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Indian Super League: How the eight teams square up

Delhi Dynamos

Strength: The presence of Alessandro Del Piero as their marquee player. With over 20 years of experience, the Italian legend can guide and help the youngsters in the team. Delhi Dynamos' defence wasn't breached even once during the practice games which is another positive sign. Support from the fans during home games would boost their confidence.

 

Weakness: The players will be playing with each other for the first time in their careers, so team camaraderie could be missing. The team just got one month of time together which might not be enough to try out different strategies and build a cohesive unit.

 

Opportunity: A good performance in ISL would not only help the team in increasing their fan base but also enable them to attract top international stars for the future. Could also help in developing a football culture in the city.

 

Threat: Lack of match experience would be a major worry. The team played only three pre-season practice matches while the fourth match against FC Pune City was called off just after 50 minutes.

 

FC Goa

 

Strength: FC Goa have played three friendlies and won all of them. But more importantly, they have not conceded a single goal at the moment, thanks largely to the French defensive pairing of Gregory Arnolin and Younnes Bengelloun, besides, of course goalkeeper Jan Seda. The defence looks rock-solid with Debabrata Roy and Narayan Das manning the flanks.

 

Weakness: Zico must have been frustrated on the sidelines watching how his strikers have failed to deliver. Miguel Herlein, Alwyn George, Holicharan Narzary are all youngsters with not enough matches under their belt. Even more frustratingly, Czech Republic striker Miroslav Slepicka is nursing an injury and Ranti Martins joined only a week ago.

 

Opportunity: Goa has won six of the seven I-League titles on offer since 2007 and the ISL presents a chance for FC Goa to continue with the state's rich achievements on the football field. The passion for the game here remains unmatched and FC Goa could do well to capitalize on it.

 

Threat: FC Goa was the last team to start training and had Brazilian Andre Santos, their star player, join only three days prior to the opener. Even in friendlies, the team has struggled to stitch passes together that has led to fears that it might be too late before they get everything right.

 

Kerala Blasters

 

Strength: Blasters' management did a very good job in the selection of domestic players as they captured some of the best talents in Indian football. Mehtab Hossain, Nirmal Chettri, Gurvinder Singh and Sandip Nandy are quality players who can jell well with their foreign mix. Coach Trevor Morgan has the experience of working with most of the domestic players and he would know how to make optimum use of the available talent.

 

Weakness: Sachin Tendulkar's side looks a bit weak along the wings. Though the team has Avinabo Bag and Renedy Singh at their disposal, it needs to be seen how they will perform in the tournament as the former lacks experience of playing on the big stage while the latter hasn't played much competitive football in recent years.

 

Opportunities: On paper, Blasters don't have high profile stars. However, this will allow them to play without pressure. Rookie Duleep Menon, who was literally hand-picked by Sachin Tendulkar, has the chance to prove that he is second to none.

 

Threat: Michael Chopra is one of their high profile signings but the former Newcastle player's match fitness is under the scanner. The fact that the Blasters will be playing their first home match only after five away games means that the team won't have much of a home advantage when they start their campaign. And this may affect their performance.

 

Northeast United FC

 

Strength: Bubbling with energy and exuberance, this young side has put in the hard yards and is raring to go. Marquee player Joan Capdevila, a World Cup winner with Spain, should be a source of inspiration for the Indian players.

 

Weakness: The Indian contingent, made up primarily of players from I-League side Shillong Lajong FC, is an extremely talented lot, but most of them have limited experience despite being a regular feature in the I-League.

 

Opportunity: In a region s where football is religion, a strong show by NEUFC will ignite the passion of fans from eight north eastern states and serve as a major boost for the team in their home matches.

 

Threat: With their foreign players coming from as many as 12 y countries, it remains to be seen how soon and how efficiently they gel together and combine with the Indian players.

 

FC Pune City

 

Strength: Robust line of strikers which gives the coach many options in case of injuries. Same goes for the defence. There is good understanding and cohesion when the team takes the field.

