Sacking of coaches isn’t new to Indian football. Carles Cuadrat isn’t the first, nor will he be the last, to lose his job. But the context in which it was done, and the manner in which he was removed raises a number of questions.
First, what is our patience threshold? Not long ago, Cuadrat was considered a messiah for the club, having won them a major trophy – the Super Cup – after a gap of 12 years. He could do no wrong at the time, and plans were made with Cuadrat in mind as the long-term boss. Within a few months, things are radically different. Five consecutive losses, including three in the Indian Super League (ISL), and the management has decided to pull the plug. Was it because of fan pressure? Pressure from the investors? Or do they really feel removing Cuadrat is the solution to all their problems?
The truth is Cuadrat alone wasn’t responsible for what has happened to East Bengal. Take the Anwar Ali saga. No coach can deal with such a bizarre situation. Cuadrat never really knew whether Anwar would be part of his team or not. The Players’ Status Committee flip-flops didn’t help, and it meant next to no time to get his defence right. Also, a significant number of East Bengal players have picked up injuries in the last month. Some of them, like Dimitrios Diamantakos, arrived at the club with big reputations, but are yet to deliver. Why blame Cuadrat for players getting injured, unless those niggles and sprains can be ascribed to his training methods?
East Bengal have also had a tough start to the ISL, with two of their losses coming away from home in Bengaluru and Kochi. Neither is an easy venue to visit. Even last season, when both clubs finished well short of the summit, Kerala Blasters took as many points at home (20) as table-topping Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Bengaluru, who finished below East Bengal in the table, had 19.
With Cuadrat now history, can East Bengal get anyone better in the middle of a season? Good coaches aren’t waiting for jobs, and to get someone who can address the club’s woes overnight will be difficult, if not impossible. Also, do East Bengal, already struggling, have the funds to spend on a coach who is really top drawer? Fortunately for them, because Cuadrat agreed to a mutual parting of ways, they don’t have to pay a whopping amount as compensation. Otherwise, the impact on the club’s finances would have been dire.
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It is true that fan passion and pressure had a role to play in this decision. But then, fans have always been impatient. Either they would call Cuadrat a magician, or they would castigate him. There is no moderation. The management, however, needs to be more restrained. If they had taken a call, they needed to stand by that. The ISL is not even a month old, and we already have the first casualty in Cuadrat.
Will good coaches, who all follow each other’s fortunes, want to take up a coaching assignment where there is no real guarantee of long-term support? Will they want to add clauses in the contract which safeguard them against a mid-season sacking? Is Indian football strong enough to deal with such contractual obligations?
The Igor Stimac case and Cuadrat’s removal shows the amateurish nature of our football. Stimac was eventually paid close to four crores to settle the issue. A cash-strapped AIFF will agree that it wasn’t small change. Someone had to be held accountable, and yet, no one was. For Cuadrat, things were a little different. Failure in the Durand Cup and at the start of the ISL meant the club management, who had spent serious monies this time round to make a strong team, felt a sense of alarm.
They felt they needed to show the investors and the fans immediate results after making several marquee signings. When that didn’t happen, they ran the risk of invoking the ire of both. Cuadrat paid the price, shining a light on the ruthlessness associated with modern competitive sport.
While I wish Cuadrat well, let me also say that East Bengal face some tough months ahead. A new coach or an interim one will not find it easy to turn the tide. And Jose Molina, who isn’t in a good space either at Mohun Bagan, will surely be looking at developments and wondering what lies in store for him if things don’t get better soon.
First Anwar, and now this. Indian football is now more in the news for off-field drama than on-field excitement.
All the best to East Bengal, and Cuadrat.
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