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The clock is ticking down on the grand finale of the inaugural season of the Indian Super Cup, and we are finally set to decide which of the two mega-leagues in India are superior -- the traditional I-League, or the cash-rich Indian Super League.
Interestingly, the matches between the sides from the two differ leagues have been hotly contested. After a long I-League season, a number of top players were expected to light up the pitch. However, their performances have taken a dip in the cup competition. Here, we take a look at some of best I-League performers, who failed to impress in the Super Cup.
#5 Michael Soosairaj (Chennai City FC )
The Chennai City Midfielder who was signed by Jamshedpur FC for Rs 25 lakhs just after the end of the ISL and the I-League, didn’t have a memorable Super Cup campaign. A lot more was expected from the I-League best Midfielder of the Year award winner.
Soosairaj cut a lonely figure in the middle of the park during Chennai City’s qualification game against ATK, and wasn’t impressive at all. His inability to produce anything good during the game cost Chennai the match where they lost 4-1 to the two-time ISL champions.
Soosairaj, who is known for his ball skills and ability to control the game, couldn’t showcase any of those traits in a match where Chennai were completely mauled by ATK.
The Chennai captain failing to live up to his expectations was a big loss for the I-League fanatics who wanted this season’s best medio to showcase some of his highly rated skills against ISL sides.
#4 Leonce Dodoz Zikahi ( Aizawl FC)
Dodoz was one of the top scorers in the I-League with four goals to his name. He was also Aizawl’s top goal-getter this season. Dodoz though failed to find the back of the net in the Super Cup in the two matches that Aizawl played. He did go on to miss some very easy chances, which came back to haunt Aizawl as they crashed out of the tournament after losing to East Bengal.
The Ivorian cut a lonely figure during both the games Aizawl played, while Romanian Andrei Ionescu got the team past ISL champions Chennaiyin FC, Dodoz's disappearing act hurt the team against East Bengal. Dodoz also looked to have problems linking up with Mapuia, Mashi, Alfred and Andrei which reduced Aizawl’s chances of creating openings and scoring goals.
#3 Dudu Omangbemi ( East Bengal)
Dudu may be the man whose goal has got East Bengal in the finals of the Super Cup, but the Nigerian striker was also guilty of wasting more chances than one can count. His off-field issues seemed to have had an effect on his game. Dudu could have easily scored more goals than any other player in the Super Cup but as of now, has only one goal to his name.
He has wasted a lot of moves that the Red and Gold midfield has instigated. His inability to hold up play properly was on show against Mumbai City FC and FC Goa and if he keeps wasting chances like he has been doing then East Bengal could have more than a couple of things to worry about in the big final.
#2 Akram Moghrabi ( Mohun Bagan)
Akram arrived in the January transfer window and had an instant impact in the Mohun Bagan with his heroics(scored 4 goals in the I league) Mohun Bagan managed to finish above their arch-rivals East Bengal in the I-League.
The Green and Maroon faithful had big hopes from Akram and Dika in the Super Cup. While Dika has been getting the goals regularly, the same have dried up for Akram. He managed to score only one goal in the Super Cup and his performance was also not up to the standards expected of him.
He also missed more than a couple of sitters during the course of the Super Cup.
#1 Chencho Gyletshen (Minerva Punjab)
After the initial few matches in the Super Cup which saw I-League mid-table teams topple ISL bigwigs, the odds were stacked on Minerva to cruise past Jamshedpur FC, but alas the I-League champions crashed out after being defeated by Jamshedpur FC in their first game.
Minerva lost the game via a penalty shootout, as their star striker and main man upfront, the self-proclaimed CR7 of Bhutan, Chencho Gyletshen had an evening to forget. He failed to score during the 120 minutes, and wasn’t as effective down the flanks.
He was also guilty of missing some very good chances during the game, and that eventually had an impact in paving the way for Minerva’s early exit from the tournament.
