New Delhi: It was Tuesday morning, and the sun was setting. The Northern United Football Club facilities in Delhi-NCR were busy. On one side, a group of players were going through warm-up exercises. On the other hand, goalkeepers were being tested with walloping drives. In the middle of the pitch, the coaching staff kept a close eye on the action.The field was then split into two as two different sets of strategies were employed. As the sun got hotter, the coaches changed their approach to settling matters.
It was no ordinary morning, and it is no ordinary week. A memorable occasion – a top-flight Delhi-based club was putting the finishing touches on its return home after a gap of seven years.Delhi once boasted three clubs in the top two divisions: Delhi Dynamos Indian Super League (ISL) and Sudeva Delhi and in Delhi FCI League (now called Indian Football League). Dynamos saw an average attendance of over 15,000 in the first ISL season (2014) and had legends like Alessandro Del Piero and Roberto Carlos in their ranks.Delhi’s tryst with the ISL and top-level football continued until February 2019 as, ahead of the 2019–20 season, the club rebranded itself as Odisha FC and shifted its base to Bhubaneswar. The presence of I-League clubs is maintained.A seven-year gap of first division football in the capital comes to an end on Thursday (March 19) as Sporting Club Delhi, formerly Hyderabad FC, host Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It’s an emotional moment for defender Akshit Mehra, who was part of Dynamos’ youth set-up and is now one of two Delhiites in the SC Delhi squad.
SC Delhi picked up their first points of the season in a come-from-behind draw against Mumbai City FC. (Photo: AIFF)
“I am very happy that football is finally back in Delhi after a very long time. Last time it was Delhi Dynamos and thankfully I was a part of it and now being a part of SC Delhi is a great feeling because it is my home club and I got a chance to represent my city and I am very happy about it,” said the 19-year-old after the team’s training session in Noida.The magnitude of the occasion was not lost on Akshat, who was part of Delhi’s under-20 national championship-winning team recently. The stage and level of expectations are now high. “It’s a great feeling, but it’s also a big responsibility, and I think it’s not going to be easy, but we’re ready for it as a team. If you talk about Delhi, now is the time for Delhi to step up… There’s no need to back down from here, and hopefully we’ll do great for the city, and we’ll make all our fans proud,” Akshit continued.The Phoenix, as the club is nicknamed, are hoping this home stretch will be a turning point in their fortunes. After four matches played in the truncated season, SC Delhi are second from bottom with one draw and three losses – only marginally better than Mohammedan Sporting, who are yet to open their account.
SC Delhi players in action against East Bengal in the Indian Super League. (Photo: AIFF)
The season started with a 0–2 loss at Bengaluru, followed by a 1–4 defeat at the hands of East Bengal, a narrow 0–1 defeat against FC Goa before coming back from 0-2 down to draw 2-2 against Mumbai City FC for their first points of the season.After zig-zagged across the country, taking multiple flights — sometimes more than one — this home game comes as a respite after a 10-day hiatus. It helps that it comes at a time when the team is struggling, and the threat of relegation is ever-present.“There’s always extra help, so we count on them to come in big numbers. They’ll be loud in the stadium and they’ll cheer our players on. We say the fans are like the 12th player and we’re expecting it, waiting for it,” coach Tomasz Tichors said.
We are counting on them to come in large numbers. He will be loud in the stadium and he will encourage our players. Let’s say the fans are like the 12th player and we’re expecting that.
Coach Thomas Tuchors on the fans
Tchorz has been in India for a while now: with ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters – both with strong domestic connections and a loyal fan base. He hopes Delhi will add to the list for him and the JLN Stadium will be a place of miracles.“I think it’s challenging but also very interesting, especially in a city like Delhi, which is the capital, which is big and inclusive because you have so many communities in Delhi. Also, you have foreign people, and our team can represent different communities and unite them,” said the Polish manager.“This is what I would like to do as the coach of the team. Even in our team you can see people from different parts of India. You can also see people from different parts of the world.“With our team, we can unite communities, and we can create one big family that is very rich in different cultures, languages and religions. We can be united through football,” he continued.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host SC Delhi home games in ISL. (file photo)
To attract fans to this momentous occasion, SC Delhi has invited school children, made tickets free and collaborated with social media influencers to spread the message. Club CEO Dhruv Sood says the response has been “overwhelming”.“We launched (tickets) on Friday night, and the response we’ve received so far has exceeded our expectations. The first game is an inaugural offering. The ownership wanted people to see and feel the pulse of ISL and football in Delhi. So, it’s free for all who want to attend.“Tickets are still available. We are still trying to give as many as we can because we want the youth, we want people from Delhi to come and watch football.“So, we are trying to get out there as much as possible, even in this current situation of Indian football. I hope we will have 10-11,000 people which will be a good number. Hopefully many of them will support us by wearing red and hopefully, the team will respond by giving them their first win of the season”.
