Chennaiyin FC has appointed Raman Vijayan as the assistant coach. Raman has a lot of experience under his belt and will look to get the best out of the players. Vijayan will work with head coach Thomas Brdaric and he has replaced Syed Sabir Pasha.

“We are extremely pleased to have Raman Vijayan on board. His eye to spot and groom talent combined with his managerial experience will be of great value to CFC,” co-owner Vita Dani commented on Vijayan’s appointment.

Vijayan had played the assistant coach role for Delhi Dynamos in the 2015-16 season of the ISL. In fact, the 49-year from Tamil Nadu has played managerial roles for clubs like Chennai FC, Chennai United, and also South United from Bengaluru in the past.

Expressing excitement about his new role as CFC assistant coach, Vijayan commented: “I’m so happy to be part of the Chennaiyin family. Being a local player myself, it is a big honour to work with CFC.

“My vision is to have long-term goals, especially on development at the grassroot level. It’s more important for me to build a strong set up for youth development and grassroots. Every year we should bring more talent and bring more players from our youth development program to the main team. That will be our big vision in the upcoming years. We will have a proper scouting and structure program to bring more local talents from Tamil Nadu.”

Meanwhile, Vijayan played for top-tier clubs such as East Bengal, Mohammedan FC, Mahindra United, Dempo SC, and FC Cochin in his career. Furthermore, he made 30 appearances for the Blue Tigers in his International career.

Chennaiyin FC is currently preparing for the Hero Super Cup 2023 where they will begin their campaign against NorthEast United in Kerala on April 11.