2013–14 Pune F.C. season

After the 2012–13 season ended, Pune did not make many major changes to the squad. The club did let go three of their four foreigners in Chika Wali, Boima Karpeh, and club top scorer James Moga. All three players subsequently signed for other I-League clubs with Wali signing for Salgaocar,[10] Karpeh joining Sporting Goa,[11] and Moga joining East Bengal.[12] The club's number 1 goalkeeper from last season, Abhra Mondal, also left the club to join East Bengal.[13] In addition to Mondal, the club also lost Subhash Singh, Karma Tsewang, and Nallappan Mohanraj to Shillong Lajong, Salgaocar, and Mumbai Tigers respectively. The club also lost their first ever signing in Jeje Lalpekhlua who decided to sign for former I-League champions, Dempo.[14]

Air India forward Prakash Thorat was the first player signed by Pune for the new season.[15] The club then proceeded to sign both Anthony D'Souza and Arup Debnath respectively from Salgaocar and Mumbai Tigers.[16][17] The club then went on to sign three new foreigners to replace the three that left the club. The first to arrive was Equatorial Guinea international Raúl Fabiani.[18] The second foreign signing for Pune came only two days later with the signing of Calum Angus from Swedish Superettan side GAIS.[19] Then the third and final foreign signing for Pune before the season began was former A-Leaguer James Meyer who last played for the Brisbane Roar.[20] Then, before the I-League season began, Pune signed up four players from their academy with Denechandra Meitei, Salam Ranjan Singh, Thongkhosiem Haokip, and Gobin Singh all earning promotions to the senior squad.[21]

After the season began, Pune did make a change in their squad with Raúl Fabiani being released from the side and former Premier League and Bolton Wanderers player Riga Mustapha being brought in as a replacement.[22] The club made further changes to their squad in January 2014 with the signings of Gabriel Fernandes, Nicolau Borges, and Nawab Zeeshan being announced. Fernandes comes on loan from Dempo while Borges comes on loan from Mohun Bagan.[23]

Then, on 18 February 2014, the club announced that they had re-signed former Fans' Player of the Year Lester Fernandez for the rest of the season.[24]

The club began their pre-season campaign with new coach Mike Snoei in Goa. The club drew their first two matches against SESA Football Academy and Laxmi Prasad before beating Churchill Brothers 2–0 thanks to a double from Raúl Fabiani. In their next match, Pune defeated league-rivals Mumbai F.C. at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which strikes from James Meyer, Fabiani, and Zohmingliana Ralte earned the side a 3–0 victory. Then in their final match of pre-season, Pune defeated Deccan XI 2–0 thanks to strikes from Dhanpal Ganesh and Shanmugam Venkatesh.

Results

Churchill Brothers v Pune

14 August 2013 Friendly	Churchill Brothers	0 – 2	Pune	Goa
		Report	Fabiani  24', 25'

Pune v Mumbai

7 September 2013 Friendly	Pune	3 – 0	Mumbai	Pune, Maharashtra
	Meyer  28' Fabiani  54' Ralte  87'	Report		Stadium: Balewadi Sports Complex

Pune v Deccan XI

14 September 2013 Friendly	Pune	2 – 0	Deccan XI	Pune, Maharashtra
	Ganesh  32' Venkatesh  35'	Report		Stadium: Balewadi Sports Complex

Pune set out for their first ever I-League title in style with a victory away from home in round one of the 2013–14 I-League season against Mohammedan. Debut goals from Raúl Fabiani, who scored a brace, and James Meyer helped Pune to 3–1 victory at the Salt Lake Stadium. Josimar was the scorer for Mohammedan.[28] Pune then suffered a goalless draw in their second match of the season against Shillong Lajong on 29 September 2013 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.[29]

Pune then began what would be a home-only month of October in which all their matches that month would be played at home. The first of the three matches occurred on 10 October against Mohun Bagan. Pune managed to come out on top in that match 2–0 thanks to goals from academy product Thongkhosiem Haokip and foreign import James Meyer.[30] The second match then occurred nine-days later on 19 October against the defending champions from the 2012–13 season Churchill Brothers. Despite that fact, Pune were able to come out of the match with a victory thanks to a 52nd-minute goal from Calum Angus, his first for the club.[31] Then, the third and final match of the month came on 27 October against newly promoted Rangdajied United in which a 29th-minute goal from Angus lead Pune to a 1–0 victory. The victory was important for Pune as it meant that Pune went into November tied for first place in the I-League with Salgaocar[32]

