ISL 2021-22: A preview of the clubs
The two richest clubs in the league and last season’s playoffs finalists—Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan—start as favourites for the 2021-22 season of the ISL. It would be interesting to see how the clubs adapt to the 3+1 foreign players rule in the playing XI, the five-foreigners rule being changed to include more Indian talent.
The latest season of the Hero Indian Super League will kick off today when ATK Mohun Bagan take on Kerala Blasters in Goa.
The new season will be made intriguing with the introduction of the 3+1 foreign players rule (that is, three foreigners, with relaxation for the mandatory AFC-region player for 2021-22) in the playing XI.
A crammed fixture list, in a four-month packed league with 115 matches, once again stares hard at the teams and the onus will be on the head coaches to find the right balance and rotate the players to see out the season.
The new rule provides an opportunity for domestic players to make their case in key areas of the pitch: central defence, midfield, and attack. Previously, with the five-foreigners rule, successful teams built their XIs around a solid spine made up of overseas players.
The two richest clubs in the league and last season’s playoffs finalists—Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan—start as favourites for the Shield and the play-off title.
In the last season, both were won by Mumbai City. It, however, will begin the defence without Sergio Lobera, under whom it topped every key conceivable statistic in the league.
The incumbent Des Buckingham—who is promoted from within the City Football Group (CFG), the Abu Dhabi-based owner, which also owns the EPL’s Manchester City FC, and is the youngest manager in the league—has the task of not only retaining the titles but also doing it in style, keeping up with the CFG blueprint of attacking football.
ATK Mohun Bagan, the pretender-in-chief for the top honours, has assembled a great squad, easily the best in the league. After finishing runner-up in both the Shield and the playoffs, ATKMB has significantly strengthened its attack with Hugo Boumous, Liston Colaco (the two best players from rivals Mumbai and Hyderabad FC, respectively), Amrinder Singh (who arrived on a free transfer from Mumbai) and Finland international Joni Kauko. Nothing less than the title would satisfy the coach Antonio Habas.
On the back of a creditable debut AFC Champions League campaign, Juan Ferrando’s FC Goa had an early trial of the rule (3=1 foreigners) against Asia’s elite in April. Stacked with technical gifted overseas and Indian footballers, who play an enterprising brand of football, the club has been at the forefront of unearthing exciting domestic talents. Goa has registered 11 players from the state, while also promoting three developmental players to the first-team squad. With the Durand Cup success already under its belt, Goa poses the biggest threat to the top two.
Owen Coyle is into his third season in India, second with Jamshedpur FC, and is seemingly a man on a mission to land the ISL crown. A good start to the previous season was derailed by big injuries midway and Jamshedpur struggled to resurrect its playoffs hope. The Red Miners have retained most of their squad and will give it another go.
“The future is youth,” spelt out Bengaluru FC’s new Italian boss Marco Pezzaiuoli, former technical director of Eintracht Frankfurt, upon taking the job. The most successful Indian club of the last decade is in serious need of some overhaul in its philosophy and personnel after two uninspiring campaigns. The average age of the squad has been trimmed to 24.7 from 26.12 with the departures of mainstays Erik Paartalu (34), Dimas Delgado (37), Juanan (33) and Harmanjot Khabra (33). For all the emphasis on youth, striker and captain Sunil Chhetri, 37, still remains the best player at the club.
After missing out on a playoff place on the final day of the league stage, Manolo Marquez’s Hyderabad FC will want to prove that last season was no fluke. The young Indian core is a year older and has international pedigree under their wings and will be backed by proven overseas performers for the upcoming season. Former ISL champions Bartholomew Ogbeche (Mumbai City), Juanan (Bengaluru) and Eric Garcia (ATK) can provide the experience to help the club take the next step.
NorthEast United FC surprised many with its mid-season resurgence that led to a play-off finish. The club will hold the interest of many with the full-time appointment of Khalid Jamil as the head coach, the first Indian to be appointed to the post in an ISL club, or franchise. NEUFC lost prized midfielder Lalengmawia Apuia to Mumbai City for a record transfer fee, and it will be up to Jamil to weave his magic to get the squad to overcome the odds against the big dogs.
The bottom four clubs from last season—Chennaiyin FC, SC East Bengal, Kerala Blasters and Odisha FC—have all changed their head coaches.
At Chennayin, the talented Anirudh Thapa has been entrusted with the captaincy. The club will need to cover its bases to avoid a drop in form if chief creator Rafael Crivellaro faces a spell on the sidelines.
SC East Bengal’s integration into the ISL was meant to provide a face-lift for the league but there was little evidence of it in its debut campaign. East Bengal parted ways with Robbie Fowler and appointed Spaniard Manolo Diaz, who spent several years coaching the Real Madrid Castilla. Preparations were hampered yet again with uncertainty surrounding its participation in the league. One will hope for less action off the pitch and more emphasis on improved results.
Kerala Blasters has now gone four seasons without challenging for the top four and has had the most manager turnover in the history of the league. A group stage exit in the Durand Cup with a full-strength squad wasn’t ideal for the new head coach Ivan Vukomanovic. The domestic signings in the last two seasons have ticked the right boxes but the overseas recruitments missed the mark. Big hopes lie with striker Alvaro Vasquez, who has over 150 La Liga appearances under his belt.
All the good work done by coach Josep Gombau at Odisha FC, previously at Delhi Dynamos, with a young Indian core, seemed to be undone when the management appointed Scotsman Stuart Baxter. Odisha has, now, turned to another Spaniard Kiko Ramirez to stage a turnaround in fortune.
