Ahead of the game, the Blasters' marquee player Aaron Hughes made it
clear that the fact that the opening ceremony will take place right
before the game will have no impact on the players and there won't be
any added burden of expectations as such.
"No, not really. I mean, for me that’s all on the side. You know,
with everything that goes on around has got nothing to do with what we
have to do on the pitch. You know, our focus really is that. It’s
fantastic being a part of (the opening ceremony), don’t get me wrong.
It’s great not only being in this league this year; you know, when I
realise that when ours is the first game, the concern around it makes it
that extra special. It’s fantastic because, there is an extra tension
and you know, everyone’s looking on it. When it comes down to on the
pitch, that all is irrelevant; you now, we’ve got our jobs and the focus
is on what we’ve worked on through pre-season and it’s no different
than playing games in the past. There is always hype and there is always
something around the game; but all you got to do is focus on the
pitch", said the former Fulham defender.
Good to know that one player at least will not be distracted by the pyrotechnics before the match.
ISL franchises go shopping: Better imports, new coaches for upcoming season
This ISL season, the third edition, may be the final one in its current format with inclusion of I-League teams in the offing.
Written by Mihir Vasavda
| New Delhi |
Updated: October 1, 2016 9:21 am
Indian Super League owners with ISL founder and chairperson Nita Ambani.
The third season of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicks off today
with North East United taking on Kerala Blasters. In all probability,
this will be the final version of the tournament in its current avatar,
considering that it might become the premier Indian league spanning
across 8 months next year onwards. A few key points from this season
Players from 4 continents
79 players, 24 countries. The eight franchises have used their agent
networks to proper use, attracting players (except marquees) from every
continent except Oceana. Brazil (21) has highest representation, just
like the previous season, owing to a tie-up with their first-division
side Atletico Paranaense. Seven of them have been signed by Goa, which
isn’t a surprise as Zico has chosen to sign players he knows with the
help of Beto, former Brazilian player who played in the I-League and is
now an agent himself. Spain (14) has the second-most players while 11
players are from Africa, which has been India’s hunting ground for
players for I-League.
Musical chairs for coaches
Out of the eight teams, six will have new coaches. Only Chennaiyin FC
(Marco Materazzi) and FC Goa (Zico) have retained their coaches while
the rest chose to replace their managers during the off season. Pune
City managed a coup of sorts by luring the highly-animated, and
successful, Antonio Habas from Atletico Kolkata, who hired another
Spaniard and former Villarreal manager Jose Francisco Molina. Delhi
replaced one high-profile manager, Roberto Carlos, with another,
Gianluca Zambrotta while Kerala Blasters have got former Reading manager
and Portsmouth’s director of football Steve Coppell.
Jet-setting the world
Unlike the past, where hurriedly-assembled and undercooked teams were
fielded by many, all teams go into this season fully prepared with at
least a month-long pre-season under their belts. All teams jet-setted to
various corners of the world to prepare for the ISL. Delhi Dynamos
became the first Indian club to play a friendly against an English
Premier League side when they faced West Brom Albion last month. Zico
used his reputation in Brazil to get his side decent exposure with a
camp in Rio while Pune trained in Madrid. Mumbai City warmed up against
some of the top clubs from the Gulf along with North East United.
Toss-up between Chennai, Goa
Last year’s finalists Chennaiyin and Goa will once again be the top
contenders, mainly because of the continuity factor. Materazzi and Zico
have been at the ISL since the beginning and understand the nature of
tournament. Both teams have retained their core group while making
crucial additions. Going by the pre-seasons, Delhi and Mumbai too look
stable units, but Mumbai will be without some of their key players,
including Sunil Chhetri, for the first 20 days of the league.
@sam: If you mean me, I don't know what you mean by the cliched comments--almost everyone here, including those who fervently support the ISL agree that the opening ceremony with all is extravaganza isn't really the best way to promote the ISL and I haven't really lambasted the ISL (nor worshipped it) anywhere in my posts.
Comments
Probably got some things wrong but I made it within 2 hours so ya
Ahead of the game, the Blasters' marquee player Aaron Hughes made it clear that the fact that the opening ceremony will take place right before the game will have no impact on the players and there won't be any added burden of expectations as such.
"No, not really. I mean, for me that’s all on the side. You know, with everything that goes on around has got nothing to do with what we have to do on the pitch. You know, our focus really is that. It’s fantastic being a part of (the opening ceremony), don’t get me wrong. It’s great not only being in this league this year; you know, when I realise that when ours is the first game, the concern around it makes it that extra special. It’s fantastic because, there is an extra tension and you know, everyone’s looking on it. When it comes down to on the pitch, that all is irrelevant; you now, we’ve got our jobs and the focus is on what we’ve worked on through pre-season and it’s no different than playing games in the past. There is always hype and there is always something around the game; but all you got to do is focus on the pitch", said the former Fulham defender.
Good to know that one player at least will not be distracted by the pyrotechnics before the match.
ISL franchises go shopping: Better imports, new coaches for upcoming season
This ISL season, the third edition, may be the final one in its current format with inclusion of I-League teams in the offing.
The third season of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicks off today with North East United taking on Kerala Blasters. In all probability, this will be the final version of the tournament in its current avatar, considering that it might become the premier Indian league spanning across 8 months next year onwards. A few key points from this season
Players from 4 continents
79 players, 24 countries. The eight franchises have used their agent networks to proper use, attracting players (except marquees) from every continent except Oceana. Brazil (21) has highest representation, just like the previous season, owing to a tie-up with their first-division side Atletico Paranaense. Seven of them have been signed by Goa, which isn’t a surprise as Zico has chosen to sign players he knows with the help of Beto, former Brazilian player who played in the I-League and is now an agent himself. Spain (14) has the second-most players while 11 players are from Africa, which has been India’s hunting ground for players for I-League.
Musical chairs for coaches
Out of the eight teams, six will have new coaches. Only Chennaiyin FC (Marco Materazzi) and FC Goa (Zico) have retained their coaches while the rest chose to replace their managers during the off season. Pune City managed a coup of sorts by luring the highly-animated, and successful, Antonio Habas from Atletico Kolkata, who hired another Spaniard and former Villarreal manager Jose Francisco Molina. Delhi replaced one high-profile manager, Roberto Carlos, with another, Gianluca Zambrotta while Kerala Blasters have got former Reading manager and Portsmouth’s director of football Steve Coppell.
Jet-setting the world
Unlike the past, where hurriedly-assembled and undercooked teams were fielded by many, all teams go into this season fully prepared with at least a month-long pre-season under their belts. All teams jet-setted to various corners of the world to prepare for the ISL. Delhi Dynamos became the first Indian club to play a friendly against an English Premier League side when they faced West Brom Albion last month. Zico used his reputation in Brazil to get his side decent exposure with a camp in Rio while Pune trained in Madrid. Mumbai City warmed up against some of the top clubs from the Gulf along with North East United.
Toss-up between Chennai, Goa
@sam: If you mean me, I don't know what you mean by the cliched comments--almost everyone here, including those who fervently support the ISL agree that the opening ceremony with all is extravaganza isn't really the best way to promote the ISL and I haven't really lambasted the ISL (nor worshipped it) anywhere in my posts.Last year’s finalists Chennaiyin and Goa will once again be the top contenders, mainly because of the continuity factor. Materazzi and Zico have been at the ISL since the beginning and understand the nature of tournament. Both teams have retained their core group while making crucial additions. Going by the pre-seasons, Delhi and Mumbai too look stable units, but Mumbai will be without some of their key players, including Sunil Chhetri, for the first 20 days of the league.