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The question as to whether the Indian Premier League has been good for the game of cricket or not has drawn different answers, but everyone has been in agreement that it has left an indelible mark on how the game is played and thought about. FIFA have long since targetted India’s capital and resources, and all parties stand to gain if India can pick up from their current 158th spot in the international rankings.The most glaring solution to the situation was a revamped football league and on 12th October, the first ball of the Indian Super League is about to be kicked. To think of the numerous such ventures which have failed to materialize in the past, it is quite clear that this is a big event by any standards.Some predict that the ISL will be an EPL of the east in the future, and as for Sepp Blatter, his words on the matter suggest that there is nothing that he would like better. He has backed the ISL as a step in the right direction, and it is well known that he considers India’s market a ‘sleeping giant’.Time will tell if the ISL will be able to take the world by storm. Here is an essential guide to the eight teams competing for the maiden ISL title to be crowned champions of India.
#1 Atletico de Kolkata
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Home Ground: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (Capacity – 68,000)
Coach: Antonio Lopez Habas (Assistant: Jose Ramirez Barreto)
Star co-owners: Atletico Madrid, Sourav Ganguly, Harshvardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh
Club Affiliation: Atletico Madrid
Twitter: @atletidekolkata Facebook: Atletico de Kolkata
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Apoula Edel, Shubhashish Roy Chowdhury, Basilio Agudo; Defenders – Sylvain Monsoreau, Arnab Mondal, Biswajit Saha, Denzil Franco, Kingshuk Debnath, Nallappan Mohanraj, Josemi; Midfielders – Luis Garcia, Mamunul Islam, Ofentse Nato, Jakub Podany, Calvin Lobo, Climax Lawrence, Lester Fernandez, Rakesh Masih, Sanju Pradhan, Borja Fernandez, Jofre Mateu; Strikers – Fikru Teferra, Baljit Sahni, Mohammed Rafi, Mohammed Rafique, Arnal Libbert.
The team from Kolkata is the most expensive franchise in the first edition of the ISL, and was also the first side to be officially announced on 7 May, after a successful bid by the owners, Kolkata Games and Sports. The franchise is partly owned by Atletico Madrid, hence the colour of the club’s kits and the distinct Spanish flavour in the squad.
Former Bolivia and Valencia manager Antonio Lopez Habas is at the helm of on-pitch affairs, to ensure that the massive inflow of money into this franchise translates into footballing success. Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League hero of yore Luis Garcia is the team’s marquee player, who overturned his decision to retire made earlier this year on being invited to the ISL. Real Madrid academy trainee Borja Fernandez and Barcelona academy graduate Jofre Mateu are the other notable foreign names in the Kolkata roster.
Veteran India midfielder Climax Lawrence, and East Bengal’s Arnab Mondal and Cavin Lobo are the locally based players on whom all eyes will be.
#2 Mumbai City FC
Home Ground: DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai (Capacity – 55,000)
Coach: Peter Reid (Assistant: Steve Darby)
Star co-owners: Ranbir Kapoor, Bimal Parekh
Twitter: @MumbaiCityFC Facebook: Mumbai City FC
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Subrata Paul, Andre Preto, Ishan Debnath; Defenders – Johan Letzelter, Manuel Friedrich, Syed Rahim Nabi (captain), Ilias Pollalis, Raju Gaikwad, Peter Costa, Pavel Cmovs, Deepak Mondal; Midfielders – Jan Stohanzl, Rohit Mirza, Fredrik Ljunberg, Javi Fernandez, Lalrindika Ralte, Tiago Ribeiro, Ram Malik, Asif Kottayil; Strikers – Diego Nadaya, Nadong Bhutia, Sushil Kumar Singh, Lalrin Fela, Singam Subash Singh, Nicolas Anelka, Andre Moritz.
The team from Mumbai have roped in the services of former Manchester City and Sunderland manager Peter Reid very late in the day, and the Englishman has had limited time to turn this bunch of players from different countries into a combative unit. Mumbai City’s performance in the initial stages of the ISL will depend on the awareness shown by Indians about specific roles in the team formation, at the same time giving the foreign stars breathing space to adjust to the heat and variable ground conditions.
