ll being well, the 2020-21 Indian
Super League (ISL) season will
start on November 21 for its
biggest and longest campaign
yet, because what started out as
a brief but glamorous sideshow
in 2014 has now become the main event in this
country of1.4 billion.
Six years ago, the I-League was the top tier but
it struggled to compete with the glamour of eight
new franchises in the ISL, owned by a mixture of
Bollywood stars, cricket players, big business and
European clubs, that burst onto the scene.
Suddenly the likes of Alessandro Del Piero,
Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg were playing
in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata and being coached
by Zico, Marco Materazzi and Peter Reid. Average
attendances were 24,000 and with a media profile
that the I-League could only dream of, it was
inevitable that there would be a debate as to
how the ISL could become a bigger part of
the football scene.
That debate ended last year when the Super
League, which started out as an eight-team
ten-week affair but will now have11 teams and
last for almost six months, was recognised as the
country’s top tier. The I-League is now number two
though there is not yet promotion and relegation –
that should happen in a couple of years.
“The League has changed a lot since its
inception,” says Anirudh Thapa of Chennaiyin,
one of the league’s brightest talents. “It has
become a longer league with more teams.”
Just as the national team has improved, qualifying
for the 2019 Asian Cup, so has the ISL with moregoals from Dominic Calvert-
Lewin, Yerry Mina and two for
James Rodriguez putting the
Toffees top after four games.
USA:DC United make an illegal
substitution in a heavy MLS defeat
to Atlanta United – bringing on
Russell Canouse, who was not
named on the official teamsheet
- leading to a ten-minute sideline
discussion involving the referees,
officials and both benches.
SundayOctober 4
ENGLAND:In another crazy
day in the Premier League,
Tottenham beat Manchester
United 6-1 at Old Trafford,
before champions Liverpool
lose 7-2 away to Aston Villa.
GERMANY:Robert Lewandowski
scores four goals, including a
93rd-minute penalty, in Bayern’s
4-3 win over Hertha Berlin.
FRANCE:Dimitri Payet scores
then gets sent off three minutes
later in Marseille’s1-1 draw with
Lyon. Meanwhile, Rennes’ winning
streak is brought to an end by a
draw with Reims, yet they remaintop of the table on goal difference.
ITALY:Atalanta’s strong start
continues with another high-
scoring win, beating Cagliari 5-2.
Elsewhere, two red cards are
shown in Lazio’s1-1 draw with
Internazionale, whileJuventus are
awarded a 3-0 over Napoli with
the latter also being docked one
point for failing to fulfil the fixture.
SPAIN:Sergino Dest makes
history by becoming the first
American to play for Barcelona
after coming off the bench in a
1-1 league draw with Sevilla.MondayOctober 5
CHINA:Former China women’s
national team head coach Hao
Wei is named as successor to Li
Xiaopeng at Shandong Lueng.
NIGERIA:American Randy
Waldrum is named head
coach of the national women’s
team of Nigeria.
ENGLAND:Tammy Abraham,
Ben Chilwell andJadon Sancho
are told to delay their arrival to
the England squad after breaching
lockdown rules to attend a party.ISL now India’s No.1
The Indian Super League is ready to begin after
being recognised as the country’s top divisionA
investment meaning better facilities and coaching,
even if there is still a long way to go. “Lots of young
players are coming up,” added Thapa. “The intensity
and temperament of the
league has taken a jump
over the last few seasons.
The reduction in foreign
players in the squad has
also allowed younger
players to get more game
time on the pitch.”
With the ISL becoming
number one, the big debate moved on to what to
do with the two biggest teams in Indian football
which had been playing in the I-League. When the
Kolkata giants of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan
meet at the city’s Salt Lake Stadium, there are“Lots of young players are coming
up...The intensity and temperament
of the league has taken a jump over
the last few seasons”
Anirudh Thapa, Chennaiyin midfielderIndia
JOHN DUERDENTop talent...
Chennaiyin’s
Anirudh Thapa in
action for India