The 41- year old has seen his career take an intriguing turn with him being offered the job in Tanzania, a country that his ranked 117 in the FIFA rankings as compared to India in 145.
Speaking of how he landed up with the job, he said, “Well, my friend Stewart Hall is the coach of Azam FC. I know him from my time at Pune FC, where we worked together during the initial stages of the club, successfully helping them to gain promotion into the I-League during the 2008-09 season; he was the head coach then and I the assistant coach. I think it was then that Stewart saw my ability, my knowledge and my work and thus, he recommended me. But apart from that, I hold a UEFA 'A' licence from England. I also have several coaching licences from India which must have helped.”
After achieving such a feat, the Pune based coach certainly felt that his achievement could write another chapter in the Indian Football history. He said, “It feels great (to get the job). I have always wondered as to why India needs foreign coaches when there is ample talent to do the job. I think it’s great that instead of coaches coming from other countries, an Indian in me is going abroad. After Baichung Bhutia went to England to play for Bury FC, Sunil Chhetri followed with his move to America to play in the MLS league for Sporting Kansas, and now that I am going, I think it’s another step forward for Indian football.”
He further added, “There are so many talented coaches in India and all I wanted to do was to be an example for them, thus, when I was asked, I accepted the offer immediately.”
We asked him if this opportunity to coach abroad was a ‘dream come true’ for the former Maharashtra coach, to which he replied, “Well, can’t say a dream come true but it’s really good. Had it been Europe, it would have been even better but nevertheless, I’m not disappointed, I’m very happy as I regard this as a road to Europe. Everyone wants to be in the Premier League, that’s my dream as well! I’m a Manchester United fan, with Jose Mourinho being my favourite manager and also, my idol; I have him as my phone wallpaper as well (he laughs).”
Although, Nagul is to shortly leave the country, he feels that the Indian football is on a constant rise. “Football is definitely growing. At school and academy level, I’m seeing good football and with Indians buying clubs abroad, I think there, for sure, is footballing passion in the Indian industry as well. However, I really hope that the clubs in England also come up with good ideas for football in India.”
Telling us his main objective of going to Tanzania, he explained, “I have been told that they have exceptional facilities and I really want to see how they are running their academies. I also want to find out, what is that thing that Africa is currently doing so that they are coming out with very talented players; whether it’s only the youth development or do they do something special with the youngsters. I also want to see how the youngsters play there and if it’s good, I would like to go back to the Indian academies with such a proposal in order for further development.”
Nagul positively feels that Indian players are similar to the Brazilians but lack technique and thus, need to change their playing style in order to succeed. “Indians need to play the Brazilian or the Latin American way – being more with the ball, passing and running less – as we have similar body structures like them. But Indians must improve their technique; if we have a good technique, better physical strength we can develop but technique is very important.”
He is against developing such a playing system in Africa and feels that Tanzania would be more suited to the typical English game. “Well, I’m not from Tanzania, so, I don’t know much about them but from what I have seen on television, they play physical. So, as for me, I want to see how they play that physical kind of football. I would rather play the long ball English game in Africa than Brazilian because I think the seeing the African players’ - for example, Didier Drogba - built and strength, they will be better suited to that kind of football.”
As for the Indian players, the future Azam FC assistant coach pledges to do his all to gives the Indian stars an opportunity abroad. “There are a couple of players that I really appreciate like Jeje Lalpekhua, Robert L and Joaquim Abranches. So I think these players should try out in Tanzania. Jeje is strong; he can hold the ball and can really do well. So, if there is an opportunity with any club in the future, I will definitely put them forward for trials, so that, not only from Tanzania, they can attract clubs from elsewhere as well including Nigeria and the other African countries.
Having been a part of the Indian system for so long, he feels that the Churchill Brothers’ coach Karim Bencharifa is the best coach in the country. “Karim Bencharifa is one of the best coaches in India and if you ask me the best coach that I have worked with, is Stewart Hall.”
