Bilal’s exit from Churchill Brothers throws the I-League title race wide open

Bilal (right)

Winning a marathon league always requires team effort but any title winning team anywhere in the world also requires some extraordinary individuals. For I-League leaders Churchill Brothers, Lebanese international Bilal Najjarin was one such exceptional individual as he was proving to be the difference between the Goan club and the other title contenders.

Despite this being his first season in Indian football, Bilal settled almost instantly and established himself as the best defender of this I-League campaign. The 31-year-old hardly has any weakness as he is strong in the air, equally adept in tackling and has incredible positional sense.

With Bilal in the side, Churchill Brothers were looking overwhelming favourites to win the 2012-13 I-League and his man-of-the-match performance in the 3-0 win over fellow title contenders East Bengal was another reminder of his importance in the side.

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan singled out Bilal’s performance after the match, “Churchill has dominated the game. They were good in counter-attack. The boy playing centre-back (Bilal Najjarin) was superb.” Even some East Bengal fans contemplated what might have been had they recruited a defender like Bilal.

Everything was looking perfect for Churchill until they got to know that Bilal has an offer from UAE Premier League club Fujairah SC. Interestingly, unlike Churchill, Fujairah are fighting for relegation but the offer was too good to refuse for Bilal, who may not be getting such a lucrative deal ever again in his career.

A clause in Bilal’s contract allows him to move abroad and thus, Churchill Brothers have to release the former Nejmeh SC centre back. The Goan club may remain confident of finding a replacement but whoever they do bring in, is unlikely to make up for the loss of Bilal.

Besides the defensive qualities of Bilal, the Lebanese was a leader on the pitch and respected by the whole Churchill squad. And like Morgan, Bilal was even rated highly by other opposition coaches and players.

His departure will give Churchill’s opponents added confidence to have a go at their back four while the other title contenders will now feel that the Goan club is no longer invincible and will drop points.

AFC Cup participation will of course have an impact in Churchill’s I-League campaign and the departure of Bilal now makes matters worse for them. With games against rivals Dempo and Pune FC still remaining, Churchill Brothers will be desperate to find an equally good replacement but it remains to be seen how the rest of the squad reacts to Bilal’s departure.

Last year, internal problems in the club saw East Bengal release Scotsman Alan Gow with the ageing Edmilson Marques and in the end, the red-and-gold brigade fell short. Gow was released on the grounds of being unfit, yet he was seen playing in the English third tier for Exeter City.

Churchill Brothers have to avoid such a scenario and find the correct replacement. It’s true that the attacking force of Beto, Akram Moghrabi and Henri Antchouet, who have 29 goals between them, will continue to make them the frontrunners but there will be games when Churchill will have to grind out results and for that, Bilal was the ideal player to have in the team.

It’s also worth noting that Beto got injured in the goalless draw with Mumbai FC on Thursday, thus Churchill are likely to have just two foreigners available until the I-League break from February 10.

Bilal’s exit has certainly weakened Churchill Brothers and now it’s up to the likes of East Bengal, Pune FC and Dempo to capitalise.