The countdown for the sixth edition of Indian Super League (ISL) has already started. With just couple of days left to get the ball rolling at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, all the 10 teams have almost finalised their permutations and combinations with the eye on the coveted trophy. While Bengaluru FC start as the holders, the tournament will also see two new sides vying for the top honours — Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC. Orissa POST does a SWOT analysis of all the teams…
Bengaluru FC
The defending champions have been the side to watch out for in the last seven years since their advent in the Indian football. With six titles (across all competitions) the Blues will once again go all out to be the best — the tag they have held on to for all these years. Add to that Bengaluru FC’s recent tie-up with Scottish giants Rangers FC also speaks volume of the quality the Sunil Chhetri-led side possess. Keeping the nucleus intact has been Bengaluru’s trademark and this time also was no different for Carles Cuadrat’s side. While the loss of valuable players like Miku Fedor and Xisco Hernandez is not expected to do much harm to the team, the signings of highly-rated forward Ashique Kuruniyan, Manuel Onwu and Raphael Augusto will consolidate their attempt at title retention.
IN: Ashique Kuruniyan, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Manuel Onwu, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Suresh Singh, Raphael Augusto
OUT: Robinson Singh, Soram Anganba, Asheer Akhtar, Myron Mendes, Bidyananda Singh, Xisco Hernández, Altamash Sayed, Miku Fedor, Soram Anganba, Boithang Haokip, Luisma Villa, Chencho Gyeltshen, Alex Barrera
Head Coach: Carles Cuadrat
Quote
We want to win every competition we are a part of. There’s the ISL title to defend, and we know it’s only going to be tougher this season: Sunil Chhetri.
FC Goa
One of the most consistent teams in ISL, FC Goa have come a long way since their last-four appearances in the inaugural edition. Two finals and as many semifinal appearances, in five editions of the tournament speaks about the testimony the side posseses. Like Bengaluru FC, the Gaurs have been able to hold most of their players from last season including opposition’s nightmare and previous edition’s top scorer Ferran Corominas. For coach, Sergio Lobera this will be his third season continuing and the 42-year-old Spanish taskmaster would be looking to win the coveted title which they lost last time despite being so close to it. However, Goa definitely had something to cheer about with the Super Cup triumph last season and Lobera’s boys would like to take it as a motivation to end their ISL title drought this time around.
Home ground: Fatorda Stadium
IN: Aibanbha Dohling, Amey Ranawade, Seiminlen Doungel, Naveen Kumar, Shubham Dhas, Imran Khan, Lalawmpuia, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Kingslee Fernandes
OUT: Zaid Krouch, Laxmikant Kattimani, Nirmal Chettri, Alexander Romario Jesuraj
Head Coach: Sergio Lobera
Quote:
Honestly, I think it’s very difficult to improve from last season. To do that, we will have to win two trophies, which is not easy. This will be a tough competition. I want to work hard and am very excited: Sergio Lobera
Mumbai City FC
With Jorge Costa retained at the helm, Mumbai City would be looking to better their last season’s semifinal finish when they start their campaign against Kerala Blasters October 24. It was their second semifinal finish in the history of the tournament with 25 attempts at the goal in 18 games. And the 47-year-old former Portuguese central defender would like to carry on the momentum this season too. The Ranbir Kapoor-owned franchise also made some good buys this season. While Amrinder Singh set to take the guard once again under the bar, Subhasish Bose is expected to man the defensive setup. Summer signings Rowlin Borges and Mohamed Larbi are expected to start, along with Portuguese Paulo Machado in midfield with the forward line expected to be of Moudou Sougou and Amine Chermiti.
Home ground: Mumbai Football Arena
IN: Sarthak Golui, Surchanda Singh, Rowlin Borges, Hmingthanmawia, Amine Chermiti, Diego, Surchandra Singh, Sourav Das, Bidyananda Singh, Serge Kevyn, Mato Grgic, Pratik Chowdhary, Mohamed Larbi
OUT: Arnold Issoko, Milan Singh, Lucian Goian, Sehnaj Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanju Pradhan, Joyner Lourenco, Marko Klisura, Matias Mirabaje
Head coach: Jorge Costa
Quote:
I am happy with the players given by the management. We have 25 players in the squad; I trust all of them. I promise we will play differently this year: Jorge Costa
NorthEast United FC
Like Kerala Blasters, NorthEast United FC too did a major revamp to their side. While their Dutch coach Eelco Shattorie shifting his base to Kerala along with some prolific players, the John Abraham-owned side also blooded in some new faces in the form of Argentine forward Maximiliano Barreiro and young gun Martin Chaves. They also appointed former Croatia U-19 coach Robert Jarni as their top man besides landing probably the biggest name of the season – former Ghana national team captain and a three-time World Cupper Asamoah Gyan. Although NorthEast recorded their best-ever performance finishing fourth last season — their best in the history of the tournament — it will be interesting to see what tactics Jarni follows and how the Jarni-Gyan combo fares to keep up the momentum.
