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October 14 will mark the first day when the Delhi Dynamos side will grace the newly renovated JLN Stadium. The massive 60K seater witnessed the national side win a couple of tournaments in the last three years (the 2011 SAFF Championship and the 2012 Nehru Cup) and a high profile international friendly involving Bayern Munich and the Indian national side.
However, there has been a dearth of a big club team which would enable some continuous football action in the capital. This opportunity had been waiting to be taken and it finally happened when DEN cable network bought this franchise. After signing Alessandro Del Piero, the global and the national media, for once, have their eye on matters relating to football in India.
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Home ground: Jawahar Lal Nehru StadiumCapacity: 60,000
Squad
Goalkeepers: Kristof Van Hout (BEL), Marek Cech (CZE), Jagroop Singh
Defenders: Anwar Ali, Govin Singh, Munmun Timothy Lugun, Naoba Singh, Robert Lalthlamuana, Shouvik Ghosh, Stijn Houben (NED), Wim Raymaekers (BEL)
Midfielders: Adil Khan, Francis Fernandes, Manish Bhargav, Shylo Malswamtluanga, Steven Dias, Shouvik Chakraborthy, Bruno Herrero Arias (ESP), Gustavo Marmentini Dos Santos (BRA), Hans Mulder (NED), Henrique Dinis Oliveira Dias (POR), Pavel Elias(CZE)
Forwards: Manandeep Singh, Mats Junker, Martin Skuobo (both DEN) and Alessandro Del Piero (ITA)
One thing to keep in mind about the ISL is that each club will play 14 games before a possible two-legged semi final and a subsequent final. So all the options for a position and flexibilities in the tactics and the formation will be crucial.
The Dynamos have scored 21 goals in 3.5 matches (the fourth match was only played till the 55th minute mark) and one can definitely expect this side to have a tendency to attack. The two Danes Mats Junker and Martin Skuobohave more than just opened their accounts in the friendlies which were against two local clubs from Delhi and Mohammeden Sporting from Calcutta. It will be interesting to see whether Manandeep Singh will be able to take his chances because it looks likely that he will get some playing time in this hectic schedule. Del Piero will play just behind the striker(s) for obvious reasons.
The midfielders have an interesting mix of young and old. Francis Fernandes is definitely the pick of the Indian players in the whole squad and can play both as a left winger and as a no.10. Shylo Malswamtluanga, more popularly known as 'Mama' in the Indian football fraternity, will be a key winger and will look to have a majority of games on the right wing, while sharing that position with another veteran in the form of Steven Dias.
The centre of the midfield will have a lot of competition and will definitely be foreign by the looks of things. Hans Mulder was signed directly (not from the draft) by the Dynamos and looks like he could be a fixture in the middle with either Pavel Elias or Bruno Herrero, who will bring some Asian experience with him since he played for Buriram United in Thailand.
Defensively, Robert and Naoba will take the full back positions while one of the two centre backs will be Indian to comply with the '6 foreigners + 5 Indians' rule. Anwar Ali or Govin Singh will be picked to play alongside the Belgian centre back who played in the Pro league in his own country last year. Stijn Hoben, the 19 year old Dutch CB will be looking to earn some important experience in India. Stijn, being a graduate of the Feyenoord academy, came in through the tie ups between the two clubs.
The Dynamos have an excellent Goalkeeping trio with two experienced Europeans to do the job. Kristof Van Hout is the obvious choice, having played in the Europa Liga last year. Marek Cech will look to bring in all the European experience in the absence of Kristof.
Likely XI: Van Hout; Naoba, Ali, Raymaekers, Lalthlamuana; Elias, Mulder; Fernandes, Del Piero, Shylo; Junker
Coach
Harm Van Veldhoven will be in charge of the team and it will be interesting to see how he will react to intense situations. The Belgian will be managing a team outside Europe for the first time. He has been sacked more than once by mediocre teams in the Belgian league.
In a friendly game against Pune F.C of the I-league, he apparently ordered his team to walk out of the match on the 55th minute mark after 2 of his players were sent off. There has been no official statement about that from the club or the league so far.
Owners
DEN Networks is the leading digital cable providers in the country and succesfully bagged the Delhi franchise. The owners have recently announced that the two bollywood actors- Pareeniti chopra and Ayushman Khurana will be cheering from the stands.
How far will they go?
The first season will be a dive into the unkown for many. But with the most expensive player in the league in Del Piero and a decent enough squad with just about enough depth, the Delhi Dynamos should be disappointed if they don't make it to the play-off positions at least.
The league position will be decided by many factors. One of the key deciding points could be the performance of Anwar Ali and Govin Singh at centre back. One of the less talked about positives for this franchise would be the weather in Delhi which will be one of the least humid ones in the months of November and December unlike most of the other franchises. All in all, the fans will hope to find Del Piero when they need him the most!
