Pune in the Indian football map

Pune in the Indian football map - An interview with Bernard McNally, chief coach, Pune Football Club
- By Subhajyoti Banerjee

The year 2008 must have been a good start for the football scene in Pune. Firstly, the announcement of Pune Football Club (PuneFC), secondly, the team participating in the 2nd division I-League, and finally, Pune being one of the venue for the second division I-League.

It’s not that this sport is very unpopular in Pune. Soccer is played round the year in Pune, there are quite a number of tournaments, Pune District Football Association (PDFA) conducts division league, and also have few academies. So what is it that's going wrong and preventing Pune to prosper in the Indian football scene?

The emergence of PuneFC is what the doctor ordered. Promoted by the Ashok Piramal Group, PuneFC has massive plans for the improvement of football in Pune. www.IndianFootball.com (Subhajyoti) visited their practice session at the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) ground, Khadki and talked with the coach, Irishman Bernard McNally and his assistant Vivek Nagul.

Subhajyoti: Hello coach, thanks for giving time to Subhajyoti. It gives me immense joy to talk to someone who has played with great Pat Jennings in the FIFA World Cup.
Bernard McNally (BM): Yeah, he is a legend!

Subhajyoti: As you start working on a project, you must have some short term and long term goals. What is the short term goal for PuneFC?
BM: Well to be honest, my primary focus is to qualify for the first division of the ONGC I-League.


Subhajyoti: And what about the long term goal?
BM: It's too premature to ask someone who is just few weeks old in PuneFC. I would like Vivek and team management to answer this question. But what I heard from them is that nurturing football talents from Pune and building a football stadium are the two areas that PuneFC is focused.

Subhajyoti: Tell us something about your football life?
BM: I have played for Shrewsbury Town for almost a decade, then moved to West Bromwich and played professional football till 95. Later, joined Hednesford Town and Telford United.

Subhajyoti: How is the team responding to your coaching?
BM: The team is shaping up and responding well. We had a very fruitful tour to Bangalore, played with teams like Hindustan Aeronautics Football Club (HASC), Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), and Army XI. Team played excellent football against Army XI. Hopefully, team should perform similarly in the upcoming tourneys.

Second division I-League fixture is out; coach is informed that PuneFC is placed with HASC, ONGC, State Bank of Travancore (SBT), Vasco, and Chirag United.

BM: To be frank, I am not aware of the composition of our opponents. I have to depend on my assistant coach and support staff for the inputs.

Subhajyoti: You have three teams (HASC, SBT, and Vasco) in your group who have experience of playing in the first division.

BM: So, we are placed in a tough group, huh!

Subhajyoti: You team is staying together, how much stress do you give this aspect in the game of football?
BM: Staying together actually works; it is a team building exercise, raises team spirit and bonding. However, all my players are still single, so I am lucky that way! But in 3-4 years time, lads will be married and they will have their families. At that point of time you can’t actually force them to stay together (grins).

Subhajyoti: How is the team shaping up?
BM: The team is very spirited! The lads have gelled together excellently and performing like a cohesive unit. The team is a mixed lot, we have few locals, a few from far north-east, and you can say a mini India. We have two talented players from Nigeria. Local lads look up to them for certain skills and they are also well-built.

I see the Indians are not naturally well-built, physical ability is an important aspect in modern football. However, I have seen few teams from Goa with well-built footballers.

I like to play very attacking football; it’s all about entertaining the crowd!

Saying that I am well aware of the plus and minuses of the team. I don’t want to promise something that I am not aware.

Subhajyoti: You have joined PuneFC for a short stint, provided PuneFC performs well in the second division I-League, do you look forward for a longer association with PuneFC?
BM: Very simple, I need to produce results! A good performance and I will stick with PuneFC.

Subhajyoti: Any comments on the facilities provided to the team?
BM: We have a long way to go as far as facility is concerned. But again, we have to get along with it. The ground is quite hard.
Need to see what develops, watch your space, and hopefully it should work that way we want it.

Subhajyoti: Have you interacted with any other club coaches in India?
BM: Yes, I did meet Karim Bencherifa, coach of Curchill Brothers. His team has consistently done well in the I-League.

Subhajyoti: One final question, Cyd Gray’s injury has forced him out of action, will you miss him?
BM: Cyd’s injury is very unfortunate and has upset my scheme of things. However, injuries are very natural in football. You can’t actually dwell on that, he will be missed, but we have to move on.

Subhajyoti: Thanks coach, it was nice talking to you, and all the very best for the I-League assignment!
MB: Thanks!

At this point of time, assistant coach Vivek Nagul comes in. Vivek hails from Pune and has been a top football player during his days. He is associated with PuneFC since inception. He is the best person to answer the long term plans for PuneFC.


Subhajyoti: Hi Vivek!
VN: Hello!

Subhajyoti: Okay, the obvious question, what are the long term plans for PuneFC?
VN: To nurture footballers from Pune. It is very pleasing to know that the Ashok Piramal Group, has chosen Pune as a base. As the group is based out of Mumbai, Mumbai could have been the obvious choice. But the opportunity is bestowed to Pune, now, it is my duty to respond to the confidence shown by the management.

We would like to build the team through Football in the Community (FITC) program. Traditionally, football is played in few pockets in Pune, Camp, Deccan, Khadki, and Ghorpadi to name a few. We want to spread it across to the entire Pune and its neighboring areas.

Off-late, Pune has produced a national-level player in Paresh Shivalkar, I have seen his career shaping up while playing in Sky Hawks, also, I have mentored him. Pune needs ten more players like Paresh.

We want to generate interest among the parents. Typically, you don’t find parents encouraging kids to take up football as a profession. We want to break the myth. Now, there is enough money in Indian football. A top player earns much more than an IIM graduate!

Football needs to be started at the grass root level, because during this the stage you can develop the technical nuances, and later on you can concentrate on the other aspect of the game.

Our motto is to catch them young. As you know the club is in its nascent stage. In a very short notice period, we participated in the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) qualifying round and performed well. So we have very high hopes about our under-19 and under-15 team.

Subhajyoti: Thanks Vivek! Great to know that PuneFC is doing a lot in developing football in Pune.
VN: Thanks!