CHENNAI: After a year and 13 days (378 days to be exact), two-time Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC return to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,as they take on FC Goa on Sunday. After four away games on the trot, the Marina Machans will be raring to go to play in front of fans.
A month ago, when the league began, the football ground in the stadium gained attention for all the wrong reasons. The grass had grown out of propotion, some parts of it withered. On Saturday, CFC head coach Clifford Miranda inspected the pitch, and felt that there is more work to be done. "The ground's not at its best (now). I have been coming here over the years, and was better then," he said in the pre-match press conference.
The Stadium — owned and managed by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu — hosted major non-sporting events before and on the day the league started. temporary tiles and structures were installed on the pitch. Bringing it to optimum condition to play football, seemed a mammoth task. "I saw the pitch around 10 days ago and (I see it) now — I think they have done a really good job. You require so much time for the grass to grow and they are trying," he said.
"On some places there is grass, on some places there is no grass, on some place it is wobbly and on some places the grass has grown beyond a certain centimetre. But they are trying. I think it was in far worse condition but they are trying.
The present condition, may affect their style of play, he said. "Usually, we wanna play (more passes) on the ground and this pitch is not so ideal to do that but we will adapt."
For their first home match, Moroccon midfielder Mohammed Ali Bemammer is a doubt. "He is a 50-50," Miranda added. Apart from Bemmamer, the squad is available for selection.
Chukwu delighted to return
Joining Miranda for the press conference was forward Daniel Chima Chukwu, whose late goal in the corresponding fixture last season earned Chennaiyin a 2-2 draw. Chukwu missed out on the first four matches, as he had to wait for his visa to be approved.
The Nigerian reflected on the wait to rejoin the team. “Back home, when I was watching the team, I felt like I really needed to be there. Because of the visa, I had to wait, so it wasn’t easy, but once it came through, I couldn’t wait anymore. I just wanted to come back as soon as I could.”
