Punjab FC finished eighth in its debut Indian Super League (ISL) season which is decent considering it was newly promoted to the Indian top flight. Now the Shers are starting the campaign with a new coach, Panagiotis Dilmperis, leading a revamped squad.
Punjab made a sluggish start last time and went winless in its first eleven fixtures, but it did well to turn it around. Five of its six wins came in the second half of the season. However, it could only manage seven points from its last five fixtures, which cost them a playoff spot by just three points.
Punjab scored 28 goals last season but its focus should be to improve defensively having conceded 25 goals - the third highest in ISL 2023-24.
Eleven players departed the club this season including instrumental foreign players Madih Talal, Juan Mera, Wilmar Jordan Gill and Dimitrios Chatziisaias.
Attacking midfielder Talal was a force to be reckoned with last season having an involvement in 16 goals, comprising six goals and 10 assists. He played a major role in the team’s success and ended the league as the assist leader. The Frenchman will now play for East Bengal FC. Even Jordan, who was the club’s joint-top scorer (8) with Luka Majcen, left the club for Chennaiyin FC.
Punjab has brought in Filip Mrzljak, a midfielder from Lokomotiva Zagreb in Croatia who has experience playing in the Europa League. Another big name joining the Shers is Ezequiel Vidal to replace Talal. Even Mushaga Bakenga from Belgium and Ivan Novoselec from Croatia are the two other notable transfers.
Panagiotis Dilmperis takes charge
Punjab made a bold move of letting its former coach, Staikos Vergetis go, despite the Greek tactician helping the side achieve promotion from the I-League two seasons ago.
His replacement is fellow countryman Dilmperis, who has had a coaching career spanning 15 years. He recently coached A. E Ermionida FC, a club in the Greek top division. He has adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation in his previous clubs and is an attack-minded manager. He will be expected to help the new attackers but only time will tell how he implements his football philosophy in the Indian football ecosystem.
Expected finish - Eighth/Ninth
Although Punjab FC has done well in bringing in reinforcements, it might struggle defensively again this season especially since the other high-profile clubs have made some good transfers to bolster their respective attacks.
With a new coach and a new attacking front, Punjab is expected to struggle at the start of the campaign again and it might not be able to repeat its heroics in the latter stages as it did last season and miss out on a playoff spot again. The Shers have the potential to finish in the top-six but they need to have at least two successive consistent seasons for them to be considered as a serious threat in the ISL.
Since the club is new to the top flight, the coach should trust the process and take it game-by-game to ensure his side finishes the league in a respectable position.
Players to watch out for
Luka Majcen
Majcen was Punjab’s joint-top scorer last season and will be leading the frontline this time as well. The tall and strong Slovenian is a lethal fox-in-the-box. Majcen proved his mettle in the pre-season as well by scoring four goals and helping his side reach the quarterfinal of the Durand Cup.
Ezequiel Vidal
New attacking midfielder Vidal has big shoes to fill succeeding Talal but he is well-equipped to get the job done. The creative false-9 from Argentina has already made his mark as he scored in his debut in the Durand Cup against Mohun Bagan SG. He is coming to India on the back of a successful season having scored seven goals and providing nine assists for Indonesian top division side Persita Tangerang.
Transfer rating - 6/10
Punjab has done well to find replacements for the players that departed the club but it hasn’t in any way improved any area in terms of squad depth or strength.
The loss of Jordan and Talal, two players who ran riot in the final third for the Shers last season, were let go. If the gamble with the new stars arriving at the club doesn’t pay off, the club lacks the depth in terms of first-team quality and will definitely struggle to muster a strong playing 11 each week.
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