The weather around the city of Chennai has been rather clear these past few weeks. The same however cannot be said of their football team, Chennaiyin FC, who've had it rough of late. The team that won the Indian Super League last year finds itself in a spot of bother into the second month of the 2016 edition.
With 10 points to their name, just two wins, three draws and four losses, the defending champs find themselves in second last place on the table. They are coming off hefty losses on the road, first losing to Delhi Dynamos 1-4 and then the Kerala Blasters 1-3. Chennaiyin have now gone five games without a win after having drawn their three previous games before the back-to-back losses.
Head coach Marco Materazzi has a lot on his plate as he ponders the way ahead for his side with just five games remaining and his team needing to arrest their slide if they are to make the playoffs.
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Of note, however, is that Chennaiyin were in this same position last year too. With five games to go, they had the same number of points and looked down and out before mounting a superb late charge that saw them go all the way and lift the trophy. So, if history is anything to go by, then this side has shown that they are not ones to give up meekly.
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“We will keep fighting. We need 30,000 fans at the stadium. It’s easy to cheer when the team is winning. We need fans to cheer us in our bad moments,” a bullish Materazzi had to say ahead of the team's next game, against FC Pune City at home on Tuesday.
Chennaiyin have had problems in all areas of the pitch, leading to their struggles. The defence has bled goals badly this year with seven goals conceded in their most recent road trip. The goals have not been forthcoming either with the attacking unit lacking cohesion and failing to convert chances that have come their way. There are things that need shoring up across the board.
Of the remaining five games for Chennaiyin, three of them are at home. They will look to take maximum advantage of that despite having an unimpressive home record thus far this season, with just one win in the four games played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Another plus for Materazzi’s side is that they will not have to play two of the top three teams anymore in the league phase, in Delhi and Kerala. Here's a rundown of the remaining fixtures and how Chennaiyin match up against these opponents.
vs. FC Pune City, November 15
Antonio Habas has been a coach who has had the better of his exchanges with Materazzi in the ISL. The Spaniard has lost only once in seven encounters against the Italian, the loss coming in the first leg of last year's semifinal between Chennaiyin and his former side Atletico de Kolkata (ATK).
Habas has switched over to Pune this term, and after a slow start, his team has slowly climbed the table and find themselves in fifth place with 12 points from nine games. The first meeting between these two sides this year ended in a 1-1 draw. Jeje Lalpekhlua had given Chennaiyin the lead with a superb goal that caught the keeper off his line, but Pune fought back to salvage a point.
“In Pune, we conceded that free kick which changed the whole game in which we were dominated”, Materazzi had said of the game feeling that it was a chance for three points missed.
Despite being above them in the table, Pune aren't the hardest opposition in the league and Chennaiyin should look to pick up three points here.
Vs. Atletico de Kolkata, November 20
Traditionally, Atletico have been tough opponents for Chennaiyin through the first couple of seasons of the ISL. In fact, Chennaiyin have never tasted victory against them in the league phase, their only win coming in last year's semis, as mentioned earlier when Habas was in charge.
Under Jose Molina, this year's ATK side are not very different from their past identity, still owning a heavy Spanish influence and a game that is very suited to taking out Chennaiyin. The two sides played earlier at the very beginning of the season in their opening clash that saw an exciting 2-2 draw.
A win looks difficult in this fixture considering the form of the two teams as well. Expect a tough game in this one, and if Chennaiyin do indeed manage to win, it'll be a close one.
@ Mumbai City FC, November 23
Chennaiyin were denied all three points in the first encounter between these two sides after a belter of a goal from Leo Costa with just five minutes to go saw Mumbai steal a share of the points. It was Mumbai's first ever point against Chennaiyin, having lost all of their previous matchups.
The result was a very disappointing one for the Blues because Mumbai looked like they came for a point right from the opening whistle. Chennaiyin did all the running in this match and Mumbai only stepped it up after going a goal down.
Chennaiyin looked good for the win after Jeje’s goal had given them the advantage yet with just five minutes to go in regulation, Costa was given space and time to shoot from 30 yards out to grab the equaliser and deliver a gut punch to the Chennaiyin players.
“Against Mumbai, I regret that we conceded a goal from 25 metres”, Materazzi still regrets as he feels it was a game that got away.
This encounter though will be in Mumbai where they have played better and more enterprising football. Plus they have India captain Sunil Chhetri back. Any returns from this game may be hard to come by.
Vs NorthEast United, November 26
After an impressive start that saw them lead the league for a good time, NorthEast United have spiralled out of control to lose five games on the bounce, the last of which came away at struggling FC Goa after being a goal up and a man up.
That has pushed them to sixth position, currently level on points with Chennaiyin. Nelo Vingada just hasn't been able to figure out what's happened to his side and if they don't set right their course, this game should be another favourable one where three points are up for grabs.
Historically, Chennaiyin have not had a favourable record against the Highlanders, but they bucked that trend and got their first win against them when the two sides met earlier in Guwahati, a narrow 1-0 win courtesy a brilliant Davide Succi volley. All said and done; this is a favourable matchup.
@ FC Goa, December 1
The race for the playoffs is likely to go down to the wire with draws and tight games aplenty in this year's ISL. So Chennaiyin’s semifinals fate could still be in the balance coming into this final match, just as it did last season.
Last year, it was away at Pune, and Chennaiyin had to win, and they did, with Jeje’s goal securing a 1-0 win. This year, it's Goa, the team they beat in the final last year.
Goa were the worst team in the league over their first five games, but have somehow scratched and clawed to stay alive in the competition. It could well be the case that both sides go into the game harbouring hopes of qualification.
Past matchups between these two teams had seen the away side triumph every time before Chennaiyin broke that trend and won 2-0 at home in their first meeting of this season. Goa aren't as strong a side as they were last year and not amongst the strongest in the league either thus far.
But momentum is a strange force multiplier and home support is too, so it will not be an easy task for Chennaiyin, especially with the pressure of making the playoffs. However, I still believe that amongst the remaining fixtures, this is one of the winnable ones.
The home stretch is here and in the previous two seasons, we have seen Chennaiyin finish their season strongly. They will have to repeat once again that this season if they are to maintain their streak of making the playoffs every season. It promises to be a hot finish to this most competitive of ISL seasons.
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