Eagles FC

Eagles FC

Eagles FC

Full name	Ernakulam Eagles Football Club
Founded	1960
League	I-League 2nd Division
2011 I-League 2nd Division	4TH

Eagles FC, who are set to make their first attempt in the I-League second division, is a Kerala based club that can boast of a rich legacy. The ‘Ernakulam Eagles’ was formed in the year of 1955 at Cochin by a group of soccer loving students of St. Albert’s High School and NJ Joseph, their mathematics teacher and an ardent sports lover.

Transfers

Eagles is made up of 15 young talented footballers who were selected by a selection trial. Apart from these youngsters, three players from the Mohun Bagan Football Academy were added recently. The team is also powered by the addition of experienced Ghanaian goal keeper Ali Abubakar and former Viva Kerala defender KS Firoz. IN: Satwinder Singh, Shorabudin Mollick, Laldinmwaia C (All from Mohun Bagan Academy), KS Firoz (Viva Kerala)

Team Officials

The team is coached by Joe Paul Ancheri, former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal player and twice the recipient of the AIFF Player of the Year award. As a player, Ancheri needs no introductions. The 35 year old from Thrissur has been the coach of the Mohun Bagan Football Academy, a residential football school in Durgapur in West Bengal for over a year.

Ancheri has only been at the club for three weeks, while Vinu Jose, another ex-Indian International has been coaching the team for the past six months. Vinu will assist Ancheri and the player-cum-coach might be on the pitch for the team.

Strengths

The late additions former FC Cochin goal keeper Ali Abubaker and midfielders Shorabudin and Laldinmwaia from the Mohun Bagan Academy has strengthened the side. KS Firoz from Viva Kerala might captain the team in the tournament. The biggest strength for the team comes from the guidance of the vastly experienced Joe Paul Ancheri. The team is also waiting for a pair of foreign forwards to join the team. regarding their transfers are being done and the coach expects that the African forwards will join them in the coming days.

Weaknesses

The Eagles FC is a group of young amateur footballers who were selected six months aiming to reach new heights in Kerala Football. But, the second division seems like a challenge that has come quite early for their liking.

Squad List

Goal Keepers

Ali Abubakar (Ghana), Saji Joy, Jaseer Mohammad

Defenders

Sanid E, Sreekumar P, KS Firoz, Roomimg KP, Abdul Abhithin TS, Sudheer PT, Dhanesh PT, Satwinder Singh

Midfielders

Anas Ibnu Salam, Ignatius B, Shameel P, Farhad Kalayath, Vineeth TV, Askar AA, Shorabudin Mollick, Laldinmwaia C

Forwards

Febin M, Sumesh AM, Vinu Jose

Head Coach

Joe Paul Ancheri

Assistant Coach: Vinu Jose

Team Manager: Ponnan

Physio: Dr. Danny

Key Players

Saji Joy, the team’s first choice goal keeper is a former Kerala Santosh Trophy player and has played for clubs like FC Cochin and Vasco SC. Striker Sumesh will be another key who will be expected to score some goals in the league. He played for the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) last season.

Upcoming Fixtures

Eagles FC will have their I-League Second Division group league matches played at Madurai in Tamil Nadu from 31 March.The team is pitted with another Kerala club Chandni FC, Vasco SC, Techno Aryan FC, PIFA Colaba FC, Royal Wahingdoh FC and BEML.

They opened 2011 season with 0-1 loss to Techno Aryan.They won their second match against PIFA Colaba FC 2-1. They drew their 3rd match with Chandini FC 1-1. They won their 4th match against group leading Ar-Hima 2-1 .

References

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles_FC