Hyderabad FC

Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the first tier of the Indian football. Established on 27 August 2019, the club replaced Pune City after they were disbanded and their franchise rights were sold to Telangana businessman Vijay Madduri and former Kerala Blasters FC CEO Varun Tripuraneni. Hyderabad began their first professional season in October 2019.

Hyderabad
Full nameHyderabad Football Club
Short nameHFC
Founded27 August 2019 (2019-08-27)
GroundG.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium
Gachibowli, Telangana
Capacity30,000[1]
OwnersVijay Madduri
Varun Tripuraneni
Rana Daggubati
Head coachAlbert Roca
LeagueIndian Super League
2019–20Indian Super League, 10th of 10
Playoffs: DNQ
WebsiteClub website

Alongside Madduri and Tripuraneni, actor Rana Daggubati also serves as a co-owner of the club. On the 16 of June 2020, German club Borussia Dortmund struck a partnership deal with the club. Albert Roca is the current Hyderabad head coach, taking over on 1 June 2020. Hyderabad play their home matches at the G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium in the Hyderabad suburb of Gachibowli. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 for matches.

Hyderabad played their inaugural match on 25 October 2019, suffering a 5–0 defeat against ATK. The club completed their first season in the Indian Super League in 10th place, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

History

Formation

In February 2019, it was reported that Indian Super League side Pune City were struggling financially and that their owners were looking to sell the franchise.[2] The club reportedly were behind on paying players and had also attempted to discuss merging with local rivals Mumbai City.[2] After the 2018–19 season, Pune City released all their players and participated in the Super Cup using academy players.[3]

On 26 August 2019, it was reported by the Hindustan Times that Pune City had disbanded and that former Kerala Blasters CEO Varun Tripuraneni had bought a majority stake in the club.[4] Neither then Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel or Tripuraneni confirmed the reports. However, the next day, on 27 August 2019, it was announced that Hyderabad would replace Pune City for the 2019–20 season, with Tripuraneni and businessman Vijay Madduri buying the ownership rights to the franchise.[5] The club's branding and first kits were then revealed prior to their first season on 29 September 2019.[6]

Inaugural season

On 29 August 2019, it was announced that Phil Brown, the last head coach of Pune City, would be the first head coach for Hyderabad.[7] In late September, just before the start of the 2019–20 season, it was revealed that Hyderabad had signed almost every player from Pune City's final squad.[8]

The club played their first ever match on 25 October 2019 against ATK at the Salt Lake Stadium. They were defeated 0–5 in a match Brown described as "not our usual standards".[9] Hyderabad then succumbed to defeat again in their second match against Jamshedpur. Marcelinho scored the first goal for the club's history but could not prevent his side's 1–3 defeat.[10] The club finally earned their first victory in their third match on 2 November 2019 against the Kerala Blasters. This was also Hyderabad's first home match. Goals from Marko Stanković and Marcelinho helped Hyderabad to a 2–1 victory.[11]

On 11 January 2020, with the club in last place in the table, with just one victory and two draws from 12 matches, Brown and the club decided to part ways.[12] Former India international Mehrajuddin Wadoo took over as caretaker for one match before assistant coach Xavier Gurri López became interim coach for the rest of the season.[13][14] The club finished their season with a 5–1 victory over NorthEast United on 20 February 2020.[15] Overall, the club finished the season in last place and failed to qualify for the ISL playoffs.[16]

Club culture

Team colours and crest

The team colours and logo for Hyderabad were unveiled 21 September 2019.[17] The club colours are yellow and black. According to the club, the logo is titled "Reliving Hyderabad's Football Legacy" and is meant to represent Hyderabad and the city's heritage.[17] The logo features the minarets from the Charminar mosque in the city and Koh-i-Noor diamonds.[18] According to Hyderabad co-owner Vijay Madduri, the logo "is inspired from the city’s history, we now hope that HFC will be a great boost for the sport in the region… we can give a boost to the legacy that is already present in the city’s history and roots."[18]

Sponsorship
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2019–present Reyaur Sports[19] None

Ownership

The current co-owners of Hyderabad are Vijay Madduri, Varun Tripuraneni, and Rana Daggubati. Madduri, the chief executive officer of the Hyderabad-based company Incessant Technologies, said that he was looking forward to his "significant role in developing football in the state, reviving its past glory".[20] Tripuraneni is the former CEO of the Kerala Blasters, another Indian Super League side. During the club's announcement, Tripuraneni said "It is a proud moment for me, to be co-owner of Hyderabad FC. Hyderabad is a city with great football culture. I look forward to working with key stakeholders and building a strong foundation for the club, which will eventually contribute to society and do the city proud. Our immediate task is to prepare for the new season".[20]

On 24 October 2019, it was announced that prominent Telegu actor Rana Daggubati would also join Madduri and Tripuraneni as a co-owner of the club.[21] After acquiring ownership, Daggubati stated "Hyderabad has a great legacy with the sport. This team, therefore, is a chance to rekindle that legacy."[21]

Stadium
Main article: G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium
Balayogi Athletic Stadium in 2012