Despite their grand October form, Pune could not stop themselves from falling 2–0 to Sporting Goa on 2 November. Goals from Victorino Fernandes and Pratesh Shirodkar sealed Pune's fate.[33] However, Pune managed to come back in their very next match against new direct-entry side Bengaluru FC at home on 6 November in which a goal from James Meyer lead Pune to a 1–0 victory.[34] Then, after a two-week international break, Pune returned to Goa to take on Salgaocar in a top of the table match as the winner would take first place in the league.[35] After going down a goal in the fourth minute from Darryl Duffy, Pune managed to equalize through a Riga Mustapha penalty, his first goal for the club, in the 61st minute.[35] Five days later, Pune returned to the same venue to this time take on Dempo.[36] After going down early once again to a Beto 47th-minute goal it was again Riga Mustapha who came through for Pune with his 51st-minute goal earning Pune a 1–1 draw.[36]

The club then began the month of December with a home match against United on 1 December 2013.[37] After taking the lead in the 77th minute through academy product Nikhil Kadam, United scored their equalizer seven minutes later to force Pune to begin the month with a 1–1 draw.[37] The month then did not get better for Pune as they succumbed to their second defeat of the season at home to arch-rivals Mumbai on 7 December 2013.[38] After going down early to a goal from former India international Pappachen Pradeep, Pune equalized through current India international Arata Izumi in the 41st minute. However, Mumbai scored the winning goal in the 60th minute through Yusif Yakubu.[38] The club then fell to their second defeat in a row in their next match against Rangdajied United at the Nehru Stadium in which, after taking a halftime 2–0 lead through Riga Mustapha and Gurjinder Kumar, the club gave away three second half goals (including two in stoppage time) to lose 3–2.[39] However the club then returned to winning ways when they faced United for the second time that month at the Kalyani Stadium on 15 December 2013.[40] An early brace from Riga Mustapha helped Pune to a 2–1 victory.[40] But that was only a short-lived moment for the club as the side quickly fell to third loss of the season in their next match against Mohun Bagan on 21 December 2013.[41] A brace from Odafe Onyeka Okolie and a goal from Ram Malik saw Pune lose 3–1 with the only Pune goal coming from Academy product Thongkhosiem Haokip.[41]

Once the league restarted for Pune in February 2014, the club first took on Sporting Goa at home on 16 February 2014. After going down early in the 39th minute through Beevan D'Mello goal, Pune managed to equalize in the 56th minute through Thongkhosiem Haokip as Pune drew 1–1.[42] Pune then won their first match of the year only three days later on the 19th against Mohammedan at the Balewadi Sports Complex when they defeated the Kolkata club 2–0. The goals came from Thongkhosiem Haokip and Gabriel Fernandes.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  IND Shahinlal Meloly — GK  IND Avilash Paul — DF  IND Caitano Costa (captain) — DF  IND Gobin Singh — DF  IND Henry Monsang — DF  IND Kaushal Singh — DF  IND Harshad Lunawat — MF  IND Roushab Dhere — MF  IND Manimaran R

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  IND Kiran C — MF  IND Rohit Kalsotra — MF  IND Altamash Sayed — MF  IND Soubhagyan Somrajan — MF  IND Diganta Khaddar — MF  IND Sumit Kumar Dubey — FW  IND Prakash Thorat — FW  IND Subhasish Bose — FW  IND Vikas Zanje

