never stop. I was in Indonesia and they never stopped so much. In India, you score first goal and in the second half, people start diving, complaining to referees, shouting, “ooh”, “aah” and make theatre to get three points. This doesn’t happen in international games. So you need to change a bit, the mentality. This is not about training sometimes but understanding the way the game will go. And it will be different from that of an I-League game.

What does the future hold for you?

I have never continued for more than one year in a country because all the time, I want to improve my CV (curriculum vitae), do something that I have not done before. This season I would like to stay because I have one motivation: to play in Asia. If I had to play only I-League again, maybe I wouldn’t have stayed. I have already spoken to the president and told him I want to stay. We must be competitive in Asia.

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