Home ground: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
IN: Asamoah Gyan, Maximiliano Barreiro, Kai Heerings, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Milan Singh, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Federico Gallego, Wayne Vaz, Martin Chaves, Rakesh Pradhan, Alfred Lalroutsang, Lalengmawia, Ninthoi Meetei
OUT: Bartholomew Ogbeche, TP Rehenesh, Rowllin Borges, Janeiler Rivas, Kivi Zhimomi, Keegan Pereira, Juan Cruz Mascia, Mato Grgic, Seityasen Singh
Head coach: Robert Jarni
Quote:
It’s a new team. We also have some quality foreigners and I am happy with the bunch at my disposal. So I can assure you that we will work hard and try to go beyond the last-four stage this season: Robert Jarni
Jamshedpur FC
Starting their journey in the top tier of the Indian football just a couple of years ago, Jamshedpur FC is the only team to have not qualified for the semifinals ever in the history of the tournament. While they finished just outside of the bracket of top four in their debut season (under Steve Coppell), they repeated the feat in the following edition too under Ceaser Ferrando. But with Spanish Antonio Orande at helm this time, Jamshedpur will at least be hoping to go one notch up. While they have retained captain Tiri and vice-captain Memo, the team management has brought in a lot of young Spaniards along with some valuable domestic picks including India U-17 World Cup team captain Amarjit Singh, senior-pro CK Vineeth, Aniket Yadav to name a few.
Home ground: JRD Tata Sports Complex
IN: Aniket Jadhav, Joyner Lourenco, Monroy, Noe Acosta, Keegan Pereira, Piti, Sergio Castel, Amarjit Singh
OUT: Sergio Cidoncha, Sawmtea Malsawmzuala, Mario Arques, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Pablo Morgado, Dhanachandra Singh
Head coach: Antonio Iriondo
Quote:
I am optimistic by nature. I have faced many difficult situations in the game of football and came out strong from them. Therefore, I am optimistic: Antonio Iriondo
ATK
The two-time champions will be bolstered by the return of head coach Antonia Lopez Habas, more so after their average sixth-place finish in the last outing. Incidentally, Habas was the head coach of the side when ATK won the title in the inaugural edition in 2014. Coming back, the Spaniard coach has revamped the side into a whole different unit equipped with equal blend of experience and youth. While, the likes of India U-17 World Cup star Dheeraj Singh, Jobby Justin, Michael Regin have joined forces to construct the youngsters’ part, the team management has also roped in Aussie Dario Vidosic and Irish Carl McHugh to man the midfield. The Kolkata side were also successful in acquiring the services of A-League stars Roy Krishna and his partner-in-crime David Williams to create a formidable strike-force.
Home ground: Salt Lake Stadium
IN: Michael Soosairaj, Carl McHugh, David Williams, Dario Vidosic, Salam Singh, Javi Hernandez, Sehnaj Singh, Jobby Justin, Anas Edathodika, Agus Garcia, Roy Krishna, Michael Regin, Dheeraj Singh, Sandeep Singh, Anil Chawan, Debjit Majumder, Lara Singh
OUT: Debjit Mazumdar, Everton Santos, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Manu Lanzarote, SK Faiaz, Kalu Uche, Andre Bikey
Head coach: Antonio Lopez Habas
Quote
My principal goal is to build a competitive team, both in the attack and defence. We have put in a lot of hard work and I’m very happy to be here again for another season. I’m excited for the season to start: Antonio Lopez Habas
Kerala Blasters
The two-time ISL finalists have undergone massive changes as far as the management and squad are concerned. After yellow brigade endured their worst season ever finishing second from bottom, the appointment of Eelco Schattorie has been a positive move after the Dutchman guided NEUFC to their first playoffs entry in the previous season. The arrival of Bartholomew Ogbeche, who was the joint second-best scorer last year with 12 goals to his credit will also the bolster the striking line-up. However, the absence of defener Sandesh Jhingan (who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear on the left knee) will serve as a big blow to the Kerala team combination. Jhingan will be out for six months. Though Jhingan has been replaced by another known campaigner Raju Gaikwad, it remains to be seen whether Shattorie can revive the fortunes and bring the coveted trophy home for the first time.
