The third season of the Indian Super League is on the verge of its culmination and just like the first two seasons we have seen some phenomenal performances and some disappointing ones. There were some who outdid their reputation and then there were some who could not live up to their expectations and name.
Here are five such names who failed to live up to their mark this season and it’s very unlikely that they would be brought back to the ISL next season.
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#1 Thiago Dos Santos Cunha
Thiago Cunha’s unsporting behaviour after the end of the second leg semi-final between Mumbai City FC and Atletico de Kolkata is enough to see him not feature next year’s Indian Super League (ISL).
It should be an innate behaviour of a sports person to take defeats well. But if you behave as amateurs at a professional level, then it is beyond acceptable. Sports persons indulging in physical assaults happen to be the lowest they can stoop down to and history has beckoned many such examples. On the day of the semi-final, Cunha could not bear the heat of a defeat and ended up heading and kicking ATK defender Pritam Kotal.
Cunha’s performance otherwise too hasn’t been that impressive. The 31-year-old Brazilian made six appearances for Mumbai, in which he committed six fouls and was sent off once. He failed to mark his presence in the star-studded line-up of the Mumbai team and had just one attempt on target.
He surely shouldn't be brought back to ISL next season.
#2 Michael Chopra
Chopra surely is one of the most overrated players in the Indian Super League. Playing in his second edition, the Newcastle United Academy product made 19 appearances in total for Kerala in total and has managed to find the back of the net just once.
His second stint with Kerala Blasters was equally distressing as his first, though on both occasions the team has made it to the finals. This year, the Indian-origin British footballer made 10 appearances and managed his solitary goal. He, however, lacked fitness and his lacklustre performance severely affected the team’s forward line. Indian CK Vineeth later came to the team’s rescue and scored more goals in his maiden appearance this season than Chopra’s two seasons combined.
From what it seems, Chopra should take a cue. Of course, it would be unfair to ask him to hang up his boots, but the performance he has delivered, he shouldn’t be brought back to ISL the next time.
#3 Duwayne Kerr
Jamaican Duwayne Kerr is another name who has thoroughly disappointed us a lot this season. The Chennaiyin goalkeeper made five appearances this season and failed to maintain a single clean sheet.
And even worse, he conceded 10 goals at the rate of 2 per match. And he could pull off only 15 saves.
Indian goalkeepers have put up a better show than most foreign keepers, which Chennaiyin’s Karanjit Singh putting up a much better show. Hence under such circumstances, one would argue that Kerr performance might just not earn him a place in next season’s ISL.
#4 John Arne Riise
Liverpool legend John Arne Riise is probably the biggest name to have disappointed us all this ISL. For reasons, unknown, Riise wasn’t a preferred starter for Chennaiyin’s head coach Marco Materazzi.
But whenever he did take the ground, he surely wasn’t remotely close to his actual potential. In 10 appearances this season he has just made 13 tackles and 10 interceptions. On the offensive side, he has just five shots in total with just three on target though he managed to score a goal.
Riise addition surely puts a lot of weight onto the team’s line-up, but unfortunately, his performance doesn’t suffice the expectations of the spectators or the coach. His experience is surely very much valued, but his tenure as a player on the ground might have just perished to an extent. And it would be very difficult to see him back in the ISL next season.
#5 Didier Zokora
NorthEast United’s marquee player Zokora was another big disappointment this season. The record holding Ivory Coast international confided mostly to defensive duties this season. He juggled between the holding midfield and centre back position, but could not exactly lead the team from the back.
He played all the 14 matches for the team and has one assist to his name. His experience surely did help his team a lot, with the team being very tidy in the initial phase of the league. But the performance could not be replicated once the team reached the latter phase of the league and the highlanders started conceding a lot of silly goals.
Zokora’s vast experience would surely be missed, but there is very little chance of him featuring in next season’s ISL.