Subrata Paul, always one to shine on the biggest of stages, is the protector of Mumbai’s goal, and their captain is another Bengal veteran and a great package who can play in all outfield positions – Syed Rahim Nabi. Lalrindika Ralte’s long range efforts will be another aspect of Mumbai’s game to watch out for.
German defender Manuel Friedrich, former Arsenal man Fredrik Ljungberg and Nicolas Anelka are the biggest foreign names on the Mumbai roster, but if pre-season warm-up matches are anything to go by, the Argentine Diego Nadaya might just turn out to be the man of the tournament.
#3 FC Goa
Home Ground: Fatorda Stadium,Marmagao (Capacity – 24,500)
Coach: Zico (Assistant: Arthur Papas)
Star co-owners: Venugopal Dhoot, Virat Kohli, Shrinivas Dempo, Dattaraj Salgaocar.
Club Affiliation: Dempo SC
Twitter: @FCGoaOfficial Facebook: FC Goa
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Jan Seda, Laxmikant Kattimani, Gurpreet Chabal; Defenders – Debabrata Roy, Narayan Das, Prabir Das, Rowilson Rodrigues, Andre Santos, Youness Bengelloun, Gregory Arnolin, Bruno Pinheiro, Zohib Islam Amiri; Midfielders – Gabriel Fernanades, Clifford Miranda, Bikramjit Singh, Jewel Raja, Alwyn George, Mandor Rao Desai, Romeo Fernandes, Peter Carvalho, Robert Pires, Edgar Marcelino; Strikers – .Holicharan Narzary, Miroslav Slepicka, Miguel Herlein, Ranti Martins, Tolgay Ozbey.
With Brazilian legend Zico heading the managing force behind Goa FC, this club is one of the frontrunners in the League. Not only has the tie up with Salgaocar FC and Dempo SC taken care of the domestic player quota, it has ensured that, with Dempo coach Arthur Papas, the team starts with a strong sense of familiarity and comfort.
With lots of young Indians like Alwyn George, gearing to prove themselves in this team, the matches promise to be great shows of new indigenous skill propelled by formidable foreign bigs like former Arsenal players Robert Pires and defender Andre Santos. Goan football has often proved to be the guiding force of the sport in India, and Goa FC is likely to keep the legend alive.
The home of the Goa team is the Fatorda Stadium, one of the most well-maintained in the country and which has played host to India’s World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers. They are co-owned by the Chairman of the Videocon Group, and are the first club to launch their own satellite channel – FC Goa TV.
#4 NorthEast United FC
Home Ground: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium,Guwahati (Capacity – 35,000)
Coach: Ricki Herbert (Assistant: Thangboi Singto)
Star co-owners: John Abraham and Larsing Ming Sawyan
Club Affiliation: Shillong Lajong FC
Twitter: @NEUtdFC Facebook: NorthEast United FC
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Alexandros Tzorvas, Kunzang Bhutia, T.P. Rehnesh; Defenders – Aiborlang Khogjee, Pritam Kumar Singh, Robin Gurung, Massamba Sambou, Miguel Garcia, Tomas Josl, Joan Capdevila; Midfielders – Zodingliana Ralte, Boithang Haokip, Milan Singh, Jibon Singh, Alen Deory, Redeem Tlang, David Ngaihte, Isaac Chansa, Kondwani Mtonga, Guilherme Batata, Do Dong-Hyun, Leo Bertos; Strikers – .Durga Boro, Seminlen Doungel, Cornell Glen, Luis Yanes, Koke, James Keene.
The north-eastern states have been the most fertile ground for talent in the country in recent years, and so the team from the hills have a lot of promise to live up to. NorthEast were the only club to drop out of the player draft system, instead relying on the promise that some superstar or the other will emerge in the course of the next four months from the players at Shillong Lajong.
