I-League: Five things to look forward to after the break

After a near two-month break the I-League resumes in the coming week and here are five things to look forward to.

EB’s search for consistency

East Bengal remain the title favourites because of their incredible strength in depth but it’s been more than a year since the red-and-gold brigade won back-to-back games in the I-League. Armando Colaco’s side are 12 points behind leaders Bengaluru FC with four games in hand but they must find consistency quickly after the break if the long wait for a league title is to be ended. Unlike many of the title contenders, East Bengal have been kept busy during the mid-season break as they have had 13 fixtures with their IFA Shield campaign yet to finish. While winning the Calcutta Football League gave the squad further confidence, the poor display in the Federation Cup and the congested IFA Shield schedule has been unwelcome. Crucially ten of their remaining 13 fixtures are in Kolkata but they must hit top gear from their very next I-League game. The strike pairing of Edeh Chidi and James Moga is slowly starting to click while the return of club captain Mehtab Hossain from injury could be vital.

New signings

CK Vineeth joined Bengaluru from United SCPhoto Credit: Bengaluru FC

Like in Europe, the Indian version of the winter transfer window has been quiet compared to the one in summer with at least six clubs yet to make a signing in this window. But there have been some notable recruits and a few more are expected to be completed before the deadline of February 15. The Goan clubs have been the most active with all four making significant additions. Rock-bottom Churchill Brothers have signed Costa Rican striker Cristian Lagos to boost their survival hopes while Dempo roped in both Australian Tolgay Ozbey and Afghanistan skipper Zohib Islam Amiri in a bid to have a strong second half of the season after managing just three wins from their first 15 games. Salgaocar have also caught the attention by bringing in Nigerian striker Dudu Omagbemi, who returns to Indian football after almost seven years. There haven’t been too many local signings of note but current India internationals CK Vineeth (Bengaluru FC) and Nallappan Mohanraj (Sporting Clube) have changed clubs and both are expected to play a role in the title race.

Was the Cup success a fluke?

Photo Credit: Churchill Brothers media

Churchill Brothers are currently the holders of both the I-League and Federation Cup but relegation from the top flight remains a big possibility. Going into last month’s Federation Cup, no one gave the Red Machines a chance of even making it past the group stage but despite having only two foreigners Mariano Dias’ side won the club’s first-ever Federation Cup title with an all-win record over five matches. Churchill Brothers also achieved this without a foreign defender with the trio of Abdelhamid Shabana, Balwant Singh and Anthony Wolife being the standout performers. But the two-time I-League champions must prove now that their Federation Cup success was no fluke and that they actually are back on track with a foreign centre-back also expected to be added soon. Churchill Brothers have won only two games all season in the I-League and thus they need to be highly consistent in their final 11 games to avoid the embarrassment of the drop. Dias has already stated that they will priroritise the I-League over the AFC Cup and none can blame them.

Can Sunil and Balwant continue their fine form?

Can the India captain finish the season as the I-League’s top scorer?

No Indian has finished top scorer in the I-League era but there is a small possibility of that changing this time as India skipper Sunil Chhetri and national team hopeful Balwant Singh have been in good form. Sunil is the current joint top scorer with nine despite not even playing upfront for the majority of Bengaluru’s games. Balwant has six to his name in the I-League and was one of the joint top scorers in the Federation Cup with four but it remains to be seen whether he is used as a forward or on the wing now that Churchill Brothers have signed striker Lagos. Both players must keep scoring regularly not only to boost their chances of ending as the highest scorer but also to meet the respective targets of their teams. Sunil’s form and presence could be decisive in the title race while Churchill will rely on the goals of Balwant for their survival. Balwant also has the added incentive of getting a call-up to the senior national team for next month’s international friendly.

Will the title race take shape?

This is turning out to be the most competitive title race in I-League historyPhoto Credit: Bengaluru FC

With only 12 points separating the top eight even the likes of Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan and United SC have mathematical possibilities. But in truth there are possibly five contenders as only seven points separates first and fourth while East Bengal have four games in hand despite being 12 behind leaders Bengaluru. But the race could have even fewer horses after another four or five rounds of matches because in the first half of the season it remained unpredictable with every fixture difficult to call. Any small run of wins could boost the chances of a side which second placed Sporting Clube found out following four straight wins towards the end of 2013. At the same time few bad results could hamper the title challenge like in the case of Pune FC who have won just one of their last six league games. This highly competitive title race could even be stretched until the final day of the campaign but by the next international break in early March we could get a better indication about the serious contenders.