Meet Khalid Jamil: Kuwait-born coach to lead Indian football out of trouble

The Xavi hoax and everything else is a thing of the past now. Khalid Jamil, 48, has been appointed as the new head coach of the national team. He is the first Indian to hold this prestigious job since 2012. Let me take you through some of the timelines of his career, which includes him rejecting offers from giants from Kolkata during his playing career.

When the big clubs came calling

Khalid Jamil was born in Kuwait and moved to India in the 1990s. He had earlier said in an interview that he was always passionate about football, but he never imagined that he would make a career out of it. Imagine you are a young footballer who has just arrived in India from Kuwait, and you are getting a chance to join one of the country’s two most famous clubs: East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. For most players, that is an easy “yes.” A dream come true.

But Khalid Jamil was different. He looked at the contracts and spotted something that did not sit right with him: both clubs had alcohol sponsors. For Jamil, that was a line he would not cross.

Early playing career

He joined Mahindra United in 1997, a choice that, while not as glamorous, felt right to him. A year later, he moved to Air India and even earned his first cap for the national team against Uzbekistan in an International friendly. He was a midfielder by trade. When injuries ended his playing career in 2009, at just 32, he could have easily faded from the football scene. Instead, he decided to become a coach.

A reluctant coach

When injury started hindering his playing time during his Mumbai FC days, then Mumbai FC coach David Booth asked him to train the under-19 side. But he initially didn’t like that idea as he wanted to continue playing. But as he said in an interview previously, he reluctantly took up coaching, and the rest is history.

His first professional coaching job with Mumbai FC was tough. The club never had much money, so Jamil had to work miracles with whatever players he could get. For seven years, he learnt how to make something out of nothing. He made them fight against the odds.

The Aizawl Miracle

Everything changed in 2017. Jamil took over Aizawl FC, a small club from India’s northeast. What happened next is still a talking point among the Indian football fans. Against all odds, Jamil led Aizawl to the I-League title. They defied expectations, beating the big teams, including Mohun Bagan, by just one point. It was a historic moment: the first time an Indian coach had won the country’s top league and the first time a northeast-based club won the I-League. The young man who had once turned down to join the big clubs, had now beaten them with a team that no one gave a chance.

Life coming full circle

The irony is rather lovely: after turning down East Bengal and Mohun Bagan as a player, Jamil later went on to coach both clubs. Times had changed, and life had indeed come full circle.

His success continued in the Indian Super League. With NorthEast United, he became the first Indian coach to reach the playoffs. At his current club Jamshedpur FC, he continued to impress. He came mid-season in the 2023-24 season and turned their season around. In the previous ISL campaign, he took Jamshedpur FC, a team consisting of a bunch of young Indians, to a fifth-place finish and reached the Super Cup final. He has kept the team unbeaten so far in the current Durand Cup campaign. He will mostly take the dual job until the Durand Cup finishes.

A rare achievement

Jamil is one of the rare individuals to have won India’s top division both as a player (with Mahindra United in 2005) and as a coach. This is his first international job, but he knows everything about Indian football — the problems from the grassroots to the top flight. He has managed teams across all levels of Indian football, from I-League and I-League 2 to the ISL.

The challenge ahead

Jamil’s first assignment as national coach will be a tough test. India, currently ranked 133rd in the Fifa rankings, will compete in the CAFA Nations Cup later this month against defending champions Iran and 2023 Asian Cup quarterfinalists Tajikistan. Although the tournament falls outside the Fifa window, most first-team regulars are expected to be available due to the scheduling of the Durand Cup final just prior to the tournament opener.

Jamil’s style is to have a team with strong defensive fundamentals who are ready to counter-attack with pace using flying wingers. He also tends to use a target man. Can he make a difference? Ranked 133rd is an embarrassment for Indian football. Can they climb up slowly but steadily? We have to wait and see.