Updated 18 February 2014.[58]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Previous Club
Goalkeepers
1	Amrinder Singh		GK	(1993-05-27) 27 May 1993	Academy
22	Arup Debnath		GK	(1987-07-15) 15 July 1987	Mumbai Tigers
27	Shahinlal Meloly		GK	(1990-02-15) 15 February 1990	Viva Kerala
Defenders
2	Othallo Tabia		RB	(1983-10-20) 20 October 1983	Viva Kerala
4	Calum Angus		CB	(1986-04-15) 15 April 1986	GAIS
5	Gurjinder Kumar		LB	(1990-10-10) 10 October 1990	Tata Football Academy
13	Zohmingliana Ralte		CB	(1989-10-02) 2 October 1989	Shillong Lajong
14	Denechandra Meitei		LB	(1994-03-28) 28 March 1994	Academy
15	Anas Edathodika		CB	(1987-02-15) 15 February 1987	Mumbai
18	Nawab Zeeshan		LB	(1989-04-02) 2 April 1989	Mumbai Tigers
24	Salam Ranjan Singh		CB	(1995-12-04) 4 December 1995	Academy
25	Srikanth Ramu		RB	(1988-11-28) 28 November 1988	Youth Team
29	Gobin Singh		LB	(1993-03-04) 4 March 1993	Academy
Midfielders
6	Shanmugam Venkatesh		AMF	(1978-11-21) 21 November 1978	Mohun Bagan
8	Arata Izumi		AMF	(1982-07-31) 31 July 1982	Mahindra United
11	Douhou Pierre		AMF	(1987-12-21) 21 December 1987	Mahindra United
12	Nicolau Borges		MF	(1979-01-20) 20 January 1979	Mohun Bagan
16	Velington Rocha		MF	(1991-05-24) 24 May 1991	Margao
17	Dhanpal Ganesh		MF	(1994-06-13) 13 June 1994	Academy
19	Nikhil Kadam		CMF	(1994-06-23) 23 June 1994	Academy
21	Anthony D'Souza		LW	(1987-03-02) 2 March 1987	Salgaocar
23	Mumtaz Akhtar		CMF	(1988-12-08) 8 December 1988	United Sikkim
26	Fanai Lalrempuia		CMF	(1996-05-11) 11 May 1996	Academy
30	Gabriel Fernandes		MF	(1988-04-22) 22 April 1988	Dempo
31	Lester Fernandez		MF	(1986-12-06) 6 December 1986	Mumbai Tigers
Forwards
7	Riga Mustapha		ST	(1981-10-10) 10 October 1981	Cartagena
10	James Meyer		FW	(1986-05-28) 28 May 1986	Brisbane Roar
20	Prakash Thorat		FW	(1985-03-11) 11 March 1985	Air India
28	Thongkhosiem Haokip		ST	(1993-08-26) 26 August 1993	Academy

Mike Snoei coaches Pune this season.

As of October 2013.[59]

Position	Name
Head coach	Mike Snoei
Assistant coach	Gift Raikhan
Goalkeeping coach	Glen Johnson
Physiotherapist	Tariq Shaikh
Fitness coach	Sridhar Krishnamurthy
Kit manager	Prashant Naidu
Academy director	Ranjan Chowdhury
Academy coach	Naushad Moosa

As of 19 February 2014

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		I-League		AFC Champions League		Federation Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Amrinder Singh	19	0	15+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
2	DF		Othallo Tabia	14	0	8+3	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
4	DF		Calum Angus	18	2	14+0	2	1+0	0	3+0	0
5	DF		Gurjinder Kumar	17	1	13+0	1	1+0	0	3+0	0
6	DF		Shanmugam Venkatesh	7	0	0+7	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	FW		Riga Mustapha	14	6	10+0	5	1+0	0	3+0	1
8	MF		Arata Izumi	17	0	13+0	0	1+0	0	2+1	0
10	FW		James Meyer	15	3	10+1	3	0+1	0	3+0	0
11	MF		Douhou Pierre	20	0	15+1	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
12	DF		Nicolau Borges	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
13	DF		Zohmingliana Ralte	3	0	2+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	DF		Denechandra Meitei	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	DF		Anas Edathodika	18	0	14+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
16	MF		Velington Rocha	6	0	2+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
17	MF		Dhanpal Ganesh	10	0	6+1	0	1+0	0	1+1	0
18	DF		Nawab Zeeshan	3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+1	0
19	MF		Nikhil Kadam	10	1	10+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	FW		Prakash Thorat	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
21	MF		Anthony D'Souza	16	0	6+6	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
22	GK		Arup Debnath	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
23	MF		Mumtaz Akhtar	14	0	12+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
24	DF		Salam Ranjan Singh	7	0	6+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	MF		Srikanth Ramu	5	0	5+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	MF		Fanai Lalrempuia	12	0	5+4	0	1+0	0	0+2	0
27	GK		Shahinlal Meloly	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
28	FW		Thongkhosiem Haokip	15	4	5+7	4	0+1	0	0+2	0
29	DF		Gobin Singh	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	MF		Gabriel Fernandes	6	2	2+0	0	1+0	0	1+2	2
31	MF		Lester Fernandez	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Caitano Costa [ONL]	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Raúl Fabiani [L]	2	2	2+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0

• ONL = Out on loan.
• L = Has left the club during the season.