Will give full freedom to players: Jamshedpur FC coach Antonio Iriondo

Jamshedpur, July 27: Newly appointed Jamshedpur Coach Antonio Iriondo addressing the media on Friday said, “Players rule the game and let them be free during the matches and I will give full freedom to the boys. Players are the main strategists on the ground and they should be given liberty to play and make strategy according to their potential and execute it accordingly so that their improved performance comes to the fore.”

On his appointment, Antonio said, �I am thrilled to be joining a club of Jamshedpur FC�s stature. The philosophy along with the grassroots and youth development structure that the club follows is the right way forward. I�m excited about what we can do together, and I look forward to giving everyone who loves the club some special moments.�

Need to start well in short format: Antonio

 Jamshedpur FC coach Antonio Iriondo while replying to a query about the ISL format, said, “Format of this league is quite short and we need to start well from game one. There are number of football leagues going on across the globe but ISL is different as there is no scope for promotion or relegation in this format. In the relegation system there is the danger of a team being knocked out and to avoid it teams press for their best performance.�

�Antonio informed that he has been studying the performance of JFC players since the last month so that he can may be able to evolve strategies as per the strengths and weaknesses of players.

Couple of meetings with Tiri

Coach Antonio said that he had met Jamshedpur FC captain Tiri twice before coming to Jamshedpur. �A big season lies ahead of us. Before coming to India, Tiri used to play Spanish B Division league and I have watched him going from strength to strength.��

It is worth mentioning that the 65-year-old Antonio Iriondo started his career with Carabanchel that played in the Segunda B back then. Later, he switched to Rayo Majadahonda where he worked for 4 years.

After his first stint with Rayo Majadahonda, he managed Tercera Division B clubs Amoros, Manchego, Madridejos and Atletico Pinto. Antonio was then appointed as the head coach for Rayo Vallecano B in 2002 and was later promoted to their senior team (who played in La Liga) as an interim head coach for nine matches towards the end of the 2002-03 season. Subsequently, Antonio was appointed at the helm of UD San Sebasti�n de Los Reyes, CD Toledo (two stints), San Fernando CD (two stints) and then started his second stint in 2012 at Rayo Majadahonda. With the latter, he achieved promotion to the third division in 2015 and took the clubs to the playoffs for the first time in their history in 2017. In the 2017-18 season, Antonio achieved promotion to Segunda Divisi�n with Rayo Majadahonda, after beating FC Cartagena in the play-offs. Antonio ended his seven-year-long spell at the club in 2019 before joining the Jharkhand-based Indian Super League clubJamshedpur FC.

The Spaniard will join when the squad reassembles to commence pre-season training and prepare for the football season 2019-20.