Coach Ricki Herbert, famous for guiding New Zealand to the main stages of the 2010 World Cup, is a calculated choice because he is known to have an approach that emphasises youth development. Greek goalkeeper Alexandos Tzorvas and Spanish defender Joan Capdevilla are the biggest names on the roster, but the majority of players have been drafted from Lajong FC, the most consistent representative of the region in the I-League.
Englishman James Keene will in all likelihood lead the attack for them, and things shall get interesting if he can form a successful partnership with Boithang Haokip. Haokip is an attacking midfielder who has showed exemplary vision and adeptness at dead-ball situations in the recent past for Lajong FC.
#5 Kerala Blasters
Home Ground: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,Kochi (Capacity – 55,000)
Coach: Trevor Morgan (Assistant: Jamie Mcallister)
Star co-owners: Sachin Tendulkar, Prasad V Potluri
Twitter: @KBFCOfficial Facebook: Kerala Blasters
The Squad: Goalkeepers – David James, Sandip Nandy, Luis Barreto; Defenders – Saumik Dey, Sandesh Jhingan, Gurwinder Singh, Nirmal Chettri, Avinabo Bag, Ramandeep Singh, Cedric Hengbart, Raphael Romey, Erwin Spitzner, Jamie Mcallister, Colin Falvey; Midfielders – Renedy Singh, Sushant Mathew, Godwin Franco, Mehtab Hossain, Duleep Menon, Victor Herrero Forcada, Penn Orji; Strikers – Ishfaq Ahmed, Milagres Gonsalves, C.S.Sabeeth, Pedro Gusmao, Michael Chopra, Iain Hume, Andrew Barisic.
Trevor Morgan is one of the most successful foreign coaches to have been in India. His departure from East Bengal had raised many eyebrows. He has picked some of his best wards from his East Bengal days for the Kochi-based team, and communication should not be a problem for this team from the southern tip of the country.
Sourav Ganguly’s long-time opening partner Sachin Tendulkar has gotten on board behind the scenes for the Kerala outfit, and their team has been accordingly named Kerala Blasters, in honour of the Master Blaster.
Kerala’s marquee player is David James, who has been christened as player-cum-manager, and his footballing brain will be as invaluable to the team as his shot-stopping skills.
For many stars, the ISL may only be a stop in their careers, but the tale is quite different for Kerala’s star striker Michael Chopra, a big-money buy from England who is looking for a platform to get into the Indian national team. The quick-witted Penn Orji from Nigeria, the prolific youngster C.S Sabeeth, and defensive medio Mehtab Hossain are the other bright spots in the Kerala team. This team might have the least number of superstars, but do look intriguing on paper – technically as well as tactically.
#6 Delhi Dynamos FC
Home Ground: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi (Capacity – 60,000)
Coach: Harm van Veldhoven (Assistants: Shakti Chauhan, Marcus Eduard)
Star co-owners: Den TV Networks
Club affiliation: Feyenoord
Twitter: @DelhiDynamos Facebook: Delhi Dynamos
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Kristof van Hout, Marek Cech, Jagroop Singh ; Defenders – Robert Lalthlamuana, Naoba Singh, Shouvik Ghosh, Munmun Lugun, Anwar Ali, Govin Singh, Wim Raymaekers, Stijn Houben; Midfielders – Henrique Dinis, Shylo Malsawmtluanga, Francis Fernandes, Manish Bhargav, Adil Khan, Steven Dias, Souvik Chakraborty, Bruno Herrero Arias, Hans Mulder, Pavel Elias, Gustavo Marmentini; Strikers – Morten Skoubo, Alessandro del Piero, Manandeep Singh, Mads Junker.
The team from the nation’s capital have an accordingly cosmopolitan air around them – Dutch club Feyenoord will be providing technical expertise owing to the tie-up between the clubs, apart from the coach being the former Roda JC manager Harm van Veldhoven.
Their marquee signing is the very Italian Alessandro del Piero; Shylo Malsawmtluanga and Robert Lalthlamuana are footballing stalwarts from the north-east; Steven Dias and Francis Fernandes are similar stalwarts from the western states; the likes of Manish Bhargav and Anwar Ali will provide the local flavour.