Hyderabad play their home matches at the G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium, located in the Hyderabad suburb of Gachibowli.[22] A multi-purpose stadium, the stadium is mainly used to host football matches and was built in 2002 prior to the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.[23] The stadium used to host matches for Fateh Hyderabad in the I-League 2nd Division but the club relocated after saying that the "pitch was not in good shape".[22] Prior to Hyderabad's first season, the grass was relaid and the stadium was renovated and cleaned in anticipation of the 2019–20 season.[22]

Players

First-team squad
As of 24 June 2020[24]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IND Subrata Pal
3 DF  IND Sahil Panwar
5 DF  IND Adil Khan
8 MF  IND Sahil Tavora
11 MF  IND Abhishek Halder
14 MF  ESP Néstor Gordillo
17 MF  IND Laldanmawia Ralte
19 FW  IND Halicharan Narzary
21 GK  IND Anuj Kumar
22 MF  IND Gani Nigam
25 DF  IND Dimple Bhagat
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF  IND Hitesh Sharma
27 FW  IND Nikhil Poojari
32 MF  IND Mohammad Yasir
33 GK  IND Laxmikant Kattimani
34 DF  IND Tarif Akhand
35 FW  IND Liston Colaco
36 DF  IND Souvik Chakrabarti
44 DF  IND Ashish Rai

Former players
Main article: List of Hyderabad FC players

Reserves
Main article: Hyderabad FC Reserves

Coaching & Technical staff
Position Name
Head coach Albert Roca[25]
Assistant Coach Xavier Gurri Lopez
Head Performance Analyst Joy Gabriel

Records and statistics

Season-by-season
As of 17 May 2020
Season Indian Super League Finals Super Cup AFC Top Scorer
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Player Goals
2019–20 18 2 4 12 21 39 10 10th DNQ — DNQ Marcelinho 7

Head Coaches record
As of 17 May 2020
NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
Phil Brown  England 29 August 2019[26] 11 January 2020[27] 12 1 2 9 12 29 008.33
Mehrajuddin Wadoo (caretaker)  India 11 January 2020[28] 24 January 2020[29] 1 0 1 0 1 2 000.00
Xavier Gurri López (interim coach)  Spain 24 January 2020[29] 1 June 2020[25] 5 1 2 2 8 8 020.00
Albert Roca  Spain 1 June 2020[25] Present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Team records

References
  1. Kumar, Nidheesh (31 October 2019). "GMC Balayogi Stadium in good shape for new ISL season". Telangana Today. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. Cyriac, Biju Babu (20 February 2019). "FC Pune City stares at uncertain future". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. "FC Pune City to be disbanded". The Free Press Journal. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  4. Aga, Oumar (26 August 2019). "FC Pune City over and out; club to re-branded, renamed and moved to Hyderabad". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. "Hyderabad FC replace struggling FC Pune City as new ISL franchise". The Times of India. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  6. Subrahmanyam, V. V. (29 September 2020). "Hyderabad FC launches jersey ahead of ISL 2019-20". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  7. Mergulhao, Marcus (29 August 2019). "Former Hull City manager Brown to coach Hyderabad FC". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  8. Banerjee, Ritabrata (23 September 2019). "ISL 2019-20: Hyderabad FC set to sign English defender Matthew Kilgallon". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. "ISL 2019-20: Phil Brown - More pressure at Hyderabad FC compared to Pune City". Goal.com. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  10. "Jamshedpur FC 3–1 Hyderabad FC". Soccerway.
  11. "Hyderabad FC 2–1 Kerala Blasters FC". Soccerway.
  12. "Hyderabad FC and coach Phil Brown part ways". The Hindu. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  13. "Odisha up for the challenge, Hyderabad playing for pride". Goal.com. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  14. Noronha, Anselm (23 January 2020). "Hyderabad FC's Javier Gurri Lopez: Players are enjoying training". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  15. "NorthEast United FC 1–5 Hyderabad FC". Soccerway.
  16. "ISL, Hyderabad FC season review: Injuries, underwhelming performances make it a debut to forget". Scroll.in. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  17. "New ISL franchise Hyderabad Football Club unveils logo". The Times of India. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  18. "ISL: New franchisee Hyderabad Football Club unveils logo`". Inside Sport. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  19. "Hyderabad FC New Kit 2019–20". Reyaur Sports.
  20. Easwar, Nisanth V (27 August 2019). "ISL: Varun Tripuraneni, Vijay Madduri announce Hyderabad Football Club". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  21. "Rana Daggubati joins Hyderabad FC as co-owner". The Times of India. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  22. Kumar, Nidheesh (31 October 2019). "GMC Balayogi Stadium in good shape for new ISL season". Telangana Today. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  23. "First Afro-Asian Games 2003". The Tribune. 18 October 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  24. "Squad". Indian Super League. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  25. "ISL - Hyderabad FC appoint Albert Roca as head coach". ESPN. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  26. Mergulhao, Marcus (29 August 2019). "Former Hull City manager Brown to coach Hyderabad FC". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  27. "ISL: Hyderabad FC and coach Phil Brown part ways". The Hindu. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  28. "Odisha up for the challenge, Hyderabad playing for pride". Goal.com. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  29. Noronha, Anselm (23 January 2020). "Hyderabad FC's Javier Gurri Lopez: Players are enjoying training". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  30. "Hyderabad FC Stats". worldfootball.net.
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