Khalid Jamil is a man of few words.
He believes in actions and getting things done and it has helped him achieve great things so far.
For starters he won the I-League in 2016-17 with Aizawl FC in one of the biggest fairytale moments of Indian football. Then in the 2020-21 season, he helped NorthEast United FC reach the playoffs of Indian Super League (ISL).
It was the first time an Indian coach achieved the feat and considering Khalid had taken over the team midway into the season, it was quite an impressive accomplishment. The following season he was handed the reins of the team on a permanent basis and once again it was the first for an Indian coach.
Sadly, despite the successes, the going hasn't always been easy for the former India player. "Career has been tough and I haven't always got the chance," said Khalid during a brief interaction with TOI on the sidelines of the ISL media day held in Kolkata earlier this month.
But after being named head coach of Jamshedpur FC for a period of two years, he has a chance to reclaim the glory and show what he is capable of achieving. "I want to do something good. It's a great opportunity and it's quite incredible that I have been given this chance. So now that I have got the chance, I want to prove myself," said Khalid.
To make sure he is able to do that, it's important that Jamshedpur FC begin their campaign on a positive note in the 11th edition of ISL.
It's not going to be easy though since their first game of the season on Tuesday will be away to FC Goa, who had made it to the semifinals last season, followed by a home game against defending champions Mumbai City FC, and even Khalid acknowledged that.
Also, they haven't had the perfect preparation in the leadup to the tournament as they failed to make it to the knockouts of Durand Cup after going down to Indian Army 2-3 in their final group game at home, which was quite shocking to say the least.
Moreover, as Khalid said he didn't get to sign all the players he wanted because they weren't available and the club also lost a number of key players like Daniel Chima Chukwu, Elsinho, TP Rehenesh and Jeremy Manzorro.
But on the positive side, they were able to get hold of some big names like Jordan Murray, Stephen Eze, Javi Hernandez, Lazar Cirkovic and Ashutosh Mehta.
And the club also was able to retain two of their foreign stars from last season - Rei Tachikawa and Javier Siverio - both of whom sounded more than pleased
working with Khalid.
"Our style is very similar. Like me, he also wants to attack from the very first minute and it feels great to play under him," said Siverio, who won the ISL Trophy with Hyderabad FC in his debut season.
"I think having Jamil from the start gives us an advantage from the last time. We have enough quality this season to reach top 6 of ISL and we are training everyday with the plan of the coach to win, that's our goal," he further added.
As for Japan's Tachikawa, he also made it quite clear that he stayed in JFC only because of Khalid and is once again looking forward to playing with the youngsters. There are quite a number of them in the squad like Mohammad Sanan and Nikhil Barla and they didn't fail to impress last season.
"They are young but they are not afraid to play. They work hard and I really like to play with them," added the Japanese midfielder.
This mix of youth and experience will indeed be something to watch out for in the coming days and hopefully it will help the team finish among the top-six teams in the league. The last time they achieved it was in the 2021-22 season, when they won their maiden Shield under Owen Coyle, and it will be something that the Red Miners will be happy to repeat under Khalid after two below-par seasons.
