Indian coaches should get more opportunities – Churchill Brothers coach Mariano Dias

One of the most eye-catching features of Churchill Brothers’ first-ever Federation Cup triumph last month was the fact that their coach was Indian. For five straight editions between 2008 and 2012, India’s FA Cup was won by clubs with foreign coaches but Churchill Brothers’ head coach Mariano Dias bucked the trend this time and became the first local tactician to win it since Subroto Bhattacharya (East Bengal) in 2007.

Indian club football at present is dominated by foreign coaches with only five out of the 13 I-League clubs having Indian coaches at the helm at the start of the season. There is clearly a dearth of qualified Indian coaches but Dias is among the exceptions as he holds an AFC A license and has already completed the first module of the AFC Pro license course.

Despite winning the I-League last season, Dias was overshadowed by the presence of the legendary Subhash Bhowmick as technical director. But with Bhowmick not being able to be with the team during the Federation Cup due to a family emergency, Dias took extra responsibility and guided the Goan club to their first silverware of the season.

In a conversation with Sportskeeda, the former Santosh Trophy-winning coach of Goa expressed his delight but doesn’t feel there was any additional pressure on him due to Bhowmick’s absence.

“I am very happy to have won this tournament with an all-win record. I have had some success with both Goa and Churchill Brothers in the past but this silverware right is up there with any other accolade. I always try to do my job so there wasn’t extra motivation or pressure this time. Hopefully this trophy will help improve our position in the I-League,” Dias stated.

During the group stage, Dias got the better of a couple of Dutch coaches and former India assistant coach Stanley Rozario and then in the semi-finals he was the lone local coach up against three foreigners. But Dias had the last laugh against both Karim Bencherifa’s Mohun Bagan and Oscar Bruzon’s Sporting Clube as Churchill Brothers booked a place in the 2015 AFC Cup.

“It is never easy for local coaches because most clubs opt for foreigners nowadays. But I feel Indians should get more opportunities especially considering that the I-League has been rarely won by foreigners,” he said.

Dias made a very good point as only two foreign coaches have won the title in the combined history of the National Football League and I-League. But the Goan revealed that his good work has been appreciated by foreign coaches as well and also talked about the ambitions of his coaching career.

“I got congratulated by almost every I-League coach including the foreigners (after winning the Federation Cup). It is always nice to get support from your competitors. Like any coach I would like to be in charge of the India senior team one day but I never set any ultimate targets for myself and only prepare for the next game,” said the man who was the assistant coach of India during Savio Medeira’s spell as head coach between November 2011-March 2012.

Sportskeeda will have part two of this exclusive interview tomorrow.