ISL: Players and managers have their say on Media Day ahead of 2015 season

ISL marquee players and managers take a selfie on ISL Media Day

Deemed as 'Media Day', the Indian Super League today hosted a session at Mumbai's NSCI Complex, which let players and coaches of the 8 franchises interact with media personnel from across the country. With just over a week to go for the second edition of the path-breaking league to start, it wouldn't be incorrect to say that the idea to have a session which involved the Head Coach, the marquee player and a key Indian player talk about their respective team's preparations was a brilliant one.

The proverbial breaking of ice aside, we got to know about the much-secluded pre-seasons and how the new squads are shaping up ahead of their first games. Amongst the galaxy of stars who were present at the event, though, some of us were eagerly looking forward to hear from Brazilian legend and now FC Goa coach Zico.

League needs to be a year-long affair to improve Indian football: FC Goa coach Zico

Over the last few months, 'White Pele', as he was fondly labelled as, was linked with the top post in the game's governing body FIFA and was even recently pictured with the top brass of the federation embroiled in controversy. While he, as expected refused to shed light on any of the above, he did talk about the ISL.?

“It's great to be back here. Hopefully we (FC Goa) can do a lot better than last year.” As we know, he was pivotal in the initiation and evolution of the J-League in the 1990s; thus when asked if ISL can bring about a similar revolution in Asian football, he added, “For that to happen, it has to be a year long affair. You can't play for two months and expect to change the setup in your country.”

Also present at the interaction was the scorer of the only hat-trick from season 1 of the tourney, Mumbai City FC's Andre Moritz. The Brazilian footballer of Italian and German descent confessed to the ISL being an incredibly enriching experience last year and that he expected the league to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years.

“I have played around the world and the organization here is as good as anywhere else,” Moritz said. “Within such an encouraging setup and the opportunity to play with foreigners like Anelka and Carlos, the locals are bound to improve.”

Emphasising on the same, North East United's latest recruit and former Portuguese World Cupper, Simao Sabrosa said, “In two to three years India will have a very good Football team.”

The buoyed common sentiment aside, everyone did seem to agree that apart from biding time in the twilight of their careers, they were here to help the game grow in a country which has often been labeled as the ‘sleeping giant of world football’.