Each season, we are improving, making huge inroads: Odisha FC president Raj Athwal

Odisha FC president reckons Raj Athwal believes with each season the club is improving and taking giant strides. The Kalinga Warriors qualified for the ISL playoffs for the first time under the tutelage of Josep Gombau after they finished the league stage in sixth place with nine wins in 20 matches.

However, their journey in the tournament ended when they lost to eventual champions ATK Mohun Bagan by 2-0 in the knockout game. Subsequently, the Juggernauts won the Hero Super Cup to create history.

Odisha played a 1-1 draw against East Bengal in their opening game of the tournament. The club then registered a 3-0 win against Aizwal FC and a 2-1 win against Hyderabad FC to qualify for the semifinal of the tournament. Odisha FC then defeated NorthEast United FC by 3-1 in the semifinal and won the final against Bengaluru FC by 2-1.

Ergo, the club had a good season as they came up with a collective show to reap rich dividends.

Meanwhile, Raj Athwal has an experience of 25 years in football and has worked with teams like Coventry FC and Watford FC in England, and Scotland’s Rangers FC.

“India has been the most difficult challenge of my football career,” Athwas was quoted as saying in an interview with The Times of India.

“I have had to acclimatize to the culture. The setup of professionalism in England is different. The professionalism of this nature (in Indian football) has only been since 2014, and it’s evolving. This is not criticism, but observation. Each season, we are improving, making huge inroads.”

Earlier in the month, Odisha FC named Sergio Lobera as their head coach, who has savored success in the ISL. Athwal added that they want Odisha FC to be a sustainable club and they want to put in the hard yards at the grassroots level to get the best out of the young players and thus guide them on the right track.

“We want Odisha to be a sustainable club, both on and off the pitch,” revealed Athwal.

“On the pitch, I want Odisha FC to compete for all trophies, but we also need to have a youth program for under-7s and under-8s; 13 is too late. The plan is to follow the same style of football the (first) team is playing. You need to have an identity, otherwise, you end up bringing managers with different philosophies. It disrupts the whole methodology,” he further explained.

Odisha FC has definitely shown an upward swing in their improvement graph in the last couple of seasons and they will be looking to carry the good show in the next season.