ISL: 5 Things you should know about Chennaiyin FC

The Indian Super League is finally here! There has never been such a buzz about football in India. Chennaiyin FC will commence their campaign in Goa on October 15, after which they will play their first home game against the Kerala Blasters on October 21. The club is jointly owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, Vita Dani of Asian Paints, Bollywood producer Ronnie Screwvala and Chennai's very own Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi at the helm, and big names like Elano and Mikael Silvestre on the roster, Chennaiyin will look to spread a similar amount of joy and happiness to the city as their cricketing counterparts from the city have done in the IPL. Here are 5 things you should know about the club.

#5 Chennai almost never made it to the ISL

The people of Chennai will be overjoyed that they will get to see some of the biggest names in the game in their own city, but Chennai were never supposed to be here.

After the initial bidding for the franchises were done, the eight cities did not include Chennai.

But, after initially failing the city, the Gods decided to spread some cheer. And that cheer came in the form of a consortium led by Abhishek Bachchan, which was given ownership of the Chennai franchise, after certain circumstances led to the Sun Group withdrawing their ownership of the Bengaluru franchise.

#4 Marco Materazzi\'s first managerial assignment

One of the more diffiult players to play against due to his physical approach, Materazzi has won a host of tournaments as a player. In the 2006 World Cup, he was one of Italy's best players as he formed a formidable partnership with Fabio Cannavaro at the heart of their defence.

Although he is listed as player-manager of Chennaiyin FC, it is likely that, at the age of 41, Materazzi would prefer to take the manager's chair and let the others sweat it out on the pitch.

Inexperience in a managerial role is something that could hinder Materazzi, more so, because he will be up against a lot of experienced managers like Peter Reid, Zico and Ricki Herbert.

Chennai will be hoping that Materazzi's experience on the football pitch translates itself to a successful season for the team.

#3 The Nehru Stadium conundrum

Chennai will be one of four teams in the ISL that will play their home games in a stadium named after Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Although the stadium can hold 40,000 people, it is not as big as the stadia is Delhi or Kochi. The stadium has been unused for big international events over the past couple of years, and that has given the authorities time to relay the turf and enhance the quality of the playing surface.

Whether or not Chennai are performing well, one can expect the entire city's wholehearted backing for the team.

#2 Good, but not good enough?

If one takes a look at the internationals in the Chennai squad, names like Bojan Djordjic, Cristian Hidalgo don't attract too much attention, but they possibly could have.

They certainly had the opportunity but couldn't make it stick. Djordjic was a youth player at Manchester United and Hidalgo the same at Barcelona.

While that experience will no doubt stand the club in good stead through the tournament, both could be left wondering what could happen when their pit their wits against the likes of stars liike Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and AlessandroDel Piero.

#1 Finally! Let\'s football, Chennai!

Be it the I-League, Durand Cup, or any other national tournament, no team from Chennai has even taken part in those tournaments.

Chennaiyin FC will be a massive platform to promote the sport in a city which tends to like its cricket more than any other sport.

The only recognized team from the city that used to play in National tournaments – Indian Bank – has now been disbanded, and there are very little avenues for those wanting to play the sport at a high level.

Hopefully, the inception of Chennaiyin FC will change that.