Federation Cup 2014: Team of the tournament

Sportskeeda concludes the review of Federation Cup 2014 by selecting the team of the tournament.

Formationa:4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Shilton Paul (Mohun Bagan)

The custodian is having a good season and made some very important saves in Mohun Bagan’s road to the semis especially in the opening game against Mumbai FC. Shilton was left helpless though by his defenders in the semi-final defeat to Churchill Brothers.

Right Back: Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers)

Photo Credit: AIFF Media

The India international was outstanding for the I-League holders in each of the five matches as he hardly put a foot wrong defensively and bombed forward at every opportunity to support young Saran Singh on the right flank.

Centre Back: Dharmaraj Ravanan (Churchill Brothers)

Ravanan (in blue)

The former India u-23 defender has been unlucky not to be in the national team despite his consistency in recent years but Ravanan has once again proved himself on the pitch by leading an all-Indian backline to glory.

Centre Back: Echezona Anyichie (Mohun Bagan)

Echezona (left); Photo Credit: Bengaluru FC

The Nigerian central defender was immense for the Mariners during the group stage in which they only conceded once and didn’t do much wrong in the semi-final defeat to Churchill Brothers.

Left Back: Raju Yumnam (Churchill Brothers)

Raju (no.26)

Raju has won two I-League titles with Churchill Brothers but has always been an underrated fullback. His overlapping runs gave the Goan club an extra option going forward and as always defensively he was very solid.

Right Midfield: Anthony Wolfe (Churchill Brothers)

Wolfe celebrates his goal against Mohun Bagan

It’s never easy for a foreigner to make an instant impact in a new country but this 2006 World Cupper has done that by scoring thrice and creating three more. He played as a striker in this competition but naturally looks more comfortable playing on the flanks and could be used there in the I-League.

Central Midfield: Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers)

The India midfielder hasn’t had a good I-League campaign so far but was back to his very best in this tournament as he protected the defence and also supported the attack by making runs from midfield, scoring once.

Central Midfield: Abdelhamid Shabana (Churchill Brothers)

Shabana (no.14) in possession

The Egyptian was one of the players of the tournament as he was Churchill’s playmaker from the middle of the park but crucially Shabana also scored three times including the sumptuous freekick against Eagles FC that sealed their place in the last four.

Left Midfield: Beevan D’Mello (Sporting Clube)

The former Salgaocar player was a livewire on the left flank for Sporting Clube throughout the tournament as he created plenty of chances and also got on the scoresheet twice in the group stage including the late winner against East Bengal.

Centre Forward: Balwant Singh (Churchill Brothers)

Balwant celebrates after scoring the opener in the final

After impressing in the I-League, Balwant showed great quality in the Federation Cup as well with four important goals. Most notably, the India hopeful scored the opening goal in both the semi-final and final to set Churchill on their way.

Centre Forward: Victorino Fernandes (Sporting Clube)

The 24-year-old is another Indian forward with four goals in this tournament and three of them came in the group stage. Besides the goals, Victorino was also a joy to watch as his pace and trickery caused problems to opposition defences.