I-League 2018-19: Khalid Jamil has a lot to prove in the Kolkata derby

When Khalid Jamil joined East Bengal as a head coach in June 2017, he was one of the most sought after players in Indian football after a miraculous campaign against Aizawl FC.

A year and a half later, Khalid Jamil joined Mohun Bagan after being out of work for half a season.

The famous Indian coach has seen his qualifications questioned during his stay in East Bengal. He is now desperate to prove his worth in the Kolkata Maidan who had labeled it as a failure after failing to win the league title.

Jamil made a dazzling start to East Bengal by winning the Calcutta Football League (CFL), but the honeymoon period did not last long. A fourth-place finish in the I-League and a stinging 4-1 loss to Bengaluru FC in the 2018 Super Cup final in Bhubaneswar marked the end of his coaching career at the Kolkata club.

East Bengal had invited him to replicate the success he had won at Aizawl FC and bring home the elusive title of the I-League. Failing to do so Red and gold separated from the young Indian coach.

It's a very common saying in Maidan that a player or coach who has not yet played in Kolkata clubs has not really proved himself in Indian football.

This is probably one of the reasons the former coach of Mumbai FC returned to the City of Joy and this time as head coach of Mohun Bagan, one of East Bengal's main rivals.

After a disastrous start in the 2018/19 I-League under Sankarlal Chakraborty, which forced the Bengali coach to resign from his post, Bagan officials found themselves at Jamil as a new coach.

Jamil started his second run in Calcutta with consecutive victories against Minerva Punjab and NEROCA FC at home. But his real test now lies in his second match against East Bengal in the second Kolkata derby of the I-League season Sunday.

Jamil will have something to think about when Mohun Bagan starts the derby on Sunday. It should be noted that Khalid never won a derby in Kolkata as a coach. East Bengal shot one and lost two derbies when Khalid Jamil led them.

But circumstances have changed and he is responsible for their rivals. It is a fact or a death for Bagan who still hopes to stay in the title race but Jamil would like to win this match especially from a personal point of view.

A win on Sunday will help restore some of his goodwill to Kolkata and he will want to put an end to his series of games without a win as the coach of the biggest clash against Indian football.