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Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions Chennaiyin FC have had two consecutive seasons of disappointment. The Marina Machans made it to the finals of the 2019-20 campaign with Owen Coyle in charge, eventually falling short in front of a strong ATK side. However, the Scottish gaffer joined fellow ISL side Jamshedpur FC ahead of the 2020-21 season and new coach Csaba Lazlo could not deliver.
The side finished eighth with just 20 points on the board after 20 games. The following season was quite similar under Bozidar Bandovic. The Montenegrin coach was unsuccessful in dragging the side out of misery, despite a bright start to the campaign. 20 points from 20 games looked more like a repeat performance from the previous campaign.
Two wins from their first two matches in ISL 2021-22 against Hyderabad FC and NorthEast United FC were followed by two draws against SC East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan. The side fell short of tricks against Mumbai City FC in their fifth match. But by then, Bandovic's men had earned the tag for being a strong defensive unit. However, that slowly waned as the season progressed.
Bandovic's side were usually deployed in a 3-5-2 formation - an approach that reduced their chances in the attacking third. Lallianzuala Chhangte's departure in January added to the problems fueled by a lack of goal-scoring forwards. Nerijus Valskis was lured in from Jamshedpur FC, but the Lithuanian forward's arrival without his scoring boots made matters worse.
Chennaiyin FC's transfer season diaries
The ongoing transfer window witnessed the Marina Machans being pro-active in adding depth to the squad along with some quality foreign names. Despite earning the tag for the best defense in the early part of the 2021-22 campaign, the two-time ISL champions were unsuccessful in holding on to their reputation. The summer transfer window looked like the perfect opportunity for a complete squad overhaul.
Monotosh Chakladar, captain of the Bengal Santosh Trophy squad along with midfielder Sajal Bag, were lured in by the Marina Machans. Local boy Alexander Romario Jesuraj, who spent two years with FC Goa, was also added to the club's attacking arsenal. Former SC East Bengal midfielder Sourav Das and veteran Mohammad Rafique were also included in the squad ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Chennaiyin FC managed to rope in one of the emerging prospects in Indian football, Jiteshwor Singh.The Manipuri midfielder, who was recently awarded the Emerging Player of the Season in the by-gone I-League campaign, is expected to add stability to the center of the park alongside skipper Anirudh Thapa.
He will be joined by former Kerala Blasters FC winger Vincy Barretto. The winger dazzled in the previous edition of the ISL and the inaugural edition of the Reliance Foundation Development League.
The squad will also have the services of former Odisha FC defender Sajid Dhot, who joined the Marina Machans last season during the January transfer window. The central defender impressed during his short stint at the club and earned a two-year extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Joining him will be former Rajasthan United FC defender Gurmukh Singh. The East Bengal Academy product illustrated his abilities in the 2021-22 I-League campaign and earned a deal with the two-time ISL champions.
RoundGlass Punjab FC's Akash Sangwan also made it to the Chennaiyin FC squad for the 2022-23 season. Former Chennai City FC and Bengaluru FC full-back Ajith Kumar has also been added to the club's defensive arsenal going into the new season.
To strengthen the backline for the upcoming season, Chennaiyin FC lured in Iranian defender Vafa Hakhamaneshi along with Senegalese defender Fallou Diagne. Hakhamaneshi will be the club's Asian signing for the upcoming season and will aid in bolstering the team's backline along with former SC Freiburg defender Diagne.
Former FSV Mainz striker Petar Sliskovic and Ghanian forward Kwame Karikari will be leading the attack for the Marina Machans in the upcoming season. German midfielder Julius Duker was the final addition to the foreign contingent for the Marina Machans. He is the second foreign midfielder to be added to the squad for the upcoming season alongside Rafael Crivellaro.
Chennaiyin FC's probable setup for the upcoming season
Chennaiyin FC may set themselves up in the following ways with the players available to them:
1) 4-2-3-1 formation
With the squad requirements almost fulfilled, Chennaiyin FC can be expected to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is usually preferred by head coach Thomas Brdaric. The German loves to see his team attack and the players available to him have the capacity to fulfill the set standards.
Both Fallou Diagne and Vafa Hakhamaneshi are comfortable on the ball and will be effective in picking out targets up front. The gaffer likes his players to keep possession and make attempts to win it back quickly after losing it.
In a 4-2-3-1 formation, one of the midfielders in the double-pivot drops to shield the defense and act as a deep-lying playmaker while the other moves further to add numbers in the final third.
Under Brdaric's system, the wingers invert inside and are expected to add numbers inside the box. The playmaker drops behind the forward and works with the other midfielder from the pivot. Brdaric is a fan of counter-pressing like most other German coaches and the system employed works in favor of his ideas.
2) 4-3-3 formation
The 4-3-3 formation is familiar territory for coaches who love their teams to keep the ball and work on creating opportunities in the opposition's box.
In this system, the full-backs can invert inside to add numbers to the midfield, thereby disallowing the opposition to break away on the counter. The wingers can be expected to hold their position, which in turn would stretch the opposition's defense and allow the two midfielders to make runs into space.
Jiteshwor Singh can be deployed as a defensive midfielder in both cases and the young Manipuri midfield maestro can aid the centre-backs in the build-up process, while also blocking the central channel.
