Chennai: St. Joseph’s Arts College football team in Tiruchy have become synonymous with success. And it increasingly looks like there is no force capable of bringing their winning streak to an end anytime soon.
All indications are that it will take some doing for their harried opponents to even contemplate narrowing the ever widening chasm as St. Joseph’s have gone about amassing trophies with the sustained consistency that is hard to find in teams of their ilk. Their adversaries might as well banish any thoughts of recording a win against a team that has come to regard winning as their birthright.
It would be easy to mention in passing that they have made a habit of winning but speaking to their coach one could grasp how much of an effort they had undertaken to reach such an exalted position. Until three years ago they were viewed by others as also-rans and they did their utmost to justify that billing. Whatever tournament they took part in a first-round exit always beckoned. The downward spiral they were on assumed menacing proportions and before long they found themselves at the lowest possible ebb.
It necessitated a change in coach to bring a change in their rapidly dwindling fortunes. The appointment of R. Inbamani as their coach in 2010 provided a much-needed fillip to their sagging prospects and ever since he took charge the improvement has been there for all to see. One aspect where his impact has strongly been felt is his ability to rid his players of the seeds of self-doubt they were encounter
ing until his arrival. In fact Inbamani, who was a player par excellence in his playing days, identified the team’s short-comings and quickly chalked out a strategy to coalesce them into an indomitable unit. During the course of the last three years St.Joseph’s have won every trophy there is to be won but Inbamani is cautious not to revel in their new-found success. He is too seasoned a campaigner to let his team rest on their laurels.
“We defeated Jamal Mohammed College 2-0 to win the final of the inter-College tournament held recently. Our midfield clicked and in particular Senthil Kumar, who scored a goal and made one assist, was outstanding. There has been a drastic turnaround in the way we approach a game now.
Earlier we were bogged down by the fear of losing, now our confidence is skyhigh,” says Inbumani.
