I-League 2017: 5 biggest flops this season
The I-League is a gift that keeps on giving in terms of bringing forth talents from across the country to the forefront and giving them a platform to perform. With the ISL restricting Indian participation to only five per side, the I-League is where the unknown names of Indian football get a bigger chance to shine. And this year has been no different.
However, as is the case, there are always two sides of the coin. Whilst the season has gifted us with Aizawl FC’s fantastic title challenge and not to forget the youngest goalscorer in I-League history, there have been names that have gone missing.
Here’s our rundown of five players who’ve had a horror show in the I-League, featuring new signings, former stars and a certain award winner from last season.
#5 Juanan
Bengaluru continued their tradition of playing two foreign centre-backs this season as well when they signed Juan Antonio González Fernández or Juanan, as he is more familiarly known as. The former Real Madrid ‘B’ team player joined Bengaluru in August as a part of Albert Roca's Spanish revolution at the Kanteerava, taking his place alongside the omnipresent John Johnson as the main ball-playing defender.
However, while his ball-playing abilities have not been questioned, his abilities as a defender certainly have been. Whether it is the language barrier or the failure of the players, the Spaniard has looked uncomfortable time and again.
From the huge misunderstanding that led to Holicharan Narzary opening the scoring for DSK at Balewadi to Wedson Anselme slaloming past him like he didn’t even exist in the game against East Bengal, the 29-year-old has been found out on a number of occasions. And for a team that has based their title-winning campaigns on their astute defensive proficiency, this season has seen them being anything but astute at the back having conceded the second highest number of goals amongst the top five.