I-League 2017: Profiling the teams
With the end of the extravagant football fiesta, ISL 2016, all football zealots of the country have now turned their eyes towards I-League. Ten teams are all set to duke it out for the most prestigious silverware of football in the nation.
Defending champions Bengaluru FC will put the title on the line against nine other contingencies, those include the likes of last time runners-up Mohun Bagan, Kolkata stalwarts, East Bengal, veterans from Goa, Churchill Brothers, young guns from Pune, DSK Shivajians, boys from Mumbai, Mumbai FC, strapping lads from the highlands, Aizawl FC and the experienced ones who also stem from the hills, Shillong Lajong.
There are two debutants in the league this time. They are Chennai City, hailing all the way from their namesake state, Chennai. There is Minerva Punjab, who hails from Chandigarh.
Now we are going to take a dig at the profile of each and every team who are all set to joust for the ultimate glory in the league format of the game.
Bengaluru FC:
Owned and managed by a Mumbai-based company, JSW Group, Bengaluru FC has been the only club in India to win the I-league in their debut season. They vaunt a prestigious structure and they have also promised to be an inexorable force to be reckoned with.
After their latest blue-ribbon performance in AFC Cup where they ended up being the runners-up and became the solitary Indian team to feature in the finals of the tournament, they will look forward to continuing with the same spirit from where they left last season.
One of the most striking features for Bengaluru this season will be the preamble of their new Spanish preceptor, Albert Roca Pujol. Following in the footsteps of the outgoing British coach, Ashley Westwood, Roca is entering the club. The Spaniard has been the assistant manager of clubs like Galatasaray and Barcelona. The fans would love to see him taking Bengaluru FC to greater heights.
Barring the coach, the team has the likes of Amrinder Singh under the woodwork. He was recently adjudged as the goalkeeper of the tournament in ISL 2016. With a tall and burly physique, he can be one invincible bulwark to be breached in the fray.
Another major moniker that will be doing the rounds for Bengaluru will be their signing of Spanish defender, Juanan. With massive experience under his belt, he has arrived in India to bolster the rearguard of BFC which already has the likes of John Johnson.
As mentioned, Johnson is going to be one player on whom BFC will have their eyes set to thwart the coups of their oppositions.
Barring these names, one of the most imperative factors, which makes BFC a very strong contender for the championship is the inclusion of those Indian players who took ISL by storm. The names include Rino Anto, Keegan Pereira, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Seminlen Doungel, Beikhokhei Beingaichho, Sena Ralte, Alwyn George and many others, whose united efforts give the team an aura of invincibility.
Finally, the name that all Indians will look forward to score goals is the Indian skipper, Sunil Chettri. He didn’t have much luck in ISL 2016 and will be famished for redemption. The day he fires can be an excruciatingly bad day for his opponents.