Churchill Bros face Lajong in I-League opener with plenty of hope all around

Panaji: For the first time in many years, there is genuine interest surrounding Churchill Brothers’ campaign in the I-League.

Since last winning the I-League title in 2012-13, Churchill have always maintained that they build teams to win titles. The teams, though, have fallen well short, as evident from the seventh-place finish last season and sixth before that in 2021-2022.

This year though the team looks to be built differently, particularly with the addition of quality foreign players. Churchill lost key foreign players in Martin Chaves and Louis Ogana, but at least on paper, appear to have more than made up for the departures with the signings of Pape Gassama (Senegal), Sebastian Gutierrez (Colombia), Juan Mera (Spain), Kurtis Guthrie (Scotland) and Wayde Lekay (South Africa.

In Dimitris Dimitriou, formerly with TRAU, they have a coach who is known to get the best out of players.

“First of all, all players are equal to me,” the Cypriot coach told TOI when asked about his coaching philosophy. “Secondly, attacking football is the best to gain results. I want to play aggressive football, offensive football, but on the other hand, there has to be stability at the back. We have to stay compact.”

Having defeated Dempo 4-1 in a pre-season friendly, Churchill will hope for a similar performance as they kickstart their campaign against Shillong Lajong FC, away in Meghalaya, on Sunday.

Among the domestic platers, Lamgoulen Hangshing and Nischal Chandan will continue to provide solidity at the back, while the likes of Faisal Ali, Trijoy Dias, Stendly Fernandes, Anil Gaonkar and Lalawmpuia Sailo will provide Dimitriou with plenty of options to decide on his starting 11.
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