Indy Eleven Has Sights Set On A Double

Photo credit: Indy Eleven/Trevor Ruszkowski

Only days into his tenure as the coach of Indy Eleven, Tim Hankinson sat down with Peter Wilt, the club’s general manager, and Tim Regan, his assistant coach.

Ever the analytical student of the game, Hankinson asked for a positional schematic that detailed the playing minutes for all players who saw action during the 2015 North American Soccer League season. Indy had finished in ninth place in both the Fall Season and Combined Standings.

“What I noticed was that there were five international players who were not in starting roles most of the time,” he told NASL.com. “That roster had two years to try and find success, but was not able to. We needed as close to a new starting 11 as you could get to elevate the group. We retained the reserves and starters who fit our budget and are good pros. In preseason, there was a bit of a divide between the new group and the guys from before, but the strength has been team chemistry. The group genuinely looks forward to seeing each other every day.”

The transformation of Indy’s roster led to a transformation on the field with the Eleven putting together an unbeaten record on the way to the Spring Season title, the first piece of silverware in the club’s third year of existence. Now, with the Fall Season kicking off Saturday night at Carmelo Anthony’s Puerto Rico FC, Hankinson said that his veteran-laden squad has ambitions to do something no other NASL club has done since the league adopted its split-season format in 2013.

“Win the double,” he said. “No one has won the double. When you consider that only one other team (the Cosmos) has won a season championship undefeated, we’re honored to join that group. We have great commitment and determination to go after the Fall Season title. Now we get to host a semifinal, but finishing first in the Combined Standings would allow us to host The Championship Final. So that’s for our city, for our fans, something that’s very motivating.”

As an example of the club’s intention to not rest on its recent success, Indy went out and signed the veteran Mexican midfielder Gerardo Torrado (who will not be eligible to make his debut until July 9) and Souleymane Yula, a striker from Guinea.

“The other motivating factor is that we’ve signed two new players, Torrado and Yula,” Hankinson said. “It creates a new challenge.

“With Torrado, there’s an interesting scenario with a lot of layers. Every market in the United States asks the question: Can we attract Latin supporters? If you bring in a guy who’s played in three World Cup you’re going to find out if Indy is a city that has a fan base in the Hispanic community. His game is not about a tricky or creative dribble or making some spectacular play out of nothing. He is so precise and simple in his touch. He’s a very unselfish, ego-less star. His English is good and he’s already been a great influence in the locker room.”

Though Torrado will be unable to play at Puerto Rico he did play 60 minutes in the club’s international exhibition last week against Mexican club Pachuca, a 1-0 victory over the winners of the Liga MX Clausura title. Hankinson and his players hope Torrado is the final piece of the puzzle, a link between a strong back line and the forwards.

Throughout the Spring Season it was clear that Hankinson’s key acquisitions were on defense, a group that includes Colin Falvey, Nemanja Vukovic, and goalkeeper Jon Busch.

“That group has been vital for us,” Hankinson said. “Busch has brought tremendous leadership. There were times in the Spring Season when we didn’t look so good, when the game wasn’t on our terms, but defense allowed us to stay in the game a chance to win it, or keep as a draw.