Chennaiyin FC’s fall from grace: Why have the two-time ISL champions struggled to recreate past glory?

Chennaiyin FC, a founding member of the Indian Super League (ISL), has seen several highs and lows over the past thirteen years. Whether it was the 2015 final against FC Goa, beating Bengaluru FC on home soil in the 2018 final or the miraculous comeback in the 2019/20 season from the bottom of the table to another final, the club seemed to have found a formula for success.

During the initial stages of the competition, Chennaiyin was one of the most consistent teams winning the titles in the 2015 and 2017-2018 seasons. This success was largely attributed to Marco Materazzi and John Gregory, who created a strong system of tactical gameplay that instilled a winning culture in the team.

Materazzi, Chennaiyin FC’s first manager, got the best out of his international stars like Elano, Bernard Mendy and Stiven Mendoza in an aggressive 4-3-3 shape, supported by Indian youngsters like Jeje Lalpekhlua and Jayesh Rane. The system suited every player in the 2015 championship-winning lineup.

John Gregory, who inherited the team from Materazzi in 2017, further cemented the club’s dominance with consistent performances. Gregory introduced the traditional 4-2-3-1 with an attacking mentality that delivered Chennaiyin’s second title in its very first season, making it the most successful team in the league alongside ATK at the time.

Midway through the 2019/20 season, Owen Coyle took over after Gregory resigned due to a string of poor performances that saw Chennaiyin slip to the bottom of the table. When most wrote the team off, Coyle and Chennaiyin made an opportune comeback in the second half to reach another final, ultimately losing to ATK.

The most important aspect of the club’s initial success was a settled tactical system and a strong domestic core. This support had led to the club discovering new stars in players such as Jeje, Jerry Larlinzuala, Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte, who featured for the club in the longer term.

The downfall

Following the disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISL 2020-21 was played in a bio-bubble in Goa. Chennaiyin started the season losing its manager Coyle and its Golden Boot-winning striker Nerijus Valskis to Jamshedpur FC.

Hungarian manager Csaba Lazlo was appointed head coach and although the club started with an impressive 2–1 win over Jamshedpur FC, everything fell apart shortly afterwards. Club captain and playmaker Rafael Crivellaro was ruled out due to injury, affecting the team’s creativity. The team’s forwards, Esmael Goncalves and Jakub Sylvestr, went on a horror run, with just six goals between them. The season ended with Chennaiyin finishing in eighth place, managing just three wins in total.

Shortly afterwards, Lazlo was sacked and replaced by Montenegrin manager Bozidar Bandovic for the 2021–2022 season and all foreign players except Crivellaro were released from the 2020–2021 season.

Things fell apart in similar fashion after a win to start the season. The players struggled to adapt to the 3-5-2 system introduced by Bandovic, which led to a rigid midfield, a fallible defense and an underperforming attack. The club also lost Chhangte to Mumbai City FC midway through the season. A 0–5 defeat to FC Goa, the worst defeat in the club’s history, was the final blow as Bandovic was sacked before the season ended. Once again, Chennaiyin finished eighth, losing ten games.

The next few seasons were not so good for the club as the club could only manage an eighth-place finish in 2022–23 under German manager Thomas Bradaric. Not even Coyle’s return could change its fortunes as it battled its way to the play-offs before dropping to 11th in the 2024-2025 season. This period also coincided with the departure of club captain Thapa and Vishal Kaith, who had established themselves as international players.

In the shortened 2025/26 season, Chennaiyin have managed just two wins from nine games under Indian manager Clifford Miranda.

The decline may have several causes:

Lack of tactical consistency

Since the 2020-2021 season, there have been constant tactical changes in the team, linked to the constant change of managers. The players have difficulty adapting to a new system every season. This tactical inconsistency has created a limbo that the club has been unable to overcome. Every match there are recurring changes in the formation and line-ups.

Shift in paradigm

There has been a paradigm shift to the competition as a whole. Teams like Mohan Bagan Super Giant and Mumbai City FC have seen investments from strong sporting groups; RP Sangiv Goenka group and City Football Group respectively.

The financial support has allowed these clubs to bring in high-profile foreign players while attracting the majority of Indian talent. While other clubs have adapted to this shift, Chennaiyin has failed to fill the void left by the departure of their domestic talent and at the same time has also been unable to attract high-profile talents to the club.

Despite a false start this season, the team has found some consistency in tactics with Miranda implementing possession-based gameplay. Although the team has lost five games, Miranda seems to have slowly started to create a system that the players are adapting to. Although it is a long way back, Chennaiyin may have taken a step in the right direction.

Published on April 27, 2026