The second season of the Indian Super League will come to an end on Sunday and the organisers can finally breathe a sigh of relief – it has passed off without too much of a hitch.
Unlike the first season where murmurs of criticism were muted at best, the second season arrived in October with plenty waiting with sharpened knives. Apart from the fact that the second season would need to go beyond the novelty value that the first offered, there were other complaints too – chief among them being that the ISL was actually doing more to destroy Indian football rather than improve it.
An up and down second season
Not to say those criticisms were completely unfounded – the second season started off on a unpleasant note when Indian players from various franchises were only released a few days before a key World Cup qualification match featuring the national team. There was also the slightly jarring aspect of ISL matches taking place on the same day that the Indian football team were playing a key World Cup qualifier – something which is almost never seen in other parts of the football world where every league has designated international breaks.
But it has not been all bad. Purely based on the performances on the field, this has been a much better season. The greatest delight has been the success of the Indian footballers – this year, all the best Indian footballers participated in the tournament and they have all performed admirably. Captain of the Indian team Sunil Chhetri is up there on the top goal-scorers list with fellow striker Chennai’s Jeje Lalpekhlua only one goal behind him. Kerala Blaster’s Mehtab Hossain has made the most tackles in the league while it’s an Indian goal-keeper who’s made the most saves – NorthEast United’s Rehenesh.
An entertaining final
And now onto the finals at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. It should shape up to be an entertaining final – both the finalists FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC are teams that like to play an entertaining brand of football and score goals. Both of them have sparkled in the semis – Chennai in their first leg against Kolkata and Goa in their second leg against Delhi. And even though Goa finished two places above Chennai in the league, their head-to-head record this season suggests they should be more than an even match for each other – Chennai trashed Goa 4-0 at Fatorda in the beginning of the season in October before Goa returned the favour, defeating Chennai at their home.
Besides, Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi will be quietly confident against his Brazilian counterpart Zico. As Peter Cunha pointed out, it was Materazzi’s tactical masterclass in that early 4-0 thrashing that forced Zico to change his tactics. Though Zico managed to recover and steer his team to the top of the league, he has every cause to be wary – Materazzi has already out-thought him once. Besides, Chennai came into the semi-final as the underdogs, playing at a neutral venue and with a depleted squad. The way they put it past Kolkata though was indicative of the fact that they look really focused to win their first ISL title.
Proven match-winners
And for Goa? Well, they will be playing at home and the Fatorda faithful will come out in their loudest to cheer them on. The crowd will obviously play a part – Goa went down 1-0 to Delhi away in the first leg of their semi-final but returned home and riding on the crowd support, easily dispatched the Dynamos 3-0. With Leo Moura, Reinaldo and Dudu all performing well for them, they have the players who can carry it off and in Zico, a canny manager who’s not afraid to back his instincts.
It is a similar case with Chennai. Up front, their combination of Elano, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Pelissari can create havoc amidst opposition defences. However, they will need to shore up the defence – at times in the second leg against Kolkata, the defence looked leaky and gave Kolkata plenty of opportunities to score. Kolkata missed out but don’t expect Goa to do the same so Materazzi must ensure that his defence does not switch off.
Finally, it boils down to the perfect finale – two teams with proven goal-scoring records teeing off against one another. Expect end-to-end goalmouth action.
Unlike the first season where murmurs of criticism were muted at best, the second season arrived in October with plenty waiting with sharpened knives. Apart from the fact that the second season would need to go beyond the novelty value that the first offered, there were other complaints too – chief among them being that the ISL was actually doing more to destroy Indian football rather than improve it.
An up and down second season
Not to say those criticisms were completely unfounded – the second season started off on a unpleasant note when Indian players from various franchises were only released a few days before a key World Cup qualification match featuring the national team. There was also the slightly jarring aspect of ISL matches taking place on the same day that the Indian football team were playing a key World Cup qualifier – something which is almost never seen in other parts of the football world where every league has designated international breaks.
But it has not been all bad. Purely based on the performances on the field, this has been a much better season. The greatest delight has been the success of the Indian footballers – this year, all the best Indian footballers participated in the tournament and they have all performed admirably. Captain of the Indian team Sunil Chhetri is up there on the top goal-scorers list with fellow striker Chennai’s Jeje Lalpekhlua only one goal behind him. Kerala Blaster’s Mehtab Hossain has made the most tackles in the league while it’s an Indian goal-keeper who’s made the most saves – NorthEast United’s Rehenesh.
An entertaining final
And now onto the finals at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. It should shape up to be an entertaining final – both the finalists FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC are teams that like to play an entertaining brand of football and score goals. Both of them have sparkled in the semis – Chennai in their first leg against Kolkata and Goa in their second leg against Delhi. And even though Goa finished two places above Chennai in the league, their head-to-head record this season suggests they should be more than an even match for each other – Chennai trashed Goa 4-0 at Fatorda in the beginning of the season in October before Goa returned the favour, defeating Chennai at their home.
Besides, Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi will be quietly confident against his Brazilian counterpart Zico. As Peter Cunha pointed out, it was Materazzi’s tactical masterclass in that early 4-0 thrashing that forced Zico to change his tactics. Though Zico managed to recover and steer his team to the top of the league, he has every cause to be wary – Materazzi has already out-thought him once. Besides, Chennai came into the semi-final as the underdogs, playing at a neutral venue and with a depleted squad. The way they put it past Kolkata though was indicative of the fact that they look really focused to win their first ISL title.
Proven match-winners
And for Goa? Well, they will be playing at home and the Fatorda faithful will come out in their loudest to cheer them on. The crowd will obviously play a part – Goa went down 1-0 to Delhi away in the first leg of their semi-final but returned home and riding on the crowd support, easily dispatched the Dynamos 3-0. With Leo Moura, Reinaldo and Dudu all performing well for them, they have the players who can carry it off and in Zico, a canny manager who’s not afraid to back his instincts.
It is a similar case with Chennai. Up front, their combination of Elano, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Pelissari can create havoc amidst opposition defences. However, they will need to shore up the defence – at times in the second leg against Kolkata, the defence looked leaky and gave Kolkata plenty of opportunities to score. Kolkata missed out but don’t expect Goa to do the same so Materazzi must ensure that his defence does not switch off.
Finally, it boils down to the perfect finale – two teams with proven goal-scoring records teeing off against one another. Expect end-to-end goalmouth action.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!