2018–19 Minerva Punjab F.C. season

Minerva Punjab
2018–19 season
Owner Ranjit Bajaj
Technical Director Northern IrelandPaul Munster
Stadium Tau Devi Lal Stadium (I-League)
The Arena(AFC Cup)
I-League TBD
Punjab State Super Football League League stage: 2nd
Finals: champions[1]
Super Cup TBD
AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off
Home colours
Away colours

The 2018–19 Minerva Punjab FC Season will be the club's third season in the I-League.

Sponsors

As of 16 September 2018

Sponsors Type Sponsor's Name
Sponsor Apollo Tyres
Co-Sponsor
Kit Sponsor
Sports Drink Sponsor Gatorade[2]

Transfers

Minerva Punjab have seen an exodus of top players after their I-League victory last season.Perhaps the biggest departure that Minerva Punjab has to deal with is that of Chencho Gyeltshen. The Bhutanese attacker was the stand-out performer for Minerva last season and was subsequently sold to Bengaluru FC[3]. Chencho has left a huge gap in the Minerva squad, a gap which the club hierarchy will be hoping to fill with some fresh acquisitions.

Following Chencho out of the door were Kiran Chemjong, Sukhdev Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, Bali Gagandeep, Kassim Aidara, Girik Khosla, Rakshit Dagar, and Abhishek Ambekar.

Kamalpreet Singh, Gagandeep,Aidara, and Rakshit Dagar have all signed for Minerva's title rivals East Bengal F.C..

Meanwhile, Sukhdev Singh and Ambekar have moved on to Mohun Bagan[4].Ahead of the 2018-19 I-League season, Minerva are left with a depleted squad

On 6 July 2018 Minerva Punjab have signed forward Yu Kuboki on a permanent transfer from Australian club Sydney Olympic FC.The Japanese had been in scintillating form for Sydney in the previous season, scoring 11 goals from 22 matches. Kuboki can also slot in as an attacking midfielder or as a withdrawn striker. [5]

In August 2018 Minerva signed three new players including Nigerian forward Philip Njoku [6].

In September 2018 they signed former Ozone FC striking duo C. S. Sabeeth and Brazilian Robert De Souza.[7]. They also extended contract with defender Akashdeep Singh and striker Akash Sangwan.[8][9]

Contract Extension

No. Position Player Date Ref
FW India Akash Sangwan 6 September 2018 [8]
DF India Akashdeep Singh 9 September 2018 [9]
MF India Amandeep Singh 10 September 2018 [10]
MF India Souvik Das 14 September 2018 [11]
DF India Deepak Devrani 19 September 2018 [12]
MF Ghana William Opoku 21 September 2018 [13][14]
GK India Arshdeep Singh 22 September 2018 [15]
DF India Arshpreet Singh 23 September 2018 [16]
GK India Bhaskar Roy 26 September 2018 [17]
MF India Randeep Singh 1 October 2018 [18]
FW India Rajan Negi 9 October 2018 [19]

In

No. Position Player Previous club Transfer fee Date Ref
FW Japan Yu Kuboki AustraliaSydney Olympic FC Free agent 6 July 2018 [5]
FW India Sandeep Rajput MPFC winter Camp Free agent 30 July 2018 [20]
FW Nigeria Philip Njoku Finland FC Inter Turku Free agent 7 August 2018 [6]
MF India Liandala Fanai India Aizawl Free agent 12 August 2018 [21]
FW India Hitova Ayemi India Fateh Hyderabad Free agent 25 August 2018 [22]
FW India C. S. Sabeeth India Ozone F.C. Free agent 2 September 2018 [23]
FW India Dilli Ram Sanyasi India Hindustan FC Free agent 5 September 2018 [24]
FW Brazil  Robert De Souza India Ozone FC Free agent 7 September 2018 [7]
DF India Mohamed Irshad IndiaGokulam Kerala Free agent 8 September 2018 [25][26]
MF India Prabhjot Singh unattached Free agent 11 September 2018 [27]
DF Rwanda Aimable Nsabimana Rwanda APR FC Free agent 13 September 2018 [28][29]
DF India Nikhil Pal India Chennai City Free agent 16 September 2018 [30]
MF India Akhil PM IndiaFC Kerala Free agent 26 September 2018 [31][32]

