The second season of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicked off last month. The league has caused much intrigue across the footballing world but little is actually known about it.
We have therefore tried to find out a little more about this year’s competition.
History
After much speculation the ISL was officially launched in 2013. The league’s launch sparked a bidding war between different consortiums who all hoped to gain ownership of one of the eight franchises that would contest the league.
The bidding war was intense and was contested by a range of famous sports players, Bollywood actors and businessmen from both India and abroad.
By April 2014 all of the franchises had been bought and branded.
Sachin Tendulkar won the rights for the franchise based in Kochi, whilst fellow cricket player Sourav Ganguly teamed up with Atletico Madrid to buy the rights for the Kolkata franchise.
Bollywood actors Ranbin Kapoor and John Abraham won the rights to the Mumbai and Guwahati franchises respectively.
The first match of the ISL kicked off on the 14th October 2014 when Atletico de Kolkata faced Mumbai CIty in front of 65,000 fans at The Salt Lake Stadium.
During its inaugural season the ISL proved extremely popular and by the end of the season the league’s average attendance was 26,357. This makes the ISL the fourth most watched league in the world with only the Premiership, La Liga and the Bundesliga ahead of it.
The 2014 competition was won by Atletico de Kolkata who beat Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the Grand Final.
Format of the Indian Super League
The general format of the ISL has stayed pretty much the same as it was in the 2014 season.
The eight franchises enter into a league where each teams plays each other twice. The top four teams then qualify for the play-offs.
The play-offs consist of a two-legged semi final with the two winners then facing off against each other for the ISL title.
The ISL starts in October and ends in mid December with this year’s final due to be played on 20th December.
The league has followed in the footsteps of competitions like the MLS be enforcing strict roster regulations.
The regulations are extremely complex and require each franchise to have at least one “marquee player” and between eight to ten foreign players.
The 2015 Indian Super League
So now we know a little more about the competition, lets have a look at this year’s teams.
Altetico de Kolkata (Salt Lake Stadium – Capacity 68,000)
Manager – Antonio Lopez Habas
The Spaniard guided Kolkata to the ISL title last year. He has managed at a whole host of clubs and had a short spell as boss of Spanish giants Valencia in 2005.
Marquee Player – Helder Postiga
Postiga has accumulated 71 caps for Portugal and has played in La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League. The 33-year old’s time in the Premier League is rather easily forgotten however as he only scored one goal in his 19 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur
Other Notable players
Former Liverpool right back Josemi committed to the franchise again after being part of the title winning campaign last year.
Kolkata’s captain is Borja Fernandez who once played for Real Madrid and former Football League favorite Ian Hume also plays for Habas’ side.
Chennaiyin FC (Jawaharlal Nahrus Stadium – Capacity 40,000)
Manager – Marco Materazzi
The former defender had a glittering playing career and this is his first managerial job. Materazzi is officially Chennaiyn’s player manager but at the age of 42 it is hard to believe that he will give himself too much game time!
Marquee Player – Elano
Manchester City paid £8 million for the Brazilian’s services back in 2009 and Elano went on to have a successful spell with the club, scoring 14 goals in 62 appearances. The 34 year old also has 50 caps for Brazil and won the ISL’s Golden Boot last year after scoring eight goals during the competition.
Other Notable Players
Former Sweden Under 21 and Plymouth Argyle midfielder Bojan Djordjic captains Chennaiyn. Bernard Mendy also represents Materazzi’s side as does ex-Juventus defender Manuele Blasi.
Delhi Dynamos FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium – Capacity 60,000)
Manager – Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos was arguably one of the world’s best left backs but is still trying to prove himself in the dug out. This job represents the 42 year old’s fourth spell in management.
Marquee Player – Florent Malouda
The Dynamos made waves in August wen they brought in the French superstar. Malouda made 149 appearances for Chelsea between 2007 and 2013 and played for French club Mainz last season.
Other Notable Players
John Arne Riise joined the franchise in the summer as did former Feyenoord defender Serginho Greene.
Delhi have also bucked the trend of signing veteran players by bringing in West Brom youngster Adil Nabi on a loan deal.
FC Goa (Fatorda Stadium – Capacity 19,000)
Manager – Zico
The Brazil legend has a rich managerial pedigree having been in charge of Fenerbache, CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos as well as the Japanese national side.
Marquee Player – Lucio
The 37-year old center back joined the franchise in the summer after leaving Brazilian club Palmeiras. Lucio has played for big European clubs such as Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Juventus and was also part of the Brazilian side that won the 2002 World Cup.
Other Notable Players
Former Barcelona midfielder Jofre represents Zico’s side as does goalkeeper Elinton Andrade who has played for a range of clubs including Marseilles and Ascoli.
Kerala Blasters (Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium – Capacity 75.000)
Manager – Terry Phelan
The former Republic of Ireland international replaced former manager David James in the summer. Phelan quit playing in 2009 following a spell in America and this is his first managerial job.
Marquee Player – Carlos Marchena
Marchena has accumulated 69 caps for the Spanish national side and made 230 appearances for Valencia between 2001 and 2010. The 35 year-old decided to move to the ISL in August after leaving Deportivo de La Coruna.
Other Notable Players
Peter Ramage joined the franchise after leaving Crystal Palace in the summer. Former Arsenal striker Sanchez Watt also plays for Phelan’s side as do ex Derby goalkeeper Stephen Bywater and Scuntorpe cult hero Marcus Williams. Former Leyton Orient man Chris Dagnall has also joined Kerala Blasters.
Mumbai City (DY Patil Stadium – Capacity 55,000)
Manager and Marquee Player – Nicholas Anelka
The 36 year old player-manager is well known to English football fans having played Arsenal, Chelsea, West Brom, Bolton and Liverpool during a distinguished career. Anelka was briefly a player coach at Shanghai Shenhua in 2013 but this is the Frenchman’s first managerial role.
Other Notable Players
Former Toronto and Celtic man Darren O’Dea plays in the heart of defense for Anelka’s side. Mumbai City also have 36-year old ex West Ham and Portsmouth striker Frédéric Piquionne to call upon.
NorthEast United (Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium – Capacity 35,000)
Manager – Cesar Farias
The 42-year old Venezuelan joined NorthEast United in July. He has previously managed the Venezuela Under 20 side as well as the country’s national team.
Marquee Player – Simao Sabrosa
Simao has gained 85 Portugal caps and has played 172 times for Benfica and 113 times for Atletico Madrid. The 36-year old joined NorthEast United this summer having left Espanyol.
Other Notable Players
Ex Fulham and West Brom forward Diomansy Kamara plays at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium as does 30-year old defender Andre Bikey.
FC Pune City (Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex – Capacity 10,500)
Manager – David Platt
The former England Under 21 manager was brought in as FC Pune’s head coach in June, 11 years after his last managerial job.
Marquee Player – Adrian Mutu
The Romanian striker joined Chelsea for a club record fee of £15.8 million in 2003 from Parma. However, he left the club in controversial circumstances less than two years later. Mutu went on to have a successful spell at Fiorentina, scoring 54 goals in 112 games.
Other Notable Players
Platt has brought in a number of English players including former Charlton defender Roger Johnson, former Derby midfielder James Bailey and ex Stoke goalkeeper Steve SImonsen.
Former Premier League midfielders Tuncay Sanli and Didier Zokora also represent Platt’s side.
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