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The first half of Indian Super League season 5 is over, as all the teams have played half of their league matches. A total of 53 matches have been played so far with 139 goals being scored.
From this year, the marquee foreign signing have been withdrawn, which made clubs looking for young and talented players rather than old ones who almost finished their career.
Thanks to excellent scouting, all the eight clubs have signed reputed foreigners. The only exception was ATK, who signed all foreigners who have proved themselves in the ISL already.
As half of the tournament is already over, we now need to assess the foreigners and their performances in the previous matches.
As it seems, most of the clubs have made one or two odd signings, which was not successful as expected. Kerala Blasters and FC Pune City are struggling more than others as both them relied on foreign signings.
This year, the Indian players significantly upped their performance, which sometimes made the foreigners toil. Some of them even had to warm the bench to give a chance to Indian counterparts.
Here in this article, we would look at the seven foreign signings which have been flopped this season:
#7 Andrija Kaludjerovic (Delhi Dynamos)
The Serbian striker came from Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana but hadn’t played a match for them. Rather, he was more use popular in his stint with Wellington Phoneix that play in A-League. He scored nine goals from 23 matches for Phoenix.
However, India had made life tough for him as the Serbian has struggled from the opening match. Delhi were hoping to make a turnaround of their fortunes in this edition but have failed to do so far, mainly due to the inability of the strikers.
Delhi have signed many talented players in different positions but the attacking responsibility was largely depended on Kaludjerovic. But apart from the goal against Kerala Blasters’ which ensured his side a point, the Serbian striker has failed to find the back of the net.
Kaludjerovic has played all the 10 matches for his team so far but lately, he fell out of favour of coach Josep Gombau, who under immense pressure decided to give other players a chance.
It’s heard that Delhi will release the Serbian in the next month.
#6 Marcelinho (FC Pune City)
Before the start of ISL season 5, Pune City had the most dangerous attacking line-up. With the likes of Marcelinho, Emiliano Alfaro, Iain Hume and Diego Carlos, Pune City were the side to beat.
If you were away for two months and had not been following ISL closely, you’d be surprised to see Pune City at the bottom of the table.
Marcelinho’s dismal performance is the most surprising thing. Being one of the best players who already made a name for himself, Marcelinho hasn’t found his rhythm. This goes keeping in mind the fact he had scored the winning goal against Delhi Dynamos in Pune’s last match.
But this certainly not the Marcelinho we saw in the previous editions. He lost his magic touch, the goalscoring boot and mostly, the perseverance which is badly needed from a striker.
He got a four-match suspension last edition and as a result missed the first match of this edition after the suspension was carried over. After that, he again got a red card and subsequently missed a match.
So far the Brazilian has scored two goals and the same number of assists. This is disastrous and against his character.
#5 Matej Poplatnik (Kerala Blasters)
When he scored the first of the Indian Super League season 5 against ATK, Kerala Blasters coach David James must have thought his problems with the strikers are gone. Little did he know the problem would haunt them for the rest of the season.
Kerala this time looked at south-east Europe to fill their foreign quota. They signed Slavisa Stojanovic and Nemanja Lekic-Pesic along with Matej Poplatnik before the start of the season.
Honestly, the move backfired as Kerala are languishing at the bottom of the table midway into the season.
Poplatnik played all but one match for his team, but never looked dangerous within the opponent’s box. Termed as Balkan beast, Poplatnik perhaps ‘lost his teeth’ to bite.
Kerala have badly struggled in front of the goal and James now has no option but to play him in every match.
#4 Carlos Salom (Chennaiyin FC)
For once, Carlos Salom would look like a Mexican gangster or someone who dazzles his head like a rockstar in a concert.
The Argentine-born was signed by Chennaiyin to bolster their attack, which already had Jeje Lalpekhlua and Mohammed Rafi. But after 10 matches, his performance has earned only criticisms.
He was mostly used a substitute but failed to serve the purpose. Being a striker, he scored only a goal in the 10 matches.
Chennaiyin have been struggling this season in terms of attacking with Jeje enduring a torrid run. It was expected Salom would take the responsibility but he too failed to make the opportunity count.
#3 Mourtada Fall (FC Goa)
FC Goa have scored 22 goals but conceded 14 in the process. Their defence have been the third worst in the league after Pune City and Chennaiyin FC.
Credits should be given to their strikers who ensured the team scored more goals than what they concede. Hugo Boumous, Edu Bedia and Ferran Corominas were so strong in every match that Goa coach Sergio Lobera never had to bother about their defence.
The one match that went against their calculation was against Jamshedpur FC, a match which Goa played without suspended Corominas. Incidentally, Fall scored Goa’s only goal of the match but ‘helped’ to concede at least two.
Also in the later stages, Fall never looked confident whenever the opponent made an attack. He can certainly be termed as a flop this season.
#2 Matias Mirabaje (Mumbai City FC)
Mumbai City have signed proven performer Matias Mirabaje from Delhi Dynamos to bolster their midfield. But as it looks in the midway of the ISL, it was a complete waste of money.
The Uruguayan, who scored three goals for Delhi last season, has only played a cumulative period of 139 minutes this season. With each passing day, his performance is going downwards.
He looks like a pale shadow of his old self. He is sluggish and looks tired on the pitch. Mirabaje doesn’t have the same hunger on the pitch which earned him plaudits during his time in Delhi. He often loses his cool and already earned two yellow cards after his name.
#1 Tim Cahill (Jamshedpur FC)
When Jamshedpur made the announcement of the arrival of Tim Cahill, it created a buzz around Indian football community. For, he’s the first footballer joining an ISL team after playing the recently concluded World Cup.
Few days before the signing of Cahill, I-League side East Bengal have completed the formalities with Costa Rican Johnny Acosta, who played all matches for his country in the Russia World Cup.
Jamshedpur, a club with a large fan base were excited with the signing. After all the former Everton man has a large fan following across the world, which would only give Jamshedpur more fame. Cahill has been worshipped by his countrymen and is still the top scorer for the Socceroos.
But he’s not a footballer anymore, sadly.
After playing nine matches and 449 minutes, Cahill has only one goal with his name. Only seven shots don’t signify the achievement he has earned all these years. He is slow on the field, doesn’t get past defenders easily and doesn’t have the capability to play for whole 90 minutes.
After joining Jamshedpur, he inspired young players by sharing his experiences. Probably from the next season, we would see him as a mentor rather than a footballer.
