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The Indian Super League (ISL) in its inaugural edition created a buzz like never seen before in Indian football. A one of its kind tournament, the league surpassed the attendance figures of the Serie A, Ligue 1 amongst the many more established football leagues in the world. Ranking only behind the Premier League, Bundesliga and the La Liga, ISL was a welcome change to a country dominated by cricket.
The star power of established Bollywood actors, coupled with the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, ISL had the perfect ingredients to catch the attention of the football fans across India. What it needed now was on field performers.
So when the announcement of Alessandro Del Piero was made by the capital based club, Delhi Dynamos, fans in hundreds gathered to greet the Italian legend outside the Delhi airport. Similar welcome was given to former Arsenal star Robert Pires at Goa, whereas Luis Garcia was greeted with much fanfare across all the stadiums. It was an opportunity for the supporters to finally catch a glimpse of these coveted stars.
The big names came with big price tags and even greater expectations. The league promised excitement and endless passion. Famously referred to as the ‘sleeping giants’, it was a chance for India to establish a foothold in this rather uncharted territory.
But as the season progressed, it wasn’t the marquee players that caught everyone’s attention. Players like Iain Hume, Fikru, Edel, Gustavo Dos Santos established themselves as the key figures in the squad. The highly paid and experienced European stars on the other hand, saw themselves on the wrong end of the news. Mumbai City’s marquee signing Freddie Ljungberg had to leave the tournament midway following an injury, Del Piero managed a solitary goal in the tournament, Pires finished the league with a single goal in eight appearances, and Spain’s World Cup winning star Joan Capdevila saw his side finish bottom of the standings. Apart from Elano, David James and Garcia, none of the marquee signings managed to excite the supporters as they would have wished for.
It was a lesson to the clubs that in order to win the league, it is important to find the right candidate for the task rather than how much glamour he adds to the tournament. Del Piero, Pires certainly caught the eye of the supporters who came in numbers to see them play, but instead they spent the majority of the season struggling on the bench. While conditions certainly played a key factor in the no-show by these stars, the major deterring factor was the poor fitness and age. In their early 40’s it was a bit unreasonable to expect these players to perform on a regular basis, which eventually saw their side struggle week in-week out.
Incidentally the final of the tournament played between Atletico de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters, featured two of the most consistent marquee players- Garcia and James. The widely unpredictable tournament saw a fitting end as Garcia’s men came out victorious. The Spaniard walked home with the trophy and was awarded as the league’s most exciting player.
This season though, the league has seen a shift in paradigm as clubs seem to have learnt from last season’s blunder. There are still famed footballers in the ISL ranks, but what has come to the fore is the shrewdness of the owners in dealing with the needs of their respective teams.
Delhi Dynamos for example who were amongst the worst affected by the form of their marquee signing have decided to spend big on three players this term. The inclusion of John Arne Riise and Florent Malouda, both in their mid-30’s, come across as good astute signings that add more steel to what looks like a promising squad. Pune City on the other hand have replaced David Trezeguet with former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, whereas the addition of Didier Zokora, Nicky Shorey and Tuncay Sanli definitely makes them look this strongest on paper.
Mumbai City have decided to stick with Nicolas Anelka, so have Chennaiyin FC who have retained last season’s top scorer, Elano. North East United have added former Portuguese star Simao Sabrosa to their squad, Goa’s signing of Lucio was met with much excitement and optimism as the Brazilian will be expected to anchor the defense, whereas Atletico de Kolkata have added Helder Postiga to fill in the void left by Garcia.
It is indeed a welcome change for not only the club owners but also the thousands of supporters who were glued to the game trying to find little moments to cheer for. The excitement of seeing the likes of Del Piero was great, but sadly they could never quite live up to the razzmatazz surrounding them. This season though the highly acclaimed footballers come with much promise and even greater expectations than last season.
ISL was brought to India to make football popular again and attract spectators in large numbers. With the first season successful in its mission, the challenge this time around is to make sure these highly paid stars don’t get worn out and instead light up the tournament by their unquestioned abilities.
