I-League Weekend Preview

Some teams haven’t had their foreigners while many are yet to register their final squad with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). While some are criticizing the AIFF for failing to promote the game and make it professional, the I-League starts amongst all this conundrum.

Sporting Club De Goa – Vasco SC (26th September ’08, Goa)

The opening day has two fixtures with the first being newly promoted Vasco SC take on Sporting Club De Goa. The Goan derby won’t hold much promise and expect a drub affair between the two.

Vasco SC haven’t done really well in the Goa League and the team finished fourth in the second division league last season; and just about managed to qualify for the I-League. The club appointed Elvis Goes as their head coach just about a week back and to expect him to change the club’s fortunes right from the word go would be asking too much.

‘The Flaming Orange’ had a good time in the recent Durand Cup as they reached the semifinals without having any foreign players in their ranks. Last year’s coach Clifford Chukuwama is on the sidelines and several players are known to have a good understanding with him. Whether they accept the new man Vishwas Gaonkar favourably remains to be seen.

Don’t expect a cracking game but Sporting Club De Goa look to have an edge over their rivals in the experience department.

East Bengal – Chirag United (26th September ’08, Kolkata)

The second game of the opening day would see giants East Bengal face city rivals Chirag United at the Barasat Stadium in an evening kick-off.

East Bengal have been in the news for wrong seasons this summer. The transfer saga involving Steven Dias and N.P.Pradeep where they came out empty handed. Bad results in the Kolkata league coupled with events of stone pelting by fans. Manoranjan Bhattacharya resigned out of frustration and insiders believe that it was the officials who forced him to do so.

New coach Stanley Rosario has quite a huge task ahead of him in his bid to appease the fans and officials with good results. Whether he can or not, only time would tell.

Chirag United have had a mixed Kolkata League given the lack of foreign players though the sixth place finish must be disappointing. They were the first team to qualify for the I-League from the second division league. The lack of foreign players in tomorrow’s game could play a key role they have beaten the Red and Golds’ in the last clash by a 1-0 margin.

Expect Chirag United to dry out East Bengal’s attacks and the game would pretty much be decided on how long the newly promoted side could hold their opponents. Chirag would rely on counters and defensive errors by the East Bengal defense.

Mohun Bagan – Mumbai FC (27th September ’08, Kolkata)

The Kolkata League champions face second division winners on the second day at the Barasat Stadium.

Mohun Bagan would look to make amends for the woeful start last year, which saw them lose their first two fixtures at home. Playing at home would give them an edge and due to the recent triumph in the local league means the spirit would be high. With coach Karim Bencherifa known to be a keen promoter of the ‘attractive’ brand of football, whether Bagan can or would play that fashion remains to be seen.

Mumbai FC did well in the debut year to win the second division. If their Durand Cup performance was to go by, the team does need to work on key areas especially the defense, which looks meek. The strike force of Hammond and Felix could cause trouble but whether this team can play in the pressure-laden atmosphere of Kolkata would be tested.

The Green and Maroon hold an edge over Mumbai FC however, David Booth’s men might come out of the game with a point.
Churchill Brothers SC – Mahindra United (27th September ’08, Goa)

Certainly the match of the first round as Mahindra United play away against Churchill Brothers at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa.

Churchill Brothers have only just roped in the services of Serbian Zoran Djodjevic in place of Emeka Ezeugo who had a disastrous spell at the club. The Goan side have retained much of the same team last year which means there is a good coordination amongst them.

Last season’s runners-up would hope to continue from here they left but the sooner they forget the recent internal problems and play the free flowing football that one associated with them, the better.

Mahindra United suffered two heavy losses against Churchill Brothers last season. So much so that many of their players labeled the 5-1 loss at Cooperage as the worst point in their career.

The Red Devils beat Churchill Brothers in the finals of the Durand Cup recently but the ‘Odafa Okolie’ threat always looms. The game could go either way but much would depend on how Mahindra deal with the Churchill strikers. The absence of new defender Lamine Tamba could be a decisive factor.

Dempo SC – JCT (28th September ’08, Goa)

This is the other big game of the opening round between last season’s winners Dempo and third placed JCT.

If there is one team which is on cloud number nine then it has to be Dempo. Being the first team to reach the semifinals of the AFC Cup days back, the champions have to shrug off their travel blues and get back to work. The team is fully fit and coach Armando Colaco is spoilt for choices.

JCT had a woeful record in Goa last year as they could garner a mere two points from four games in Goa. They haven’t won against Dempo and were beaten by the brilliance of Climax Lawrence’s two goals. The absence of Brazilian Marcos Pereira could hurt but coach Sukhwinder Singh has been around for too long and certainly would have some tricks up his sleeve.

Dempo are the hot favourites going into the game but JCT are one side that can outshine anyone on their day.

Mohameddan Sporting – Air India (29th September ’08, Kolkata)

The rescheduled game between Kolkata giants Mohameddan Sporting and Air India on Monday would cap off the opening round fixtures.

Mohameddan Sporting have done fairly well in the Kolkata League and whether they can continue the good run in the I-League remains to be seen. In strikers Mike Okoro and Theodore Sunday, the team has one of the most lethal combinations upfront. Sunday, in particular, has impressed with his 11 goals in the local league and finished as the top scorer.

With a host of key players making an exit, Air India haven’t tasted much success this season so far. They failed in the Nadkarni Cup and ended their Durand Cup sojourn without a win. The Mumbai team, known for it’s mean defense, would have dry out all the supply to the Mohameddan strikers.

Bimal Ghosh is known to come out with a strong team each year who stifle out their opposition and survive in the league. Air India would hope that their new foreign recruits come good.

Mohammedan certainly hold an edge for playing at home against a young Air India side and the game would be decided to how quickly the Kolkata side can find a way past the opposition back-line.