Sneak peek into ISL 2016!

The third edition of India’s very young football tournament, the Indian Super League (ISL), is scheduled to kick-start from October 1st when two of the league’s top teams, Northeast United FC and Kerala Blasters FC clash with each other in Guwahati. 

Apart from the usual Indian recruits, the forthcoming edition of ISL has seen the arrival of several stellar names from abroad – Diego Forlan, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Aaron Hughes. Other big names such as Delhi’s Florent Malouda, Goa’s Lucio, Chennaiyin’s John Arne Riise and Atletico’s Helder Postiga will continue to ply their trade in the league this season. However, fate took its toll on FC Pune City when Gudjohnsen suffered an injury in pre-seasons and got ousted from the tournament even before its commencement.  

Marquees in ISL 2016

New Mangers inline for ISL 3

The archipelago of new faces also comprises of several managers who will be making their debut in the high profile Indian Super League this season. They are: 
 

Jose Molina (Atletico de Kolkata FC)
Gianluca Zambrotta (Delhi Dynamos FC)
Nelo Vingada (Northeast United FC)
Steve Coppell (Kerala Blasters FC)
Alexandre Guimaraes (Mumbai City FC) 
Antonio Lopez Habas (FC Pune City FC)
 

Biggest Name Missing this season

John Stiven Mendoza, the face of Chennaiyin FC last season, will be missing in action this season after signing for American club New York City FC. The Valencia born striker in his last stint at the Super League steered the Machans to their maiden ISL title by scoring 13 goals in the tournament and winning the ‘Golden Boot’ award. 

The Colombian, who has been among the most valuable players of the ISL in recent years, will be hard to replace for the reigning ISL champions this season. 

New stadiums for Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC 

Atletico de Kolkata have shifted their base from Salt Lake Stadium to Rabindra Sarobar stadium in the capital city of West Bengal on account of the former being kept in reserve for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup. 

While Atletico is keeping its favourite venue for the young colts, Mumbai City is getting an upgrade. The DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai City FC’s home ground in the last two seasons, has been replaced by the newly constructed state of the art ‘Mumbai Football Arena’ stadium in the suburbs of Andheri for ISL 3. 

Face off of last year’s Titans (Chennaiyin FC vs FC Goa)

Last year’s finalists Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa will be locking horns for the first time on 13th October. The 2nd scheduled fixtures between the Gaurs and the Machans in the league stage will take place on 1st December 2016. 

Mouth-watering fixtures to look out for

• 2nd October: Atletico de Kolkata vs Chennaiyin FC (Rabindra Sarobar stadium, Kolkata)
• 13th October: Chennaiyin FC vs FC Goa (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai)
• 16th October: Atletico de Kolkata vs FC Goa (Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, Kolkata)
• 20th November: Chennaiyin FC vs Atletico de Kolkata (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai)
• 24th November: FC Goa vs Atletico de Kolkata (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda)
• 1st December: FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda)