Khalid Jamil: Can he emulate his club success rate with Blue Tigers ?

It will be a baptism by fire for Khalid Jamil, appointed the new senior India men's football coach on Friday, as his first assignment — the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup 2025 — comes up in less than a month. There were no twists in the tale in the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) online executive committee meeting on Friday, with the vibes strongly favouring an Indian at the helm after a 13-year gap.

The last time an Indian occupied the hot seat was Savio Madeira in 2012 before a series of overseas coaches: Wim Kovermans, Stephen Constantine, Igor Stimac and Manolo Marquez took charge but failed to bring about any qualitative change in the Blue Tigers’ performance on a consistent basis. The only redeeming feature was the team managing to qualify for back-to-back AFC Asian Cup finals in 2019 and 2023 and winning a number of invitational tournaments, but their performance has dipped alarmingly over the past one year along with the FIFA ranking (133).

AIFF, by managing to convince the enterprising 48-year-old no nonsense coach of ISL team Jamshedpur FC for the job, has tried to kill two birds with one stone. While the move panders to an overriding sentiment of giving an Indian coach a chance again, the federation is hamstrung by a lack of funds after having to honour a hefty compensation for sacking Croatian Stimac as well as uncertainty over the terms and conditions of the Masters Right Agreement (MRA). It’s a fair guess that Jamil’s price tag would have been more reasonable than the two other shortlisted candidates: former coach Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic.

However, it will be unfair to expect a miracle from Jamil in less than a month with a squad currently low on confidence and desperately in search of effective strikers. The CAFA Cup, scheduled in Uzbekistan from 31 August to 8 September, have India and Oman as the two invited sides and Sunil Chhetri & Co. have been clubbed in Group B along with Tajikistan (on 29 August), Iran (1 September) and Afghanistan (4 September) in Dushanbe. Group A has hosts Uzbekistan drawn alongside Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan and Oman in Tashkent.

Iran are defending champions, having beaten Uzbekistan 1-0 in the 2023 final. No prizes for guessing that the odds will be stacked against Jamil’s India as they look at these matches as a build-up to their remaining campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, with the first game coming up against Hong Kong in October. India are now languishing in fourth place of a four-team Group C after having managed just one point from a draw after two games.

The question on Jamil’s appointment on everyone’s minds is: can he emulate what he did with Aizawl FC, the quintessential underdogs from virtual wooden spooners the previous year to I-League champions in 2016-17? Or the way he stamped his class on debut as head coach of North East United in the glitzy Indian Super League (ISL) when the Highlanders reached the play-offs after a 10-match unbeaten streak? 

The bearded, scruffy exterior of the former midfielder perhaps betrays his never-say-die personality, which he managed to inculcate in most of the teams he was in charge of in a club coaching career now already spanning 15 years. Jamshedpur FC, his current team, may lack star power but surprised all and sundry when they reached the semi-final of the 2024-25 ISL and the final of the 2025 Super Cup.

Those who have followed Jamil closely feel that a major difference in his style of functioning with that of the foreigners is his thorough understanding of the limitations of Indian footballers, so he doesn't burden them with an overload of tactical details.

Speaking to ISL media earlier this year, he had broken down his philosophy thus: ‘’I ask players to play their natural game. That is the most important thing. It shouldn’t be that my players function like robots. Sometimes, all they need is a little push in the right direction, otherwise it’s not very rigid. My system depends on a match-by-match basis. Whether it’s a home game or away game, how the opposition plays.’’

Definitely, a pragmatic call. If Jamil can infuse the earnest approach, which had been his calling card so far, among the national team members, there could still be hope. Until then, fans just need to keep being patient.

CAFA Nations Cup 2025 Draw

Group A: Uzbekistan (H), Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Oman.
Group B: Tajikistan (H), IR Iran, Afghanistan, India.

India’s schedule
August 29: Tajikistan vs India
September 1: India vs IR Iran
September 4: Afghanistan vs India