ISL 2017: Three teams to watch out for

As Indian football’s grandest extravaganza, the ISL gets underway, the teams have been flying around the globe fine-tuning their squad and getting valuable minutes under their belts. All teams have been sweating it out and getting match-fit in their own set of pre-season friendly fixtures as they gear up for a long and testing campaign.

Here are the teams which could light up the stage.

#3 Kerala Blasters

History

The club was established in May 2014 and began their first professional season a few months later in October 2014. The team name comes from one of their owners, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was known as the "Master Blaster" during his playing days.

The Blasters play their matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi. The stadium was also a venue used in the Indian Premier League for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and was also a venue during the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The team has lead the league in attendance every season, regularly averaging over 55,000 fans a game. The club had twice made it to the final of the Indian Super League in 2014 and 2016 respectively. On both occasions, they lost to ATK, formerly known as Atletico de Kolkata. With new signings like Dimitar Berbatov, former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur star, and the return of Iain Hume from ATK, the Blasters would definitely be hoping to break the jinx and crown themselves with the ISL 2017 trophy.

Pre-season

Kerala Blasters trained at the Marbella Football Centre in Spain, adhead of their clash against ATK. The Yellow Army played four pre-season games, of which they won two. The Blasters defeated Athletic Coin by 1-0 in their first match, but were held back by Juventud Torremolinos as both the sides managed to find the net once. In their third game against Real Balompedica Linense, the Blasters managed to score twice and ended up winning the match. Though their last match against Marbella FC didn't go as expected, as the Yellow Army stumbled by a margin of 3-0.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Paul Rachubka, Sandip Nandy, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury.

Defenders: Lalruatthara, Lalthakima, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic, Rino Anto, Samuel Shadap, Sandesh Jhingan, Soraisam Pritam Kumar Singh, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Ajith Sivan, Arata Izumi, CK Vineeth, Courage Pekuson, Jackichand Singh, Loken Moirangthem Meitei, Milan Singh Ongnam, Siam Hanghal.

Forwards: Iain Edward Hume, Helder Postiga, Nadong Bhutia, Baljit Sahni, Sushil Kumar Singh, Dimitar Berbatov.

#2 ATK

History

The team was officially launched as Atlético de Kolkata in 2014. They are owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. Initially, for the first three seasons, Spanish La Liga club Atlético Madrid were also a co-owners.

After the end of their partnership with the Spanish giants, Atletico de Kolkata have been rechristened to ATK. The 85,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium is the home ground of ATK. Having previously won two ISL seasons, ATK are the strongest contenders once again. With the likes of Robbie Keane, former Tottenham Hotspur player, as their new marquee player, ATK are looking forward to their third ISL title. However, they are set to miss out on the services of top scorer Iain Hume, who has moved back to his former club Kerala Blasters.

Pre-season

ATK have a 100% win ratio in their pre-season friendlies on their Dubai tour. After defeating the Dubai Irish Football Club by 2-1 and Dibba Al-Hisn Sports & Culture Club by 3-2, they ransacked Turkmenistan U-19 by a margin of 5-1. Robin Singh, Bipin Singh Thounaojam and Robbie Keane each scored twice for the Teddy Sheringham-managed ATK.

Squad

Goalkeeper: Debjit, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kunzang Bhutia

Defenders: Anwar Ali, Ashutosh Mehta, Augustin Melwyn Fernandes, Jordi Figueras Montel, Keegan Pereira, Nallappan Mohanraj, Prabir, Tom Joseph Thorpe.

Midfielders: Bipin Singh Thounaojam, Carl Baker, Conor Thomas, Darren Caldeira, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Hitesh Sharma, Ronald Singh Shaikhom, Rupert Lamlang Nongrum, Shankar Sampingiraj.

Forwards: Jayesh Dilip Rane, Jose Egas dos Santos Branco, Njazi Kuqi, Robbie Keane, Robin Singh.

#1 Bengaluru FC

History

Formed in July 2013, the club has established itself as a premier footballing establishment in the country with a strong community focus. The club is owned by Mumbai-based company, JSW Group and its managing director is Sajjan Jindal.

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the club's home ground is a 24,000 seater. The club has won the I-League twice; the first time in their debut season, and have been runners-up once within a short span of 4 years.

They have also won the Federation Cup twice, but have missed the AFC Cup title in 2015-16 by an inch. Sunil Chhetri, the Indian captain, is the top scorer for Bengaluru FC with 49 goals in 4 seasons. Their fan base, West Block Blues' support has been instrumental to their success.

Pre-season

Bengaluru FC defeated East Bengal, Gokulam FC and Chennai City in their pre-season friendlies. However, they lost narrowly to Minerva FC by 3-2. They defeated their former rivals from the I-League East Bengal, on an aggregate of 4-2. Later, defeating Gokulam FC, Kerala based club, founded in January 2017, by a margin of 5-1.

They churned out a merciless performance against Chennai FC, winning by an aggregate of 8-2. Miku Fedor ended up scoring five times, while Udanta Singh scored four times and Sunil Chhetri found the net thrice during their pre-season friendlies.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Abhra Mondal, Calvin Abhishek, Lalthuammawia Ralte.

Defenders: Collin Abranches, John Johnson, Joyner Monte Lourenco, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Fernandez, Nishu Kumar, Rahul Shankar Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Rahul Shankar Bheke.

Midfielders: Antonio Rodriguez Dovale, Boithang Haokip, Eduardo García Martin, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Lenny Rodrigues, Malsawmzuala, Udanta Singh.

Forwards: Miku Fedor, Sunil Chhetri, Braulio Nóbrega, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Daniel Lalhlimpuia.

Edited by Soumo Ghosh