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Overview
The AIFF might have roped in ‘Airtel’ as the title sponsor on the eve of 2013-14 I-League start but once again the competition failed to catch the attention of the masses with hardly any promotion and there was no telecast as well of the opening round.
Nonetheless, the I-League has returned to action with eight of the 12 teams opening their account for the new season while East Bengal got a breather ahead of their AFC Cup quarter-final second leg. There were some surprise results with Shillong Lajong finishing on top after round one while Bengaluru FC and Rangdajied United made their top flight debut as well.
The top scorer of the last three seasons, Ranti Martins, unsurprisingly got on the score-sheet in the first game of the season and as expected, the foreigners dominated the scoring chart with only three of the 14 goals of the first round coming from Indians.
Four of the six games had decent turnouts with Mohammedan Sporting’s first game in the top flight after four years witnessed by a crowd of around 15,000 although half of them somehow made their way into the stadium without tickets.
Four of the six games had decent turnouts
The most interesting aspect of the opening weekend was that the historically significant clubs like Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting and Dempo endured difficult starts against relatively new ones.
Mohun Bagan needed an injury-time equaliser to deny Bengaluru FC a win on their I-League debut while 122-year-old Mohammedan Sporting were humbled 3-1 by Pune FC, who were only formed in 2007. Pune lost some key players in the summer and brought in three foreigners, who are new to Indian football, but still managed to come up with a professional performance. The ‘Red Lizards’ are clearly heading into the right direction both on and off the field.
Another result where history meant nothing was Shillong Lajong’s 3-0 victory over five-time record Indian champions Dempo in Goa. In their previous three seasons in the top flight, the Shillong club have had a dismal record in Goa but they ended their three year-wait for a win there by thumping a new-look Dempo side under Australian coach Arthur Papas.
Overall, it was a decent start to the I-League in terms of on-field action and the start of LIVE telecast from round two should make it more exciting.
Game of the round
Bengaluru FC 1-1 Mohun Bagan
In terms of events, there wasn’t a better game than Bengaluru FC’s first-ever I-League game against Mohun Bagan. Two goals, two penalty saves, one red card, plenty of missed opportunities and a enthusiastic crowd of around 6,500 with both teams being represented well. It would be hard to find a more eventful game all season. Bengaluru FC showed why they could set the same professional standards as Pune FC as they marketed their I-League debut very well and gave their fans a nice matchday experience with the stands of the Bangalore Football Stadium also fully painted blue and red.
Just like in Manchester on Sunday, a Rooney was on the score-sheet in Bangalore too. Australian Sean Rooney ensured himself a place in Bengaluru FC history by netting their first-ever goal but failed to double their advantage from the spot as his penalty was saved by veteran Sandip Nandy. Both Rooney’s goal and penalty miss happened in the second half while Mohun Bagan’s Katsumi Yusa also failed to convert his spot kick in the first half with young Pawan Kumar making a fine save.
Bengaluru FC played the more attractive brand of football despite the exclusion of India internationals Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh from the starting eleven. It wasn’t enough to give them a dream start to the I-League though as CS Sabeeth grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser while Bengaluru were reduced to ten with Thoi Singh receiving his second yellow. On the whole, it was a memorable debut for Bengaluru FC in Indian football.
Result of the round
Dempo 0-3 Shillong Lajong
Worst possible start to the Arthur Papas era at Dempo
The standout result of the opening round has to be Lajong’s surprise 3-0 win over Dempo. The Goan club are in transition and for the first time in 13 years don’t have Armando Colaco at the helm but no one expected them to get a thrashing from traditionally poor travellers Shillong Lajong.
Inspired by Trinidad & Tobago World Cupper Cornell Glen, Lajong’s young-looking squad completely exposed the weaknesses of Papas’ side, who still look like a work in progress. The new-look centre-back pairing of Simon Colosimo and Shinnosuke Honda certainly struggled to cope with Glen and the absence of central midfielder Godwin Franco was also felt.
The result should see other teams take Thangboi Singto’s Lajong outfit more seriously while Papas will now be under pressure to bounce back immediately against Mumbai FC next week.
Best Players
Foreigner – Cornell Glen (Shillong Lajong) and Raul Fabiani (Pune FC)
Fabiani bagged a brace and also got sent off on his Indian football debut
This accolade jointly goes to the two two-goal heroes of matchday one. Both Glen and Spanish-born Equatorial Guinea striker Raul Fabiani bagged a brace on their I-League debut to announce themselves on the Indian football scene. While Glen showed his class to net a double against Dempo, Fabiani played the role of a target man perfectly as he not only scored twice but also set up another against Mohammedan Sporting. To make his debut even more eventful, Fabiani also received his second yellow for partially taking off his jersey while celebrating his second goal.
Indian – Nikhil Kadam (Pune FC)
The rule of allowing four foreigners in the I-League has made it even more difficult for Indians to make an impact but starlets like Nikhil Kadam still have hope as Pune FC encourage the development of youngsters. A product of the Pune FC academy, the 20-year-old was a livewire against Mohammedan Sporting as he kept coming inside from the left flank to cause problems for the opposition’s defence. He was heavily involved in Pune’s equaliser as Fabiani scored after Kadam had hit the post with a scorching shot. The youngster was the best player on the pitch until his substitution and is one to watch out for the rest of the season.
Controversy
The word ‘controversy’ has been synonymous with I-League over the years so there had to be some in the opening weekend also and it happened just before the very first game between Mohammedan Sporting and Pune FC. There was a 24-minute delay in the kick-off due to the presence of only one ambulance in the ground instead of the mandatory two. The culprits were the home club, Mohammedan Sporting. This was their first top flight game in four years but the club officials approached it as any other game and showed why they were one of the bottom-ranked teams in the club licensing test.
United SC coach Eelco Schattorie completely exposed the loophole in the U-23 rule
The other piece of controversy also took place in Kolkata. While the ambulance mishap happened on Saturday, the United SC vs Rangdajied United clash on Sunday saw a bizarre event just five minutes into the game. United SC’s under-23 player Biswajit Biswas was replaced by CK Vineeth which meant the purple shirts didn’t have any U-23 player for the rest of the game. The AIFF had made the rule of having at least two players in every match squad and one in the starting eleven but United SC completely exposed the loophole in the rule on Sunday.
So now it’s clear that it’s not mandatory to have a U-23 player throughout the game as he doesn’t have to be replaced by another U-23 player and therefore early substitutions could become a regular theme of this season’s I-League. Following the disbandment of Arrows, this is the last thing Indian youngsters needed.
The Table
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | GD |
| Shillong Lajong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +3 |
| Pune FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +2 |
| United SC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +2 |
| Salgaocar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +1 |
| Bengaluru FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mohun Bagan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mumbai FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sporting Clube | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| East Bengal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Churchill Brothers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Mohammedan Sporting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| Rangdajied United | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| Dempo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