The challenge for the Dynamos, it would appear, would be to mould different footballing styles into a cohesive unit. There is a possibility that there will remain one standing order for them whatever the scenario– to pass to Del Piero and try to take positions instead of being starstruck.
The club is owned by DEN Networks, one of the nation’s leading cable distributors, and will be playing home matches at the prestigous Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the regular venue of the Nehru Cup.
#7 FC Pune City
Home Ground: Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune (Capacity – 22,000)
Coach: Franco Colomba (Assistant: Giovanni Mei)
Star co-owners: Hrithik Roshan, Wadhawan Group, ACF Fiorentina
Club affiliation: ACF Fiorentina
Twitter: @FCPuneCity Facebook: FC Pune City
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Lalit Thapa, Arindam Bhattacharya, Emanuele Belardi; Defenders – Kostas Katsouranis, Bruno Cirillo, Pritam Kotal, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Anupam Sarkar, Deepak Devrani, Andres Gonzalez, Daniele Magliocchetti, Saidou Panandetiguiri; Midfielders – Lenny Rodrigues, Manish Maithani, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Israil Gurung, Tapan Maity, Davide Colomba, Park Kwang-Il, Omar Andres Rodriguez; Strikers – David Trezeguet, Joaquim Abranches, Dudu Omagbemi, Ashutosh Mehta, Ivan Bolado.
Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has promised that he shall dance if his team wins the ISL, but might find his star quotient overshadowed by the Greek national team captain Kostas Katsouranis, the defensive wall on whom will rest a large share of Pune’s hopes.
Pune have an Italian coaching staff, and the head coach Franco Colomba has his son as one of his wards. Joaquim Abranches is currently one of the best crossers in India, and can turn out to be one of the best wingers if he can find his mark on the big stage. The goalscorer-in-chief is likely to be the marquee player, Frenchman David Trezeguet.
Pune’s style of play will probably be similar to the Italian style, with an organized midfield and defense marshalled by the captain Katsouranis and Bruno Cirillo, and quick breakaways where the speed of Joaquim Abranches will be very useful. Lenny Rodrigues and Mehrajuddin Wadoo will be the mainstays in Pune’s midfield.
#8 Chennaiyin FC
Home Ground: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai (Capacity – 40,000)
Coach: Marco Materazzi (Assistant: Vivek Nagul)
Star co-owners: Abhishek Bachchan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Vita Dani
Twitter: @ChennaiyinFC Facebook: Chennaiyin FC
The Squad: Goalkeepers – Shilton Paul, Abhijit Mondal, Gennaro Bracigliano; Defenders – Marco Materazzi, Mikael Silvestre, Gouramangi Singh, Bernard Mendy, Jairo Suarez, Dhanachandra Singh, Khelemba Singh, Abhishek Das; Midfielders – Elano, Christian Hidalgo, Bojan Djordic, Denson Devadas, Sukhwinder Singh, Harmanjot Khabra, Anthony Barbosa, Pappachen Pradeep, Jaison Vales, Pierre Tillman, Bruno Pelissari; Strikers – Jeje Lalpekhlua, Jayesh Rane, Balwant Singh, Eduardo Silva Lerma, John Stiven Mendoza.
Chennaiyin FC are the latest addition to the ISL, having only been formed following withdrawal by the Bengaluru franchisee. As it would seem that the aim for all the teams is to make the whole seem greater than the sum of its parts, Chennai might be a little behind the rest because they have got the least preparation time.
The club’s marquee player is the stylish Brazilian midfielder Elano, who also happens to be the youngest marquee player of all. The attack will be spearheaded by Balwant Singh, who had a breakthrough season last year, scoring 17 goals.
Marco Materazzi of head-butt fame has been appointed as player-cum-manager, but given that he is 41 years old, might appear more on the touchline and delegate his defensive duties to ex-Manchester United star Mikael Silvestre and ex-PSG star Bernard Mendy.
Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues his association with the city of Chennai by being a stakeholder in the city’s football team too.
