After taking Aizawl FC to an I-League title in 2017, Khalid Jamil is now busy making NorthEast United a force.
When the Indian Super League began in 2014, names like Zico, Marco Materazzi and David James were part of the competition – as coaches. The ISL had its rules in place and foreign coaches with professional licences were the only ones allowed to be at the helm. Seasons have gone by and so have the types of coaches that have been a part of the league since. From names known to everyone in India, to slightly higher-pedigreed coaches (albeit not as popular), the ISL’s idea of who should coach clubs has evolved. And last year, Indian coaches with valid pro licenses were finally given the go-ahead to take charge of clubs.
While the story of ISL was being scripted, one Indian coach was on his own parallel path – one which started with an almost impossible task of keeping Mumbai FC, a team in the I-League, afloat on a shoestring budget. Khalid Jamil has been a part of Mumbai’s football fabric from his Rizvi College days and his first stint in top-flight coaching saw him keep Mumbai in the I-League for six years in a row. As if that wasn’t enough, Jamil went on to script history when he took Aizawl FC from being just a promoted I-League team to I-League champions in 2017.