Sporting Club Delhi players celebrate during the match against East Bengal in the Indian Super League. (Image: AIFF) New Delhi: It was Tuesday morning and the sun was setting. Northern United Football Club’s facilities in Delhi-NCR have been busy. On one side, a group of players were going through warm-ups. On another, goalkeepers were tested by raids. The coaching staff in the center of the field was closely watching the progress of the game.The field was then split into two halves as two different sets of strategies were used. As the sun grew stronger, the approach changed to sets with coaches dictating things.
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ISL highlights: Bengaluru FC vs Sporting Club DelhiIt wasn’t an ordinary morning and it’s not an ordinary week. The finishing touches have been applied to what is a monumental occasion – the Delhi-based top club returning home after a seven-year hiatus.Delhi once boasted three clubs in the top two divisions: Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Sudeva Delhi and Delhi FC in the I-League (now called the Indian Football League). Dynamos witnessed average attendances of over 15,000 in the first season of the ISL (2014) and had legends like Alessandro Del Piero and Roberto Carlos in their ranks.Delhi’s tryst with the ISL and top-flight football lasted until February 2019, before the 2019–20 season, the club renamed itself Odisha FC and shifted its base to Bhubaneswar. The presence of I-League clubs persists.A seven-year absence of premier league 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 Akshat Mehra, who was part of the Dynamos youth set-up and is now one of two Delhiites in the SC Delhi squad.
SC Delhi got their first points of the season against Mumbai City FC in a come-from-behind draw. (Image: AIFF)
“I am very happy that football has finally returned to Delhi after a long time. Last time it was Delhi Dynamos and luckily I was also part of it and now to be part of SC Delhi is a great feeling because it is my home club and I get to represent my city and I am very happy for that,” the 19-year-old said after the team’s training session in Noida.The magnitude of the occasion is not lost on Akshat, who was recently part of the Delhi team that won the Under-20 National Championship. The stage and level of anticipation is now greater. “It’s a great feeling but it’s also a bigger responsibility and I feel it’s not going to be easy but we’re ready as a team. If you’re talking about Delhi, now’s the time for Delhi to step up… there’s no going back from here and hopefully we’ll do great for the city and make all our fans proud,” Akshat continued.The Phoenix, as the club is nicknamed, are hoping this home stretch will prove to be a turnaround in their fortunes. With four games played in the shortened season, SC Delhi are second from bottom with one draw and three losses – just marginally better than newly-opened Mohammedan Sporting.
SC Delhi players in action against East Bengal in the Indian Super League. (Image: AIFF)
The season started with a 0-2 loss at Bengaluru, followed by a 1-4 thrashing at the hands of East Bengal, a narrow 0-1 defeat against FC Goa before coming back from 0-2 down to force a 2-2 draw against Mumbai City FC for their first points of the season.After zigzagging across the country and several years – sometimes more than one – this home game comes as a respite after a 10-day break. It helps that it comes at a time when the team is struggling and the threat of relegation is still real.“There is always another support, so we expect them to come in large numbers. They will be loud in the stadium and motivate our players. We say that the fans are like the 12th player and we expect it, we wait for it,” said coach Tomasz Tchorz.
We expect them to come in large numbers. They will be loud in the stadium and will motivate our players. We say the fans are like the 12th player and we expect that
Coach Tomasz Tchorz about the fans
Tchorz has been in India for some time: with ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters – both with strong home ties and loyal fan bases. He hopes Delhi will add to the list and JLN Stadium will continue to be the scene 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 versatile, because in Delhi you have a lot of communities. You also have foreigners and our team can represent different communities and unite them,” said the Polish manager.“This is something I would like to do as a team coach. 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 a big family that is very rich in different cultures, languages and religions. We can be united in football,” he continued.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host SC Delhi’s home matches in the ISL. (Photo File)
To attract fans for this momentous occasion, SC Delhi has invited school children, kept tickets free and is working with social media influencers to spread the message. The response has been “overwhelming”, says club CEO Dhruv Sood.“We launched (tickets) on Friday night and so far we have had an overwhelming response beyond our expectations. The first match is the inaugural offering. The owners wanted people to see and feel the pulse of ISL and football in Delhi. So it was free for all people who want to attend.“Tickets are still available. We are still trying to release more because we want young people, we want people from Delhi to come and see football.”“So we are trying to get out, even in this current situation in Indian football, as much as possible. I hope we have 10-11,000 people which would be a good number. Hopefully a lot of them (will be) wearing red and supporting us and hopefully the team will respond by giving them their first win of the season,” Sood said with great optimism.
