Kolkata: With an amalgamation of Bollywood, cricket, slick promotion and branding and big sponsors, the Indian Super League (ISL) will kick off at the Mecca of Indian football, the Salt Lake Stadium, here on Sunday, aiming to revolutionise the football in the country. But in a country ruled by cricket, ISL is set to test how much India loves the beautiful game.
The glitzy event has generated attention worldwide predominantly due to the presence of a host of Bollywood celebrities, current and former Indian cricketers and business houses who co-own various teams. Quite rightly, the ISL is widely touted as the next big thing to happen in Indian football in recent memory.
India is a cricket-obsessed nation. And though ranked 158th in the world, according to many leading experts, the country has got the talent to be a decent force in football as well. FIFA President Sepp Blatter called India a 'sleeping giant' of world football which just needs the right ignition to wake from its slumber. Probably the money pumped in through ISL and the presence of foreign stars will get the game back on its feet and also make it commercially viable henceforth.
The ISL will feature eight city-based franchises taking part in the October 12 to December 20 tournament. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format and move around the country to seven other cities besides Kolkata.
The top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs, with the winners advancing to a one-off final.
Oversees Imports
The ten-week long extravaganza features five-time World Cup winners and Brazilian legend Zico as coach and that has been one of the big factors in creating the buzz.
Veteran football stars Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires, Luis Garcia, David Trezeguet, Nicholas Anelka, David James and Fredrik Ljungberg, are the marquee players for their respective teams.
Grand Opening Ceremony
Can any big league in India be complete without some Bollywood tadka, especially when cine stars are themselves involved as team owners? The league will get off to a gala start with a blend of Bollywood and cricket that will set the tone at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday evening. From megastar Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar, the who's who of Bollywood, cricket as well as the business world will attend the high-profile opening ceremony.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to inaugurate the tournament, while Bollywood's leading diva Priyanka Chopra will set the stage on fire along with Varun Dhawan in a 45-minute ceremony that would begin at 5 p.m.
All the eight franchises have been allotted one-minute slot each to showcase their traditional songs and dance.
Opening Clash
Hosts and Sourav Ganguly-owned Atletico de Kolkata will start as favourites when they take on Mumbai City FC in the much-anticipated opening match of the ISL, thanks to the overwhelming home support they will enjoy from the near 100,000-plus fans at the stadium. Atletico de Kolkata features former Liverpool star Luis Garcia and India defender Denzil Franco. One of India's best goalkeepers Subhashish Roy Chowdhury is also part of the squad. They also feature other Indian players such as Sanju Pradhan, Arnab Mondal, Cavin Lobo Baljit Sahni and Cimax Lawrence.
On the other hand, the Ranbir Kapoor co-owned Mumbai City FC have been dealt with a major blow ahead of the opener. Their marquee player Fredrik Ljungberg is all set to be ruled out of Sunday's opener due to an injury suffered during practice.
Mumbai coach Peter Reid on Saturday said he doesn't want his marquee player to aggravate the injury and risk himself for the entire tournament. "I don't want to take any chances. If he [Ljungberg] aggravates his injury, we may not get him for the entire tournament," Reid said. "It's [Ljungbeg's absence] difficult but we are in good frame of mind and looking forward to the start of the tournament. We will play good football."
The Mumbai team will also miss the services of former Chelsea star Nicolas Anelka. The French striker, a 2008-09 Premier League golden boot winner, is serving a ban for making a controversial gesture while playing in the English Premier League (EPL).
But the team has got a blend of acclaimed domestic players like India's no 1. goalkeeper Subrata Pal, experienceddefender and captain Syed Rahim Nabi and midfielder Lalrindika Ralte to make them a formidable opponent.
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