The first match of the Indian Super League was watched by millions of people across India, including an amazing audience of 110,00 at the Salt Lake City football stadium in Kolkata. The Kolkata team, Atletico de Kolkata had no problem dismantling their challengers from Mumbai, Mumbai City FC, 3 goals to nothing. The goals for Atletico de Kolkata were scored by Arnal Llibert (92′), Borja Fernandez (69′) and Fikru Teferra (26′ – pic). The ease with which the win was achieved marks out the Kolkata side owned by former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, as the team to beat in this competition.
The Indian Super League wanted a great start, and that was what we got with a glittering opening ceremony, which had a heady combination of India’s biggest Bollywood and cricket stars. The league is India’s answer to the English Premier League, or, closer to home, the Indian Premier League. There are eight teams in the ISL, each containing many more-than-decent foreign players, although most of the top names are past their prime. The tournament will be played over the next 10 weeks and is said to be crucial for the future of Indian football.
Let’s have a quick look at the teams:
Atletico de Kolkata
The best team in the competition. Owners include ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly, plus a useful investment from Atletico Madrid, the champions of Spain. This club derives its strength from the Spanish club, and has several players from Spain, which give it an extra edge over the rest of the competition. One of the best players here is ex-Liverpool star Luis Garcia.
Chennaiyin
Owned by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan. This team has quality players of the past such as Elano, formerly, Manchester City, and Mikael Silvestre, ex-Arsenal.
Delhi Dynamos
Owned by one of India’s biggest cable companies. The best player is the famous Italian super star, Alessandro del Piero. There is also an agreement with top Dutch side Feyenoord to loan a few of their players.
Goa
Partly owned by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, managed by the Brazilian great Zico. Ex Arsenal winger Robert Pires is their best player.
Kerala Blasters
Sachin Tendulkar, the “Master Blaster” of cricket owns this team. Former England goalkeeper David James is a player plus head coach here. Michael Chopra, the only player of Asian origin to play in the English Premier League features as well.
Mumbai City
Coached by famous former England player Peter Reid, who is assisted by player plus coach Nicolas Anelka, the famous French player. Former Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg is another star player here.
Northeast United
This is the tournament’s representation from North-East of India. Players include former Spanish international Joan Capdevila.
Pune City
Partly owned by Bollywood super star Salman Khan. Famous Italian club Fiorentina has a 15 per cent stake in it. Has some of the top footballing names of the past such as France’s David Trezeguet and the Romanian star Adrian Mutu, formerly of Chelsea, who has been banned for taking drugs.
Among the players, Alessandro del Piero is best paid, at £1 million with others – and the likes of Freddie Ljungberg, Marco Materazzi, Nicolas Anelka and Joan Capdevila – get anywhere from £700,000 to £800,000.
There are 56 foreign players, among them, five World Cup winners , who shall be joined by 112 Indian players.
As the chief organizer of the Indian Super League said: “Football in this country has never been so popular, but it’s all about the Premier League, La Liga and the Champions League. As far as domestic football and the national team is concerned, things are not very good.
“Our focus is to ensure that the ISL benefits the Indian game. It is not simply about throwing money at the problem, we have to develop the game from the bottom up. That is one of our main priorities.
“I accept that a lot of foreign players who are coming towards the end of their careers are being paid very well, but we also have to be realistic. We will not be able to get the current top players.
“We are looking at the example of the North American Soccer League in the 1970s and leagues in Australia and Japan that had a similar approach. “
