With 12 teams and 139 games, 22 more than last term, the 10th season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will be the biggest and the longest. A team from Punjab, a cradle of national team players along with Manipur, will be in the mix for the first time and because they have chosen New Delhi as home, top tier football will return to the capital after 2018-19. Never before have three ISL teams represented India in Asian club competitions and there is no saying it won’t happen next year as well.
Nine of the 12 teams have coaches who have won trophies in India or played a final. One of them who has not, NorthEast United’s Juan Pedro Benali, has worked in 12 countries. “This is the first time we have so many champion coaches,” said Carles Cuadrat, a former ISL winner with the mandate to revive East Bengal. “I think this will be the most difficult ISL season,” said Sergio Lobera, back from China to helm Odisha FC. Lobera has coached FC Goa to a semi-final and Mumbai City FC to the title.
Lobera and Cuadrat were speaking at the ISL media day in Kolkata last week. Snazzy team videos and long conversations with players and coaches made it a football hedonist’s delight. A day where Odisha FC’s playmaker Ahmed Jahouh spoke of the growth of Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco in a competition that has also groomed Anirudh Thapa, Mohun Bagan’s signing reportedly worth ₹3 crore per year, Jeakson Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Lalenmawia Ralte and Kiyan Nassiri. And Kerala Blasters’ coach Ivan Vukomanovic reminisced about “not having a clue” about ISL, watching 20 games of the club in 2020-21, being “pleasantly surprised” and accepting the job in 2021.
Games’ shadow over start
Known for its legion of fans, the Manjappada, Kerala Blasters have been part of ISL’s opening fixture since 2016. On Thursday, when they host Bengaluru FC seeking their fourth win in 15 games, and for their next three matches, Vukomanovic will not be on the bench as he has to serve the rest of a 10-game ban by All India Football Federation (AIFF). That is the Serbian’s punishment for taking Blasters out of the 2022-23 semi-final against Bengaluru FC last term. Over six months have passed since that evening in Bengaluru after which Vukomanovic was accorded a hero’s welcome in Kerala and Bengaluru FC’s Sunil Chhetri had to ask on social media that his family be spared abuse.
You couldn’t have asked for a spikier start to a season that goes live to 190 countries, has a fantasy league and a streaming feature that allows viewers to choose their preferred camera angle. But Chhetri is part of an Asian Games campaign where little has gone right. The shambolic preparations for Asian Games overshadowed the build-up to the new season. By the time a league media release quoting Chhetri saying Sandesh Jhingan improved playing against foreigners hit inboxes, both were in China.
Club versus country, whether players would be released formed the leitmotif of the two media days, of which one was in Bengaluru. India and Odisha FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh was asked about it as was Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s left-back Subhasish Bose. “Playing for both is important. It’s not something I can do anything about,” said Singh. “Clubs, their coaches and the national team head coach should work this out.”
They couldn’t and as AIFF struggled to name 22 players, as clubs refused to yield leading to Chhetri appealing, players, including Jhingan, being added at the last minute and FC Goa-Hyderabad FC game being pushed back, it was the buzz around ISL that suffered.
With interruptions in October, November, December, January and March to accommodate the national team’s engagements, not letting interest taper would be a challenge in a country still not used to the idea of a long league.
Can Bagan do a first?
How teams deal with so many breaks could determine their season. A roster brimming with attacking talent and the sure-footed Anwar Ali in central defence, Mohun Bagan, the league’s youngest team with an average age of 24.1, will aim to be the first to retain the title. “Maybe in April, I will be able to tell you,” said Juan Ferrando when asked if it is more difficult to keep it than win it.
The defending champions’ coach said it’s best to focus on the next game. Which is against Punjab FC, the I-League winners, on Saturday. “The target is to play every game as a final, said Punjab FC coach Staikos Vergetis.
Mumbai City FC have a settled squad bolstered by the arrival of left-back Akash Mishra and centre-back Tiri. Bengaluru FC needed a surge in the second half of the season to make the final but you can never discount a team that has Chhetri and five India regulars. Odisha FC have bought a number of players Lobera has worked with and Roy Krishna and have 2022-23 Golden Boot winner Diego Mauricio. Jhingan, Udanta Singh and Carl McHugh have moved to FC Goa where Manolo Marquez has joined as head coach after three successful seasons at Hyderabad FC where he won ISL in 2021-22. Like FC Goa, most teams have rebuilt rosters with 377 transfers where at a reported salary of ₹9.6 crore, Mohun Bagan’s striker Jason Cummings is the most expensive player.
