Hyderabad FC’s co-owner Varun Tripuraneni joined the Indian Super League’s Twitter space to talk about Hyderabad FC’s rise, long-term plans, player extensions and the upcoming ISL season. Here are the excerpts from the Let’s Football live session.
Key Elements which led to Hyderabad FC’s turnaround:
“We had to move on from the first season, Manolo Marquez was the most important part for the club in the last two years, we learned from our mistakes we made in the first season and then built on them.”
“The signings and things we focused on 2019-20 season which we couldn’t do, led to our success in the coming years.”
“We approached everything in a very systematic manner- not just in the signings of the first team players but also the support staff, we did lose out on a few foreigners like Odei and Aridane but our core focus was more on the Indian players.”
Reason behind leaving KBFC, sense of validation after winning the cup
“My reason to move was not Hyderabad FC, I wanted to do something of my own, I was looking to explore something of myself but when I left I got the opportunity to start HFC, I didn’t know about this opportunity while I was leaving KBFC.”
“Winning the title was more of relief rather than anything else. It was more of satisfaction than a revelation after the 2019-20 season.”
Long-term plans of Hyderabad FC
“The expectations are high since we have won the title, we have seen a pretty difficult off-season as well with the transfers and everything, the important thing here is to also work on things off the pitch as well.”
“Since the past two seasons we haven’t played in front of the fans, we are trying to focus on the grassroots space, we are building a footballing ecosystem in the state. We haven’t even had youth leagues in the past two seasons, we will be working on building the youth teams and developing young talent along with focusing on the first team too.”
“We have been focusing extremely hard on the grassroots level for the past few months,” said Varun Tripuraneni
Perks of winning the title
“Winning the title made a huge difference, we did a trophy tour in 15-20 academies, the trophy was moving from school to school and people have been asking about the club, asking about the new season and there is a buzz in the city. We need to capitalize on this buzz.”
Departures from the club
“We had an internal discussion about why a club in ISL couldn’t defend their title the following season and we understood that it was mostly due to a lot of departures and changes but for us and Manolo continuity is an important thing.”
“I don’t think we will see so many changes in the squad and hopefully due to this continuity we will be able to defend the title,” said Varun Tripuraneni
Extensions
“There is an interesting story of Sahil Tavora, in the beginning of 2021 we weren’t sure if Sahil would fit in the squad, we were thinking of looking for replacements or loaning him out but Sahil was determined to get into pre-season and show his strength. That’s an amazing quality of Sahil and we have seen what he has done with the club in the past two seasons.”
“Kattimani had two amazing seasons with the club, his determination has been a key aspect in his turnaround, I remember when the penalty shootouts started Khuri Irani and Adil Khan confidently said the trophy is ours as Kattimani is at the goalpost.”
“Asish Rai has done extremely well for us in the past few seasons and it’s a move which is good for him. We knew players like Rohit Danu and Aniket would step up when Liston Colaco left and we will for sure have other players stepping up to replace Asish Rai.”
About Manolo Marquez
“I have a very good relationship with Manolo, he is an amazing personality, he interacts well with everyone and the club can’t thank him enough. We have extended his contract in the middle of the 2020-21 season and we would like to enjoy more success with him and hope to work with him for many many years, it is an honour to have someone like him with the club.”
Transfers
“It is important to keep an eye on what the other clubs are doing, but the vital thing here is that we got clarity now after internal discussions with Manolo and Sporting Director. There will of course be a thought in the back of our minds about signing a better player after a so and so club signs a good player.”
Impact of Durand Cup and Super Cup:
“I think it’s great that we have got a pretty good calendar this year with the Durand Cup starting in the middle of August, Durand Cup is sort of in the middle of the pre-season. From the player’s point of view, it does give them a lot of game time to prove themselves and improve themselves.”
“From the club’s point of view, it is an interesting time as well, as we have been planning on the practising games and other stuff. As the Durand Cup venues won’t be the same as ISL venues so it will be interesting to build fans in these venues too.”
Sparking interest in Hyderabad
“In the 2019-20 season we didn’t have time to do marketing or promotions to get fans to the stadium, we just had 40 days for the season to start. It is going to be a great opportunity to play in front of the fans now, the win helped us a lot in promoting the club and the fan bases have been building organically.”
“In terms of grassroots we have been reaching out to many schools and there is a lot of interest from the school kids, we will be doing baby leagues to school leagues.”
“We are also looking to bring some interest among the corporate world around the stadium, we can do a lot of activities on the ground now and we have been doing extensive outreach programs to schools, colleges and corporates.”
“We are planning on releasing the Future Is Us 2 with exemplary marketing so that it can reach out to the wider audience and not just the football fans,” said Varun Tripuraneni
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