As Jamshedpur FC’s head coach Khalid Jamil prepares to step into the boots of the chief coach of the Indian national men’s football team, his assistant coach at Jamshedpur, Steven Dias, is confident that this can only mean ‘acche din’ (good days) for Indian football.
Dias, 41, a former India winger, nicknamed the Indian Beckham, for his dead-ball expertise in his heyday, has played under Jamil’s leadership at Mahindra United (in the late 1990s and early 2000s). Both Mumbaikars get along like a house on fire, and have shared numerous fun moments and football successes together. “As a player Khalid was brilliant on the field. He was even named AIFF Player of the Year one season, that’s how good he was. But off the field, he was great fun. Always laughing and joking around, not just with us his teammates, but also with the coaches. But ever since he became coach, there has been a complete transformation in his personality. He’s a lot more serious now, and while he does laugh around with us coaches, when it comes to his players, it’s a different approach,” Dias told mid-day on Friday.
Steven Dias
Top-class track record
Jamil, 48, may be lacking international coaching experience, but his domestic track record has been excellent. Under his tutelage, Jamshedpur FC reached the Indian Super League (ISL) semi-finals and the Super Cup summit clash this season. In the ongoing Durand Cup so far, Jamil’s side have recorded two-out-of-two wins. In 2020-21, he also guided NorthEast United to the ISL play-offs. In the past, Jamil also famously helped a then relatively unknown Aizawl Football Club to the I-League title in 2017.
Dias said Jamil is known to do his homework in detail and can be a hard taskmaster when needed. “Khalid spends a lot of time doing research on his opponents, to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and then plans his strategies accordingly. There is no one-size-fits-all method. There’s an exclusive plan for every opponent. Also, he knows exactly how to utilise his resources [players]. He’s a great motivator and when the team is down, he can be very inspiring in his interactions,” added Dias.
‘He absolutely hates losing’
Finally, Dias said Jamil hates to lose. “He absolutely hates it [defeat], but the good thing about him is that he doesn’t react immediately. He goes into a quiet shell and will review and analyse video footage again and again to see what went wrong and then explain it to the boys the next day with a calm head.”
Interestingly, with Jamil moving to the India job, the top position at Jamshedpur could be vacant and Dias is not against the idea of stepping up. “When I was a player, the dream was to play for India. Then, after I got my coaching Pro License, I’ve always strived to be a chief coach. So, the hard work will continue and if the opportunity arises, it will be a blessing for me. For now though, Khalid has got his biggest blessing and I’m extremely happy for my best bud,” Dias signed off.
