Aussie coach Papas signs for I-League giants
By Kathy Stone
May 27 2013 20:17
RISING Aussie coach Arthur Papas has been snapped up by five-time Indian champions, Dempo SC.
It is understood the club will officially announce a three-year deal with the former Victorian Premier League Coach of the Year within the next 48 hours.
Papas will move from his base in Calcutta to north Goa where he’ll be responsible for rejuvenating the aging squad which finished a disappointing fifth last season.
The ambitious 32-year-old revealed he’s planning a raid on the A-League ranks to provide the requisite on-field experience for the young players brought in.
Simon Colosimo (Melbourne Heart), Dani Sanchez (Wellington Phoenix) and former Perth Glory striker Billy Mehmet, who has terminated his contract with Bangkok Glass, are among those in his sights.
Papas has enjoyed a successful 12-month introduction to football on the subcontinent since being head-hunted by former Australia Technical Director Rob Baan who took up a similar role in India.
He has won high praise for his work with the youth development squad Pailan Arrows and the nation’s U22 squad, and picked up a nomination for Indian Coach of the Year (awarded to Pune FC’s Derrick Pereira).
But after attracting interest from the I-League’s top clubs the former Newcastle Jets assistant coach says he’s delighted at the prospect of taking the reins at one of the true giants of Indian football.
“Dempo is a really big club in India – it’s one of the most successful clubs in the I-league but they haven’t rejuvenated the club,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.
“I wanted to get back into club coaching and this club is in a really interesting position. The biggest thing right now is just to assess the squad and bring down to the average age not only for next season but for the seasons ahead as well.
“A lot of (the team) are former international players who’ve been very good for their country but the reality is it’s hard to achieve with an aging squad when you’re playing in such hot conditions.
“The chairman wants me to bring in younger players and lift the professionalism of the whole club.”
The Whites have been crowned I-League champions three times (most recently in 2011-12) and took out the forerunner National Football League twice, but last season saw the family-owned club produce its worst finish in seven years.
Papas says there will be greater investment in the club’s youth set-up but concedes the foreign veterans he’s targeting won’t do much to lower the age of his squad.
“They’re not young but the thing is my Indian players will be and they need to right kind of experienced players around them,” he said.
“If all goes well some of the young players who are in my U22 and Arrows team will come across. I’ll probably look for between four or five players. The main thing is not to bring all of them across because then they don’t all get to play and that’s not doing them any service.”
Alwyn George, the Football Players’ Association of India Young Player of the Year, has already flagged his hope of following Papas if he can engineer a way out of his contract with the Arrows.
“I have learned many a thing from him,” the 21-year-old told goal.com. “He has been a great guide and has helped me on and off the field whenever I faced any problem. I look forward to having him again as my coach sometime in future.”
Papas has been back in his home town of Melbourne for the past two weeks and depending on the format for the new season, which is under review, may not return to India until the second week of July. Then it’s all systems go.
“I’m off the bus which has been travelling nicely and back on the roller coaster of first team football again,” he said. “It’s going to be a good challenge but I’m up for it to be honest.”