ISL returns, as Indian football continues to flounder

Indian football recently found itself at crossroads, yet again. And then a roadmap was laid out, making official something that was inevitable. Ahead of the sixth season of the Indian Super League, the tournament was conferred the status of India's top division football league, displacing its non-glamorous sibling, the I-League. Long-term promises have helped the All India Football Federation temporarily sidestep the muck surrounding the status of its preferred child. And, it is in this atmosphere, as a wave of giddy optimism sweeps the nation once again, that the ISL returns for its sixth season.

Two new teams have joined the closed league, though the number of teams remains ten. Hyderabad FC and Odisha FC replace Pune City FC and Delhi Dynamos respectively, after the two clubs were forced to shut down because of financial troubles, infrastructural issues and dwindling attendance at home games. With football clubs shutting down all over the country, the ISL, despite the power and influence it wields, was not spared from a similar fate.

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The two teams that will open this year's campaign, ATK and Kerala Blasters, are coming off two forgettable seasons. After making it to the semifinals of the first three seasons, and facing off twice in the final, the teams that represent two footballing hotbeds failed to make it to the top four thereafter. The similarities don't stop there, now that the two have now roped in coaches who have overhauled their squads to make them look like title-contenders once again.

Antonio Habas and Eelco Schattorie are proven geniuses in Indian football and will look to stamp their influence on these floundering sides. After two years, Habas returns to ATK, a club that he guided to both their league titles. He has bought the Fiji-Australia duo of Roy Krishna and David Williams, who were excellent for Australia's A-League side Wellington Phoenix last year. Joining them is the upcoming Indian star Jobby Justin, to make it an exciting front three.

Other exciting recruits include Michael Soosairaj and Javier Hernandez in midfield and Anas Edathodika in central defence. Add the existing Edu Garcia to the mix and the ATK side look one of the strongest teams on paper. The aggressive Habas will be hoping to reinforce his attack-minded approach that brought the team much success, though it could take some time for his methods and tactics to settle in.

Schattorie will look to revive the hopes of a passionate football state that lost faith in its team last year. Blasters fans boycotted the team's home games as the season progressed after poor performances, first under David James and then Nelo Vingada. Schattorie, who guided NorthEast United (NEUFC) to the playoffs for the first time last year, has almost emptied his new side before making 25 signings ahead of this season.

Blasters offloaded all seven foreigners from last season to sign promising new ones like Bartholomew Ogbeche—one of the league's best and Schattorie's main marksman at NEUFC—centre back Gianni Zuiverloon and Raphael Messi Bouli, whose middle name has probably attracted more attention than his skills. But it has been reliably reported that the Kerala team is struggling with multiple injuries, the biggest of which is that of centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, as an anterior cruciate ligament tear will keep the star out for several months.

It is perhaps fitting that these two teams will face off in the first game of the season, as their new journeys will be keenly watched. As the season progresses, one will get to see whether the two most exciting teams of last season, Bengaluru FC and FC Goa, will continue their impressive displays. The two teams deservedly met in last year's final, which was won by Bengaluru. Both teams have retained their key players and bolstered their squads with some interesting names.

Among all the movement of players between clubs, the biggest arrival this summer was of ex-Ghanaian national team captain Asamoah Gyan at NEUFC. It has been a while since ISL teams roped in such big names in the twilight of their careers, and as always, much will ride on the wealth of experience and skill that Gyan will bring.

What a player like Gyan will have to get used to is not only the gulf in difference in the standard of play from his days in European football, but also aspects of the tournament that have drawn much criticism like the standard of refereeing and controversies with regard to scheduling of matches. Schattorie drew attention to this as well at the press conference ahead of his team's first game.

"Back in Holland, coaches get together to evaluate how the season was—all aspects referees, technical aspects, etc—and they come back to give feedback to the federation to work these things [out]," he said. "Here, I've never spoken to anyone in the federation, with all due respect. Not a problem. But, for instance we have the opening game, and we play again four days later and our opponent, Mumbai, has a chance to analyse us and I have no information about Mumbai. These [are] small things but they matter. And regarding referees, always try to improve the football first and the right inputs to come, ideally, is from the coaches."

Controversial non-footballing matters don't end there, though. For a league that is allegedly running in losses and has clubs that are still struggling to break even, the need to once again have an extravagant opening ceremony continues to baffle. When the expensive Bollywood-dominated affair was scrapped for the first time last year, it seemed like the league was finally getting rid of its bells and whistles and shifting its focus firmly to footballing matters. Yet, Disha Patani, Tiger Shroff and other celebs will take to the stage in Kochi before the opening game.

The ISL and those higher up may take credit for the national team's improved world rankings in the last few years, but without the shrewd arrangement of easier fixtures, it is hard to tell where the country would have ranked. The recent stalemate in the 2022 World Cup qualifier against lowly Bangladesh was a reality check after the high of holding Asian champions Qatar to a draw.

There is no denying though that the ISL, since its inception, has brought a renewed interest in domestic football, particularly among the urban youth. The aspiration to match the US's Major League Soccer—or even an English Premier League or a La Liga—is admirable, but there are myriad ways to improve the functioning and ecosystem before India can get close. And, with every season, hope lies on the horizon for the achhe din of Indian football.