As Jamshedpur FC’s head coach Khalid Jamil prepares to step into the boots of the chief coach of the Indian national men’s football team, his assistant coach at Jamshedpur, Steven Dias, is confident that this can only mean ‘acche din’ (good days) for Indian football.

Dias, 41, a former India winger, nicknamed the Indian Beckham, for his dead-ball expertise in his heyday, has played under Jamil’s leadership at Mahindra United (in the late 1990s and early 2000s). Both Mumbaikars get along like a house on fire, and have shared numerous fun moments and football successes together. “As a player Khalid was brilliant on the field. He was even named AIFF Player of the Year one season, that’s how good he was. But off the field, he was great fun. Always laughing and joking around, not just with us his teammates, but also with the coaches. But ever since he became coach, there has been a complete transformation in his personality. He’s a lot more serious now, and while he does laugh around with us coaches, when it comes to his players, it’s a different approach,” Dias told mid-day on Friday.

Steven Dias