Home ground: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
IN: Raphael Messi Bouli, Gianni Zuiverloon, Abneet Bharti, Lovepreet Singh, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Mohammed Rafi, Holicharan Narzary, TP Rehenesh, Basit Ahmed Bhat, Manvir Singh, Jessel Carneiro, Darren Caldeira, Rahul KP, Jairo Rodrigues, Zayed bin Waleed, Bilal Khan, Moustapha, Arjun Jayaraj, Seityasen Singh, Shibin Raj Kunniyil, Samuel Lalmuanpuia
OUT: Deependra Singh Negi, Seiminlen Dougel, CK Vineeth, Matej Poplatnik, Cyril Kali, Anas Edathodika, Naveen Kumar, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic, Dheeraj Singh, Loken Meitei, Kizito Keziron
Head coach: Eelco Shattorie
Quote:
The defence of my team, at the moment, is not ready. Without making it a big issue as if we are in trouble, we can hopefully we can catch up in coming weeks. I would like to thank the management as they did a hell of a job to create a good team: Eelco Shattorie
Chennaiyin FC
Last season was a disaster for the two-time ISL champions. The Marina Machans finished with the wooden spoon with just two wins from 18 games — an outcome of complacency and a few immature decisions on part of the management. However, despite a forgettable season, the Chennaiyin management chose to stick with John Gregory hoping for a repeat of 2017-18 season when they were crowned champions for the second time (first in 2015). The south Indian side, however have made the most use of the transfer window this time around recruiting as many as six foreigners retaining only Eli Sabia.
Home ground: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
IN: Lucian Goian, Rafael Crivellaro, Nerijus Valskis, Vishal Kaith, Masih Saighani, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Edwin Vanspaul, Andre Schembri, Dragos Firtulescu, Prosenjit Chakraborty
OUT: Mailson Alves, Mohammed Rafi, Raphael Augusto, Issac Vanmalsawma, Laishram Bedashwor Singh, Chris Herd, Francis Fernandes, Nikhil Bernard
Head coach: John Gregory
Quote:
We can’t change nothing that has happened in the past. I think last season, I don’t look at it as failure. I look at it as a lesson, a huge lesson. We decided to take a completely fresh approach to everything, to choose to change a lot of the plans from last season: John Gregory
Odisha FC
The long wait for the state to have a football team for a long time and when the offer from ISL oldies, Delhi Dynamos, came to shift their base to Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the government grabbed it with both hands. With the change in base, came the change in name as the state became the proud owners of their own football team Odisha FC. Similar to Hyderabad franchise, the players who signed under the Dynamos’ banner make up the core of Odisha team. Besides they have also brought some valuable players like Aridane Sanatana, Xisco Hernandez. Youngsters like promising local lad Subham Sarangi, former FC Barcelona B player Diawandou Diagne add the perfect blend of youth and experience in the team. While coach Joseph Gambau had a torrid last season finishing eighth in the table, the 43-year-old coach from Spain would like to start afresh with a new outfit, new banner, new home with all eyes on the title. However, Gambau will be missing the services of Lallianzuala Chhangte who switched allegiance to Chennaiyin FC and had performed splendidly last year with Delhi outfit.
Home ground: Kalinga Stadium
Head coach: Joseph Gambau
Hyderabad FC
The sixth edition of the ISL will welcome two new entrants in the race for the title. One of them is Hyderabad FC, who came into limelight after the FC Pune City was forced to shut shop due to paucity of funds. The nucleus of the team has been mostly the ones who were with the Pune franchise last year and have managed to bring together a compact team with balance, featuring a unique mix of local and talents from abroad. Former Hull City manager Phil Brown, who was with the disbanded Pune, has been entrusted with the responsibility.
Home ground: Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium
Head coach: Phil Brown
Quote:
To start a new journey in Hyderabad is fantastic, something I’ve never dreamt of. When you’re at the start of a journey, you’ve got a blank canvas, and the picture we’re trying to paint is of success, happiness and one that will create history: Phil Brown
PNN