ISL 2015 team preview: Chennaiyin FC, the men from Marina out to own the arena

What they did last season...

Chennaiyin FC's run in the inaugural ISL season in 2014 exceeded all expectations, considering the team was formed in the last minute, following Sun Group’s withdrawal of their Bangalore-based franchise.

On paper, a lot of the other teams had possessed stronger squads, more popular marquee players, and certainly more experienced managers, but none of them performed as consistently as the Tamil Nadu based team. Atletico de Kolkata went on to win the title, but it was Chennaiyin who ended the League phase on top of the points table.

After tasting a crushing defeat at the hands of Delhi Dynamos in their third match of the campaign, Marco Materazzi’s men went on a seven-match undefeated streak. In fact, they lost only four of the 16 games they played – including the knock-out stage.

While many of the marquee players struggled, Brazilian star Elano set the stage on fire with his goals from the midfield. The former Manchester City player went on to become the top scorer in the league, despite having an injury prone season.

Notwithstanding a slight dip in form towards the end of the League phase, Chennaiyin managed to hold on to their top spot. Moreover, Elano regained his fitness just in time to face Kerala Blasters in the two-legged semi-final.

Chennaiyin went into the game as favourites, but a rejuvenated Kerala side dismantled them with a clinical display. Materazzi watched on from the sidelines with dismay as Sushanth Mathew’s wonder-goal in the 90th minute provided the home side with a 3-0 lead in the first leg.

The men in yellow fought hard in the second leg with Jeje Lalpekhlua scoring Chennaiyin’s third goal in the 90th minute of the game. But the home side failed to cross the final hurdle as Scottish striker Stephen Pearson scored the winner in extra time to put Kerala Blasters through to the final.

Despite that defeat it was a fairly satisfactory season for Materazzi and his men, who will now look to go the full distance in the second edition. This time the former Italian international has had the opportunity to work with his team in the pre-season, and the 42-year-old is confident that Chennaiyin can lift the title.

"We had a good season last year after being the last team to enter the fray and we did not have enough time to practice. This year we had programmed our training sessions well in advance and worked more time to be together in football,” Materazzi told a news conference.

“We are ready to show our performances on the pitch and do everything possible to avoid injuries and win the title. I have full faith in my players to have a successful campaign.”

New signings

Chennaiyin have retained the core of the team from last season. Retaining the likes of Elano, Bernard Mendy and Bruno Pelissari was perhaps more important than signing any new players. From the Indian contingent, Dhanachandra Singh, Harmanjot Khabra, Jayesh Rane, Balwant Singh, Mohammed Ismail and Jeje Lalpekhlua have all extended their stay at the Marina Arena.

Chennaiyin made headlines when they signed Fikru Teferra and Apoula Edel, who won the title last season with Atletico de Kolkata. The Ethiopian striker’s arrival will provide the much-needed depth to their squad upfront. While Stiven Mendoza’s injury caused a lot of headache to Materazzi last season, Fikru' arrival provides him better fallback options than Balwant Singh this time around.

Moreover, Fikru provides a nice contrast to Mendoza tactically. While Mendoza has the pace and guile to run at – and behind – defences, Fikru will provide his team with a physical presence upfront. This means Chennaiyin can now play in more crosses and long balls into the box, when the situation demands.

With a lot of Indian internationals available for auction, Chennaiyin made the impressive signing of Thoi Singh for Rs 86 lakh. The 24-year-old midfielder is highly rated and was one of Bengaluru FC’s key players last season.

Chennaiyin FC had one of the best midfields in the league, and Thoi Singh’s addition will only further strengthen it. The former Mahindra United midfielder will add a defensive edge at the centre of the park. Last season, Materazzi used the likes of Eric Djemba Djemba and Bojan Djordic in the holding midfielder role, but the two have left the club and one would expect Thoi Singh to take up that role.

Materazzi’s eagerness to add more defensive options at the centre of the park was evident as Chennaiyin signed Mehrajuddin Wadoo, who played for FC Pune City last season. Experienced midfielder Godwin Franco has also joined the club and the 30-year-old will provide the Italian manager with a good option on the bench.

Denson Devdas, who was a regular starter last season, has left the club to join FC Goa, but Chennaiyin have added more than enough depth to cope with his absence. The experienced Manuele Blasi could prove to be another shrewd addition considering his experience of playing in some of the top teams in Italy. Blasi is likely to partner Thoi Singh and Wadoo at the centre of the park – this will provide Elano with a lot of freedom in attack.

Player to watch out for

Elano Blumer (34 years old)

After the arrival of Helder Postiga, the Brazilian maestro is no longer the youngest marquee player in the tournament, but he is certainly the one carrying the most expectations. The former Manchester City midfielder mesmerised fans with his playmaking capabilities and potent free kicks last season, and almost single-handedly carried Chennaiyin in the semifinals.

Elano ended the season with eight goals in 11 appearances, winning the inaugural Golden Boot award. The importance of his presence in the side was widely felt when he missed some of the matches due to injury.

He will once again be central to Materazzi’s plans for the upcoming season, both as a player and as a mentor. Chennaiyin do have someone like Bruno Pelissari in the squad who can step-up in case they need a younger blood, but Elano’s fitness might prove to be decisive for what this squad achieves next season.

"It is not easy to be a coach. I have had many coaches in my time. I was seeking opinions and advices from Elano but once he was injured I did not have his assistance on field. These things happen,” the former Italian international said earlier this week.

What the team needs to improve upon

The manager’s biggest concern last season was the leaky defence. Materazzi experimented with a lot of formations, including one with five defenders, yet his team conceded 24 goals in 16 matches – in the league phase only Mumbai had a worse defensive record. Materazzi even brought Alessandro Nesta out of retirement to shore up his team – one certainly can’t blame him for not trying hard enough.

This is one of the reasons why Chennaiyin have added two defensive midfielders in their ranks, along with three new central defenders – Justin Stephen (on loan from I-League club Mumbai FC), Eder and Mailson Alves.

“Last year we scored the most number of goals in the league. This year we will concentrate on defence too and the team will be balanced and all areas taken care of,” Elano told a news conference.

Another possible concern is the fact that they were at times too dependent on Elano for goals. Despite ending the league phase as the highest scoring team, Chennaiyin’s strikers missed a lot of chances. If Elano fails to fire regularly, the team could be in a spot of bother. Materazzi will hope that Fikru and Mendoza will share the goal-scoring burden in the 2015 season.

Possible starting line-up

Prediction: Finalist

Considering that they managed to retain most of their important players, Chennaiyin are expected to be in the race for the title till the end. A full pre-season, fitter players and shrewd new additions are likely to book them a place in the final this time around.