Mumbai: With cricket overpowering almost every sport in the sub-continent, football is slowly but surely making waves with the introduction of the starry, high-voltage Indian Super League. The presence of international stars from the likes of Robert Pires, Nicolas Anelka, David Trezeguet sharing the same dressing room with the local boys, has surely given football in the country that impetus to grow.
The next season of the ISL is all set to kick of from October 2, with the final on December 20.
Here are some facts you might want to know that will enable you to keep a close watch on this season’s teams, players and bring you closer to the action.
Teams
Atletico de Kolkata – Head Coach: Antonio López Habas
Kerala Blasters – Head Coach: Peter Taylor, Manager: David James
FC Goa –Manager: Zico
Pune City FC –Manger: David Platt
NorthEast United FC –Manger: Cesar Farias
Delhi Dynamos –Manager: Roberto Carlos
Chennaiyin FC –Manager: Marco Materazzi
Mumbai City FC –Manager: Nicolas Anelka
Format
As opposed to the to eight-year old I-League, the ISL is a group and knockout football tournament that will feature 8 teams playing on the similar lines as that of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Major League Soccer (MLS) tournaments, where each team will play each other twice in a round-robin format. Top four teams make it to the play-offs. The semis will be a two legged affair while the final will be just one match at a neutral venue.
Player Density
The 8 teams participating in the tournament will have a squad of minimum 22 players, of which 14 must be Indian, including four from the local city, seven foreign players and one marquee player.
Celebrity involvement
The involvement of Bollywood stars such as Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan owning a team franchise in the league has expanded the Diaspora of the tournament. The sport also will see former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, current India ODI skipper MS Dhoni, who have collectively shown a great interest in the game.
Big players this season
Season 1 of the ISL has already seen the presence of world renowned football stars such as Robert Pires, Alessandro Del Piero, David James and this season, fans will witness even bigger names with the recent signing of Brazil legend Roberto Carlos as the marquee player and manager of Delhi Dynamos. Another Brazilian Lucio, who was part of World Cup team for Brazil in 2002 has been signed for FC Goa. Portuguese star Simao Sabrosa was announced as the marquee player for NorthEast United FC.
