Indian Football: Derrick Pereira to coach U-23 football team, I-League and ISL Transfers, and much more!

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Welcome to another edition of Indian football roundup. Today we will talk about the possibility of Derrick Pereira becoming the new coach of India U-23 team, and the various I-League and ISL transfers, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s thoughts on India’s performance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

In case you missed out yesterday’s edition of the Indian football news roundup, you can check it out here.

2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers: Derrick Pereira to coach India in the tournament

Derrick Pereira is a legend in Goan football and one of the most promising Indian coaches having wealth of experience in leading clubs like Salgaocar, Pune FC, DSK Shivajians, and Churchill Brothers
Derrick Pereira is a legend in Goan football and one of the most promising Indian coaches having wealth of experience in leading clubs like Salgaocar, Pune FC, DSK Shivajians, and Churchill Brothers

According to the reputed news outlet Times of India, Derrick Pereira is the front-runner to coach the Indian U-23 football team in the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers, beginning from 22 March. India are grouped alongside Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan in Group F and all the matches will held in Uzbekistan.

Derrick Pereira is currently the Technical Director of FC Goa, but his contract grants him leave from the coaching duties of the club. The talks are in final stages and the announcement should be made any time soon.

I-League and ISL Transfers: Chennaiyin FC officially announce CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary’s signing

Chennaiyin FC has officially announced CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary’s signing on loan from ISL side Kerala Blasters. The duo will bolster the club’s 2019 AFC Cup campaign.

The AFC Cup is the only competition from which Chennaiyin FC can solace something. Their chances of successfully defending the ISL crown are all but over as the club is languishing at the bottom of the table with 5 points from 12 matches. CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary, both of whom are Indian internationals, should increase the Marina Machan’s prospects of making it to the next round.

I-League and ISL Transfers: Cavin Lobo on his way to Churchill Brothers on loan from ATK

ATK have loaned attacking midfielder Cavin Lobo to I-League side Churchill Brothers. The 30-year-old could make only one appearance for the ISL side, that too as a substitute.

Churchill Brothers, on the other hand, need an attacking midfielder as most of their attacks are coming from the wings. Cavin Lobo is one of the best midfielders in India and should fill the void.

I-League and ISL Transfers: Gokulam FC bring Lalmuankima on loan from ATK

Gokulam FC have brought Lalmuankima on loan from ISL side. ATK. The 23-year-old forward failed to make a single appearance for the Kolkata club in the ISL.

Gokulam FC is one of the rare clubs which deploys Indian forwards up front. Touted as one of the rising forwards in India, Lalmuankima’s pace and shooting prowess could wreak havoc on the opposition defenders.

2019 AFC Asian Cup: “We were not at our best against Bahrain,” -Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Speaking to the AIFF Media team, Indian national team goalkeeper accepted the fact that they were not in their best against Bahrain in the last group stage encounter of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. This is what he said:

“We were not at our best against Bahrain. I had to make sure that we were in the game till the very last minute. It was difficult physically and mentally as they were coming at us all guns blazing. We fought till the end but fell short.”

I-League and ISL Transfers: East Bengal loan Yami Longvah to second Division club TRAU FC

East Bengal has loaned Yami Longvah to Second Division club TRAU FC for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Previous coach Khalid Jamil showed a lot of faith in the youngster as he handed him a couple of starts. However, once Alejandro Menendez took charge of the club, Yami Longvah has struggled to find playing time.