I-League clubs sign better foreigners but does that mean it's a better I-League?

The 2013/14 edition of the I-League, India’s professional football league, is still over a month away but the signs are good because most participating clubs have signed better quality foreigners which hopefully will improve the quality of football on display.

In the past, Indian clubs would mostly recruit foreign players from Brazil besides Nigeria and Ghana from Africa. That has been changing over the last few seasons with players from other African nations also coming to the I-League besides players from Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Iberian peninsula to name a few, while under the Asian quota, we have seen mainly players from Australia and Japan coming to Indian shores.

This season, many I-League clubs have been focusing on signing players from Europe or players with European league experience, who they hope will bring better quality and understanding of football with them into the I-League.

Champions Churchill Brothers have signed Portuguese duo Eurípedes Daniel Adão Amoreirinha and Hugo Miguel Alves Machado; runners-up Pune FC have brought in Englishman Calum James Angus from Sweden and Spanish-born Equatorial Guinea striker Raúl Iván Fabiani Bosio; Dempo SC have signed Australian defender Simon Colosimo and English-Irish striker Billy Mehmet; Sporting Clube de Goa the Spanish duo of Arturo Navarro García and Gonzalo Hinojal Neila; Salgaocar FC signed Scotsman Darryl Alexander Duffy and Claude Gnakpa of France; Shillong Lajong FC brought in Trinidad & Tobago striker Cornell Glen; and newcomers Bengaluru FC brought in Englishman John James Johnson and Curtis Osano of Kenyan, who both come from the English League Two.

An impressive line-up of signings for the I-League, but an interesting fact is that none of these signings have joined clubs in Kolkata, who have rather signed tried and tested players with knowledge of the I-League and Indian conditions.

And all these players will have to prove if they can adapt to the tough Indian conditions. There is a lot of travelling involved in the I-League, many matches until next summer, different types of ground – natural and artificial, afternoon kick-offs, and the weather can be an issue as with cool conditions in Shillong in the winter, with hot and sultry weather in Kolkata and Goa.

The foundation has been build for a better, stronger I-League this season. Now, it’s up to these players to prove their mettle in alien conditions.