CHENNAIYIN FC
Chennaiyin FC, the defending champions, have Marco Materazzi as their coach and that in itself is a plus.
The Italian star would want to keep the champions’ crown with the franchise. Last season’s remarkable show, when they made a comeback from being at the bottom of the points table to become eventual winners, would provide the necessary impetus.
Chennaiyin FC’s success last year was built on the scoring prowess of Colombian striker Stiven Mendoza. The star striker, however, has not returned to the ISL. The southern franchise has also lost Bruno Pelissari to Delhi Dynamos, but they will continue to carry a goal threat as long as they have Jeje Lalpekhlua in the team.
Jeje stood out for Chennaiyin FC with six goals last year. Last year's marquee player and captain Elano Blumner will be another major foreign absentee this season. The defending champions still have the likes of Bernard Mendy and Raphael Augusto to build a side around.
They have picked up John Arne Riise as their new leader in defence as marquee and have increased midfield options with the addition of Delhi Dynamos medio Hans Mulder.
Not everything seems lost for Chennaiyin FC. Just like last season, they can spring another surprise, thanks to Materazzi leading from the front with his work ethic and attention to detail.
Materazzi has expressed confidence that his team is capable of winning the ISL title for the second straight year. The Italian said that his players were raring to go after their strenuous training and pre-season stint in Italy.
“We are fully geared up to defend the title,” the Italian World Cup winner said.
“I do not have any worries as we have addressed all positions in the game. During our training sessions and the games we have played, I have noticed tremendous co-ordination and cohesion in the players - up front, middle and defence - and their understanding of each other's job competitively,” he added.
• Marquee player: John Arne Riise
• Coach: Marco Materazzi
• 2015 finish: Champions
FC GOA
FC Goa have retained Zico as their chief coach and the Brazilian legend would definitely want to get his hands on the trophy, having come so close in 2015.
Unlike many teams in the ISL, Zico has chosen to keep faith in his foreign players having retained six of them, including former Brazil captain Lucio as marquee. Joffre Gonzalez, Reinaldo Oliveira, Rafael Coelho, Luciano Sobrosa and Gregory Arnolin have all returned to FC Goa. But they have lost out on domestic players, having started their signings late. Robin Singh remains the only major signing, but fans should not lose much hope as star midfielders, Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Desai, are still around.
• Marquee player: Lucio
• Coach: Zico
• 2015 finish: Runners-up
DELHI DYNAMOS
Delhi Dynamos have a balanced side this time and under new coach Gianluca Zambrotta they would certainly aim for better results than the last two years.
Dynamos are no strangers to legendary names - Alessandro del Piero (marquee) and Roberto Carlos (marquee player-cum-coach) have been associated with them in the first two years. Zambrotta too falls in the same league. They have managed to retain the services former Chelsea star Florent Malouda, who is their marquee player this year. Apart from Malouda, Dynamos have also signed former Real Madrid footballer Ruben Gonzalez as their second marquee player.
• Marquee player: Florent Malouda
• Coach: Gianluca Zambrotta
• 2015 finish: Semi-finalists
NUFC
NorthEast United FC, the Guwahati franchise of the Indian Super League, will hit the season III of the tournament without the service of talented Uruguayan striker Sasha Aneff even as Brazilian midfielder Fabio Neves has been sent home with a four to five months injury layoff.
Head coach Nelo Vingada confirmed the development saying Sasha will be available only by the second week of October. Fabio, on the other hand, will not be available for the season.
Both sustained injuries during the squad’s pre-season tour to the UAE where they played matches with different teams.
• Marquee player: Didier Zokora
• Coach: Nelo Vingada
• 2015 finish: Fifth
MUMBAI CITY FC
Mumbai City FC boasts one of the biggest names of the 2016 edition of the ISL in Diego Forlan.
With the Uruguayan footballer around, the Mumbai franchise can now hope to have a better season since they could not perform up to the expectations in the last two editions. Alexandre Giumaraes, the Costa Rican coach of the Mumbai side, has vowed to change the results but he will have to depend a lot on Forlan.
However, Giumaraes will have to play without Sunil Chetri, Udanta Singh, Amrinder Singh and Lalchhuanmawai Fanai till the four players complete their AFC Cup commitment with the Bengaluru FC.
• Marquee player: Diego Forlan
• Coach: Alexandre Guimaraes
• 2015 finish: Sixth
FC PUNE CITY
The Pune franchise will be without their marquee footballer Eidur Gudjohnsen as he has been ruled out because of an injury. The 38-year-old Iceland international, who represented his country in the Euro Cup, was expected to be their mainstay in the forwardline. But a left ankle injury, which kept him away from pre-tournament training and practice matches, has ruled him out for the ISL season. Midfielder Andre Bikey of Cameroon is also nursing a tendon injury. Pune will heavily bank on Spaniard Tato and Momar Ndoye to deliver the goods. A lot will also depend on Spanish coach Jose Antonio Habas, who had won the trophy with Atletico de Kolkata in the inaugural year.
• Marquee player: Absent
• Coach: Antonio Lopez Habas
• 2015 finish: Seventh
KERALA BLASTERS
Owned by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, Chiranjeevi and Akkineni Nagarjuna, Kerala Blasters have no dearth of support from their fans. But 2015 did not really prove to be great for the team who had finished runners up in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League. Not only do they have new owners in the popular matinee idols, they also have roped in British coach Steve Coppell.
Northern Ireland’s Aaron Hughes, who will turn 37 during the ISL, is their new marquee player. With 100 national team outings and 455 EPL appearances under his belt, Hughes will definitely be the man to beat in defence.
• Marquee player: Aaron Hughes
• Coach: Steve Coppell
• 2015 finish: Eighth
ATLETICO DE KOLKATA
Atletico de Kolkata, the champions of the ISL I, have mostly maintained a low profile this time. No over-the-top signings or no flashy results in pre-season friendlies. Things look different in the ATK camp - they have a new coach and will have to adjust to a new home ground as well.
After two seasons under the guidance of Antonio Lopez Habas, ATK have turned towards coach Jose Francisco Molina, a former defender with Atletico Madrid, their partner club from Spain. Molina was in charge of Villarreal in 2010 and more recently, he found success in Hong Kong winning a domestic treble with Kitchee SC.
ATK had to bow out of the semis last season, after being triumphant in the first season. But they have a good enough side to win it back this season. In HelderPostiga, the former Portugal striker, and Canadian Iain Hume, ISL's Golden Ball winner in the first year, ATK have one of the league's deadliest strike pair with proven goal-scoring records.
Postiga did not last too long last year, but if the Portuguese star maintains his fitness, he can give nightmares to rival defences. Same with Hume, who was a huge player for ATK last season too. Apart from Postiga and Hume, Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo (Tiri), Sameehg Doutie, Ofentse Nato, Borja Fernandes and Javi Lara are the other foreigners in the team.
The domestic talent in ATK is pretty impressive too. There’s Bikramjit Singh, Lalrindika Ralte and Bikash Jairu in the midfield, there's the talented goalkeeper Debjit Majumder and others like Keegan Pereira, Kingshuk Debnath and Pritam Kotal.
The new ground, however, may pose some difficulty for the ATK players. As most of them were used to playing their home matches at the Salt Lake Stadium, adjusting to the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium might be an issue. The Salt Lake facility is undergoing renovation for 2017 U-17 World Cup.
• Marquee player: Helder Postiga
• Coach: Jose Francisco Molina
• 2015 finish: Semi-finalists
