With a stable defence and disciplined midfield, Delhi Dynamos have only their attack to worry about

There’s a rather common refrain in Delhi that, whatever the sport, the franchises from there are at best the team playing to make up the numbers, or at worst, providing the comic relief of the tournament. After a shambolic first season in the Indian Super League in which nothing seemed to go right, Delhi Dynamos put that barb partly to rest in 2015, qualifying for the semi-finals with some surprisingly assured performances in the group stage.

A Robin Singh header had given them a 1-0 advantage after the first leg of the semis in Delhi. That was as far as they were to go, however, as Zico’s FC Goa dashed their hopes with a resounding 3-0 victory in the second leg, beating them 3-1 on aggregate.

Roberto Carlos confirmed that he wouldn’t return to coach Delhi in the 2016 edition of the ISL, citing better opportunities. Delhi Dynamos were linked with Gary Neville for the manager’s position back in May, but eventually announced the signing of Italian legend Gianluca Zambrotta as their head coach. Zambrotta had previously seen mixed success coaching Swiss second tier side FC Chiasso, evading relegation in his first season, but got sacked in the next after a string of poor performances.

Lack of stability a problem for Delhi

The big problem for Delhi has been a lack of stability, with the foreign contingent in particular going through almost a complete overhaul in the last two seasons. This season, the foreign players retained have been their standout performers from last season: goalkeeper Antonio Doblas, midfielder Florent Malouda, and striker Richard Gadze. In comparison, fellow semi-finalists Atletico de Kolkata, FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC have managed to retain a sizeable number of their foreign signings from last season.

Malouda, the former Chelsea man, racked up the highest number of assists in the tournament, and Gadze was Delhi’s top scorer along with Robin Singh with four goals. Both these players are also, jarringly, the only Dynamos players in the top 20 players with the most shots on target last season. This probably typifies their hesitancy in attack, and their over-reliance in attack on a few players, especially Malouda.

Stable in defence

Delhi Dynamos were stable at the back for much of last season, with John Arne Riise at centre-back proving to be a calming presence. Indeed, they had conceded only six goals in the first half of the group stage. However, things unraveled a bit towards the end of the first round as they ended up conceding 14 goals in the next seven games. One can expect Zambrotta to focus on keeping a solid, consistent backline all through the tournament.

Delhi have been wise to retain Toni Doblas, who was the standout goalkeeper in the last edition and made the second-highest number of saves in the tournament. Sanjiban Ghosh retains his place in the squad as well, while Soram Poirei, who played for Aizawl FC in the I-League, is a good addition.

The defence features some familiar Indian names from last season, as Anas Edathodika has a chance to regain his place in the national squad. Anas had a good ISL 2015, proving a lot of doubters wrong. He will be a bit short of competitive match fitness, not having played in the I-League this season. Ruben Gonzalez, the second marquee player in the Delhi squad has played in the centre-back position in a few games for Real Madrid and for clubs like Osasuna, Real Zaragoza and Celta Vigo. He will be critical to Delhi’s hopes this season.

Ghanaian international left-back David Addy is another promising addition, as is Chinglensana Singh from Shillong Lajong, who showed maturity beyond his years for the I-League side in the 2015-‘16 season. Shouvik Chakravorty, Lalchhawnkima and Lalruatthara make up a well-rounded defensive line-up.

A functional, disciplined midfield

The primary focus for Zambrotta will be to ensure that his midfield is in sync with his defence. The decent talent at his disposal in this position should help. Any of Denson Devadas, Milan Singh, the Senegalese Ibrahima Niasse, Spaniard Marcos Tebar and the Brazilian Memo can occupy the holding midfield role. Milan in particular had an excellent season with DSK Shivajians and has impressed in the pre-season friendlies.

The highly rated Shillong Lajong player Rupert Nongrum and Mohun Bagan’s Kean Lewis should occupy the wide positions in midfield, with Amoes and Samir Nabi also capable of playing on the wings. Alwyn George, away on AFC Cup duty with Bengaluru FC, will miss the first four games of the season.

Malouda is the star in the attacking line-up and he should play in the number 10 role. Delhi will need him to repeat his performance from last year, and perhaps add a few goals while at it. Former Chennaiyin FC man, the Atletico Paranaense midfielder Bruno Pellissari, will be hoping to get more minutes under his belt for Delhi Dynamos this time around in his preferred central attacking midfield position.

Question marks in attack?

By retaining Gadze, Delhi ensured they have a striker who understands the ISL and has a proven scoring record. However, the squad might be lacking in this department overall. Marcelino is primarily a left winger whose scoring record isn’t too special. Badara Badji, the Senegalese international, has one season of professional football under his belt in the Croatian second division. At 1.92 m, he certainly offers a different threat from the effervescent Gadze, but his effectiveness remains to be seen. Arjun Tudu has shone in the Calcutta Football League and has even earned an India call-up. A good pre-season has seen him get in the scoresheet, and he’ll look at carrying on from there.

Delhi Dynamos have assembled a good squad of players, and should be among the more disciplined teams in defence during the season. Zambrotta might take a few games to really understand the ISL, and will be aiming for more goals from a Dynamos side that flattered to deceive last season.

They should do more than just make up the numbers this time.

Abhishek Parameswaran tweets here.