 

Weakness: The side falls a tad short on stamina and fitness. Capacity to last the full 90 minutes with zest and vigour remains an unsolved issue. The midfield, which determines level of performance requires some fine-tuning.

 

Opportunity: Their swift counterattacks can be goal threatening. They also have the ability to convert half chances.

 

Threat: If they drop their guard towards the f** end, there's always the danger of conceding in the final twenty minutes.

 

Chennaiyin FC

 

Strength: Elano Blumer, the youngest marquee player in the league at 33 is their biggest asset. Marco Materazzi, the Italian World Cup winner powers the Chennai fortress and makes them a tough team to beat. The experience of veterans like former PSG player Bernard Mendy, Manchester United superstar Mikael Silvestre and Gouramangi Singh makes them formidable.

 

Weakness: The team hasn't faced a tough opponent in the pre-season friendlies. They also are short on practice at their home. The club relies on their midfield to make a strong offensive, as they don't have a threatening striker like Alessandro del Piero or David Trezeguet in their ranks.

 

Opportunity: CFC may prove to be a strong contender if their defence clicks. They have no threat of injury and with a strong tactical approach, the late entrants to the ISL have their eyes fixed on the title and they will look to have the last laugh.

 

Threat: Fatigue may tire them out. Not used to the humid conditions at home, Chennaiyin face the challenge of quickly adapting to conditions that do not favour most of their stars. Also, the absence of a local talent in the team could ruin their prospects at home.

 

Mumbai City FC

 

Strength: Mumbai City FC have the best domestic players. Subrata Paul, Lalrindika Ralte and Syed Rahim Nabi automatically select themselves and can walk into any squad. With Subrata likely to be the only Indian goalkeeper to start a game, coach Peter Reid will be delighted he can use six foreign outfield players, while others will only have five.

 

Weakness: Missing the suspended Nicolas Anelka for three games could peg them back, especially since recoveries in a since recoveries in a tight competitions is never easy. If Ljungberg does not recover quickly from his injury, Mumbai City may have their hands full.

 

Opportunity: A strong Mumbai City team provides the opportunity to shine at the national level after Mahindra United's folded up.

 

Threat: Mumbai City are favourites, not surprising since they have spent heavily. But with rising expectations.

 

Atletico de Kolkata

 

Strength: A month-long preseason at Atletico Madrid's facility in Spain should make ATK the most battle-ready side. The fact that their chief coach, physical trainer and six foreign players are Spanish ensures that understanding and coordination in the team will be top notch.

 

Weakness: On paper, the Indian contingent does not look as impressive as other franchisees. The strike force isn't too powerful either.

 

Opportunity: Having trained at Salt Lake Stadium for almost a fortnight, ATK shouldn't have much problem playing their matches on the artificial turf, while their 7 rivals won't have much time to adjust to this surface.

 

Threat: The expectations from the passionate fans of this football-crazy city will be sky high, so in the event of Luis Garcia & Co failing to deliver, they might just turn their backs and stay away.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/indian-super-league/top-stories/Indian-Super-League-How-the-eight-teams-square-up/articleshow/44789591.cms

 

 

 

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reddevil23 Newbie

reddevil23

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I just hope that the major Indian league, the I-League, is somehow merged with the ISL in the years to come. There are plenty of clubs with historical significance in the II-League. Also, there are several local derbies which will be missing in the ISL. The Kolkata derby betweeen Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is the most famous rivalry in Indian football. It will be great for Indian football if there is one major League that runs for 8-9 months.

ISL has generated the right kind of buzz and hype all over, even abroad. The inclusion of former World Cup Winners and also some of EPL's former stars has made the league feature in British websites like the Daily Mail and The Guardian.

I hope this league improves the condition and standards of Indian football and the national team in general.

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swift Collaborator

swift

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I read somewhere there maybe a merger sometime in future depending on if ISL takes off,would be for the best.Really happy to see such excitement for an indian football league.

 

If that is true then i'll be really happy. Honestly i don't see any good thing in ISL except for Reliance making profit.

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