Indian Super League week 2: Hits and Misses

The ISL provided us with another entertaining week where we witnessed some close fought encounters along with individual brilliance from the players. It also involved some controversies to add more drama to the competition. The picture has begun to look clearer and fans have started to predict to favourites to win this tournament.For some, the second week went well while others had to endure a tough outing. Here are the hits and misses of this week.

#1 David Trezeguet - Hit

The Indian Super League had attracted two top international goal-scorers of their time in Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet. But for much of the opening two weeks of the season, the former Juventus teammates had failed to live upto the expectations of the fans and the ISL stakeholders.

David Trezeguet, in particular, was in the firing line because of his team’s miserable start to the season. But the 1998 World Cup winner finally showed his true worth against FC Goa in Pune’s first home game of the season. With an exuberant crowd cheering him on, Trezeguet broke his shackles to open his account for the season and guide his team to their first victory in the tournament.

Football enthusiasts would be hoping that Trezeguet has broken his duck for good and that he can unleash his goal-scoring wrath upon the opposition teams in the upcoming games.

#2 Robert Pires - Miss

Controversy engulfed the Indian Super League in its second week as Zico reported to the media about an off-field incident involving his marquee player Robert Pires and Atletico de Kolkata coach Antonio Habas. Zico accused the Spanish coach of punching Pires in the face in the tunnel during half-time.

The incident was investigated by the AIFF disciplinary committee and after analysing the available CCTV footage, both Habas and Pires were handed four and two match suspensions, respectively, along with hefty fines. This incident was not the only controversial moment of the game as the ill-tempered clash between Fikru and Gregory Arnolin was also investigated by AIFF officials and Fikru Teferra was also suspended for four ISL games.

The ISL was progressing with good momentum and could have done without these controversial incidents which have attracted international attention due to the involvement of high-profile names.

#3 Spectacular goals - Hit

One of the most striking aspects of the Indian Super League has been the unbelievable quality of goals that have been scored so far. The tournament is still only two weeks old and football fans will find it difficult to recall all of the spectacular goals that have been scored in just fourteen games.

The second week was once again witness to some outstanding strikes -Wim Raymaekers’s majestic curler, Bernard Mendy’s stunning bicycle kick, Elano’s sumptuous freekick, Kostas Katsouranis’s acrobatic volley and Cavin Lobo’s thundering volley. All these super strikes have added to the wonderful array of goals that were scored during the opening week of the competition.

#4 Mikael Silvestre - Miss

The former Manchester United and Arsenal defender, probably the most experienced and decorated defensive player in the ISL roster this season, had a terrible evening against Delhi Dynamos in the national capital. His team plunged to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to a rampaging home side and Silvestre was reminded of the fact that age is probably not on his side at this stage of his career.

After an impressive start to the season that saw Chennaiyin pick up two wins in two games, much was expected from Silvestre and company as they headed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in South Delhi. But the manner in which they were humbled by the Dynamos gave them a glaring reminder that the Indian Super League is a highly competitive football tournament and that no team can be taken for granted.

#5 Elano - Hit

One of the most gifted players to join the ISL project this season, Elano landed in India with a reputation to protect. The former Manchester City and Galatasaray player is the quintessential Brazilian footballer with bundles of creativity and flair in his repertoire. And Elano unleashed it all right from the word go as his beautiful freekick proved to be the winner in Chennaiyin’s opening game of the season.

Elano continued his fine form in the subsequent games in the second week as he first converted a penalty against Kerala and then curled another sublime effort against Delhi Dynamos. The former Brazilian international has already grown into one of the best foreign acquisitions in the Indian Super League.

#6 Mumbai City - Miss

After putting in a showcase for the world to see against Pune City in their first home game, Mumbai City came crashing down to earth against the unheralded young brigade of NorthEast United. The style with which Mumbai had fashioned a five goal romp in the Maharashtra derby had raised the expectations of the fans but the manner in which Rickie Herbert outwitted his counterpart Peter Reid meant that Mumbai’s hurrah was short-lived.

Mumbai weren’t really outclassed by NorthEast and were the dominant force in major spells of the game, but Mumbai’s own profligacy and United’s defensive solidity brought about their downfall. With Nicolas Anelka close to a return to action, Peter Reid would be hoping that his side can dish out another spirited display in the coming games to prove to their distracters that the Pune City thrashing was no flash in the pan.

#7 Delhi Dynamos - Hit

The success story of the second week of the ISL has to be the Delhi Dynamos. Harm van Heldoven’s team had blown away the opposition in pre-season but they failed to discover the same magic in their opening two games of the ISL season. An insipid goalless draw against Pune City was followed by another below-par draw away in Kolkata.

But Delhi finally clicked into gear against Chennaiyin FC last week with an irresistible display of attacking football. Wim Raymaekers’s long-range strike set the tone for a splendid evening for the hosts as they bamboozled the team from the south and the final scoreline of 4-1 was a just reward for the Dynamos.

After this encouraging performance and with captain Del Piero yet to sparkle in the tournament, football fans in the national capital would be extremely confident of their team’s chances in the upcoming fixtures.

#8 Zico and FC Goa - Miss

Ever since Zico was announced by FC Goa as their manager for the inaugural season of the Indian Super League, the Goan franchise had become the focus of the media’s attention. The Brazilian legend had played a key role in the transformation of Japanese football at the turn of the century and much was expected from him and FC Goa heading into the tournament.

But four games into the competition, Zico and his team have flattered to deceive. They are one of only two teams (Kerala Blasters being the other) to have failed to register a win thus far. They’ve not had any major injury or any important player missing and they’ve still not been able to get going. It is still early days in the competition but Zico needs to get Goa started soon otherwise they might see themselves chasing the rest of the pack for the remainder of the season.

#9 Indian goal-scorers - Hit

The Indian Super League ticked all the right boxes in its opening week but the desi flavour was well and truly missing. Balwant Singh and Subhash Singh were the only Indians to score in the opening week as the international contingent took centrestage and, to some extent, revealed the difference in quality between the international and domestic players.

But this trend was soon halted by the unknown figure of Atlletico de Kolkata striker Cavin Lobo who blasted his way to a match-winning brace away at FC Goa. Baljit Sahni was next in the list of Indian players to make a mark in the ISL as he executed a measured finish in Kolkata’s 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters.

Although only four Indian players have scored in the ISL so far but several others have made a name for themselves in other areas of the pitch.

#10 Salt Lake Stadium pitch - Miss

“You won’t understand it completely, but it’s very hard for us. Other teams can play only one match on it, but we have to work every day on it. After travelling, we come to train on this pitch. Some away games even seem easier because of it. But we have to live with it anyway’, were the words that Atletico de Kolkata forward Arnal Llibert had to say after his team played out a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters.

Football infrastructure has been the biggest stumbling block in the growth of the game in India and the quality of the pitch in India’s most popular football arena bears perfect testament to that. Foreign players have found it extremely difficult to play on this bouncy and two-paced surface. Given the condition of the playing surface, the home stadium might not really translate into much of an advantage for Atletico de Kolkata in the long run.