Out

No. Position Player Outgoing club Ref
27 DF India Abhishek Ambekar India Mohun Bagan [33]
7 FW Bhutan Chencho Gyeltshen India Bengaluru [33]
16 MF Senegal Kassim Aidara India East Bengal [33]
9 FW India Bali Gagandeep India East Bengal [33]
40 GK India Rakshit Dagar India East Bengal [33]
22 DF India Kamalpreet Singh India East Bengal [33]
31 GK Nepal Kiran Chemjong Maldives T.C. Sports Club [33]
3 DF India Sukhdev Singh India Mohun Bagan [33]
10 FW India Moinuddin Khan India Mohun Bagan [33]
11 MF India Girik Khosla India NorthEast United FC [33]
13 MF Ivory Coast Bazie Armand India Mohammedan [34]
24 DF Ivory Coast Guy Eric Dano India Rainbow AC [35]

Squad

First-team squad

As of 2 October 2018[36]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
– India GK Arshdeep Singh
22 India GK Bhaskar Roy
13 India DF Akashdeep Singh
50 Rwanda DF Aimable Nsabimana
– India DF Mohamed Irshad
28 India MF Prabhjot Singh
47 Brazil FW Robert De Souza
21 India FW Akash Sangwan
14 India FW Dilli Ram Sanyasi
– India MF Akhil P.M
– India DF Nikhil Pal
8 India MF Randeep Singh
No. Position Player
5 India DF Arshpreet Singh
42 Ghana MF William Opoku
25 Nigeria MF Philip Njoku
– India MF Hitova Ayemi
10 Japan FW Yu Kuboki
43 India FW C.S. Sabeeth
– India MF Liandala Fanai
– India FW Sandeep Rajput
49 India MF Amandeep Singh
15 India MF Souvik Das
26 India DF Deepak Devrani
20 India FW Nongdamba Naorem

Team management

Paul Munster, current Minerva Punjab technical director
As of 9th August 2018.
Position Name
Technical Director Northern IrelandPaul Munster
Head Coach Vacant
Assistant Coach Vacant
Team Manager India Sachin Badadhe
Physiotherapist India Karuna Kant Gupta

Pre-season and friendlies

Minerva Punjab kicked -off their pre-season preparations by participating in the 2018 Punjab State Super Football League from 26 August 2018.[37] with 4 wins and 3 draws Minerva finished second in the league table.[38]They beat league leader FC Punjab Police in the finals to win the 32nd Punjab State Super Football League title.[39] [40]

Punjab State Super League

  Win   Draw   Loss

Notes
  1. ^ Match abandoned at 81 minute due to bad weather conditions.The remaining 9 minutes were played on 17 September 2018.[43] [41]

Friendlies

Competitions

I-League

League Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
5 Gokulam Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Indian Arrows[lower-alpha 1] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Minerva Punjab 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Mohun Bagan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 NEROCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on October 2018. Source: i-league.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
  1. ↑ Indian Arrows are exempted from relegation, because they are AIFF developmental team.

