Agree completely with @ArsenalFan700 ; on the Delhi, Pune and Mumbai mktg part.
And hence i strongly feel , u cant market football by bringing in these 37/38 yrs oldies. In cities which are grossly devoid of soccer culture, people won't even relate/connect to Del Piero or a Forlan - their recall value(given their age) isn't much for people of these cities - as opposed to football crazy cities/states. Remember, Anelka was in Mumbai as player-Manager last year and did he actually set the stage(read - league)on fire? Therefore I wud say, its a failed attempt in the name of mktg!
I think you can market football using these guys but the problem is the ISL format. These guys are coming to India and playing 10-12 matches for 2-3 months and then they are gone and the next season they might not even return. It just won't work to create new fans of a team, they will just simply disappear once the marquee is gone.
In a longer season though, you can easily market football using 36/37 year old marquee players. Instead of just 2-3 months of a "marketing window" you get 6-7 months. Also since we can assume there is less travel and more time in train and stuff, we could/should expect more engagement with the fans and people from these marquee players. The more you do it the more it can work but if you only have a small space of time to do it then it is useless.
And that is the problem with the ISL overall. It brings fans in but for 2-3 months, it is kind of useless to even care about how it brings in fans when nothing happens for the other 9 months.
I think Zico, as a coach serving 3rd year on the trot for Goa would definitely help in nurturing talent - albeit for a period of 3/4 months every year. Atleast there is some continuity. Same goes for Habas.
Oh ya, guys like Zico and Habas work but look at it like this. We see guys like Romeo and Mandar unleash some good potential when Zico is with FC Goa and while we see the same with Dempo afterwards, it is just not the same. The quality of coaching, the quality of opposition just changes. It needs to be more consistent.
Ofcourse he is fit.. He is a top professional.. Last time he played in Japan people just adore him over there. Stayed with the club even when they got relegated. Left the club because in his own words his teammates were not professional enough in practice. I remember reading an interview where he said that it surprised him how could the Japanese players laugh and joke in training when they were fighting for promotion. He said his Japanese teammates were less affected by thr relegation than he was
Top professional he is. I expect him to be fit. And score goals. Hope he shuts his critics down. His standard is above ISL easily. Same goes for Postiga. If these guys stay fit and be dedicated, I expect them to set the stage on fire. Rest time will tell.
The marquees so far have been decent. Postiga, Forlan, Hughes...now Chennaiyin should bring back Elano. I have full faith in DDFC , they will once again bring a big name. Habas hates signing big names, so FCPC might sign one of those lesser known marquees. Expect a Spanish marquee for FCPC. No idea about NEUFC . As for FCG, they will bring back Lucio .
Comments
And hence i strongly feel , u cant market football by bringing in these 37/38 yrs oldies. In cities which are grossly devoid of soccer culture, people won't even relate/connect to Del Piero or a Forlan - their recall value(given their age) isn't much for people of these cities - as opposed to football crazy cities/states. Remember, Anelka was in Mumbai as player-Manager last year and did he actually set the stage(read - league)on fire? Therefore I wud say, its a failed attempt in the name of mktg!
In a longer season though, you can easily market football using 36/37 year old marquee players. Instead of just 2-3 months of a "marketing window" you get 6-7 months. Also since we can assume there is less travel and more time in train and stuff, we could/should expect more engagement with the fans and people from these marquee players. The more you do it the more it can work but if you only have a small space of time to do it then it is useless.
And that is the problem with the ISL overall. It brings fans in but for 2-3 months, it is kind of useless to even care about how it brings in fans when nothing happens for the other 9 months.
Rest all are fly-by-night customers!
Diego Forlan
Happy to play this season for the Mumbai City FC
If these guys stay fit and be dedicated, I expect them to set the stage on fire.
Rest time will tell.