References

  1. ↑ "Minerva Punjab clinch 32nd Punjab Super League title". khelnow.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "GatoradeIndia continues to quench the thirst as The Warriors strive to reach new heights this season". twitter.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Chencho Gyeltshen signs with Bengaluru FC". Bengaluru FC. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "I-League 2018: Mohun Bagan name Henry Kisekka, Abhishek Ambekar in squad, Akram Moghrabi and Cameron Watson left out". sportskeeda. 2 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 "I-League 2018/19: Yu Kuboki joins Minerva Punjab from Sydney Olympic FC". goal. com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 "MINERVA PUNJAB FC SIGN NIGERIAN PHILIP NJOKU FROM FINLAND PREMIER DIVISION CLUB FC INTER TURKU". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Minerva Punjab rope in 2nd Division I-League top scorer Robert De Souza". khelnow.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Local lad Aakash Sangwan extends his stay". twitter.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. 1 2 "We've retained Defender, Akashdeep Singh for yet another exciting season". twitter.com. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Amandeep Stays! Amandeep Singh extends his stay for the upcoming season!". twitter.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Midfield genius Souvik Das extends his stay". twitter.com. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Our Central Defender Deepak Devrani extends his stay at the Club for yet another season". twitter.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "I-league 2018-19: William Opoku rejoins Minerva Punjab". goal.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "WILLIAM OPOKU EXTENDS HIS STAY WITH THE WARRIORS". minervapunjabfc. com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "MrSafe Hands arshsainistays to guard the woodwork for yet another season". twitter.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Defender Arshpreet Singh has been retained for the upcoming season". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Goalkeeper Bhaskar Roy extends his stay for the upcoming season". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  18. ↑ "The midfield engine Randeep Singh extends his stay". Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "Local lad Rajan Negi extends his stay". Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  20. ↑ "tête-a-tête with Sandeep who was scouted from MPFC Winter Camps to join MPFC First Team". twitter.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  21. ↑ "SENA FANAI SIGNS FOR MINERVA PUNJAB FC". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "THE WARRIORS SNAP UP YOUNG HITOVA AYEMI". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "CS SABEETH SIGNS!". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "WELCOME BACK, DILLI!". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "We're happy to announce the signing of promising Defender, T.V. Mohamed Irshad". twitter.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "MD. IRSHAD SIGNS FOR THE WARRIORS!". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Welcome back Prabhjot". minervapunjabfc.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  28. ↑ "Nsabimana off to India for Pro move to Minerva Punjab". newtimes.co.rw. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  29. ↑ "Rwanda International Defender Aimable Nsabimana is now a warrior". twitter.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  30. ↑ "THE WARRIORS SECURE THE SIGNATURE OF NIKHIL PAL". minervapunjabfc. com. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Ranjit bajaj on twitter". com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  32. ↑ "warriors have added Akhil Praveen to the roster!". twitter.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "I-League 2018: Champions Minerva Punjab sign Philip N'Joku on board from Finnish club FC Inter". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  34. ↑ "MIDFIELDER BAZIE ARMAND REACH KOLKATA - Mohammedan Sporting Club's Ivorian midfielder has arrived in Kolkata". dailyhunt.in. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  35. ↑ "Rainbow AC Sign I-League Winning Foreigner". indiafooty.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  36. ↑ "Squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  37. ↑ "Punjab League Fixtures". twitter.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  38. ↑ "PSSFL 2018 League table". twitter.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  39. ↑ "The warriors clinched the 32 and JCT PFL title". twitter.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  40. ↑ "Minerva Punjab FC clinch the 32nd JCT Punjab State Super Football League title defeating Punjab Police in the Finals". IndiaFooty.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  41. 1 2 "match abandoned". com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  42. ↑ "Here goes the FT whistle as both teams settle for a point each". twitter.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  43. ↑ "UPDATE The remaining 10 minutes of our Match against DalbirFootballAcademy abandoned due to heavy rains will be played today at the Club's base in Mohali". twitter.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  44. ↑ "Clash of the Champions". twitter.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  45. ↑ "HERO I-LEAGUE CHAMPIONS MINERVA PUNJAB FC PIP DELHI CHAMPIONS INDIAN AIR FORCE IN THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS CLASH". minervapunjabtc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  46. ↑ "The warriors are up against Indian super league side NEUFC". twitter. com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  47. ↑ "We're heading back to the capital". twitter. com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.

    See also

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