Long queues outside ticket counters and queries from those who missed out about the possibility of acquiring a pass to the opening ceremony are all part of the crescendo building up to the start of the third season of the Indian Super League.
With a constellation of Bollywood stars set to give the third edition of the League a colourful start on Saturday in the economic capital of the North East, the event is already a sold-out affair.
The failures in the past seasons notwithstanding, the resident franchise has the loyalty of its passionate fans.
With their new Portuguese coach, Nello Vingada, and a revamped roster, ‘the Highlanders’ are seeing portents in the interesting coincidence that it was the host of the opening ceremony that had emerged champion in the two editions of the league so far.
Inspired by this presentiment, NEU FC will begin its campaign this season against Kerala Blasters, the team that finished with the wooden spoon last year, in the lung opener of the tournament.
The Kerala side also sports a new look under its veteran English coach Steve Coppell, who bears the expectations of another football crazy region.
Both sides opted for form over fame during the draft process. NorthEast United acquired Ivory Coast World Cupper and midfielder Didier Zokora on the basis of his ISL experience while the Blasters got in Northern Ireland star Aaron Huges.
NEU FC, in fact, got rid of almost the whole of its international cast from the last season save for Argentine striker Nicolas Velez, with hoped of giving ‘Professor’ Vingada a clean slate to work with.
Blasters retained a few of the fan favourites but tinkered with the greater part of the squad to bring balance in both attack and defence.
A champion generally looks at preserving the winning combination, but the holder Chennaiyin FC was unable to retain its potent attacking combination of Columbian Stiven Mendoza and Brazilian Elano Blumer that won it the crown. Manager Marco Materazzi will have to rethink his options in attack. He will expect Norwegian defender John Arne Riise, Chennayin’s new marquee player, to play a stellar role.
Meanwhile, Mumbai City FC will come under the limelight with the arrival of Diego Forlan, the Uruguayan striker who became the star of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Mumbai and Pune, the two Western cousins, are two of the three sides — the other one being NEU FC — that have failed to make the semifinals so far. As the marquee player and being one of the most prolific strikers in the world, Forlan will be at the centre of Mumbai’s aspirations.
Antonio Habas, who coached Atletico de Kolkata to the title in the inaugural season, now has the job of helping FC Pune City make it past the league stage. This intensifies the coaching rivalries this year. Among the characters likely to make the duel of the gaffers interesting are the legendary Brazilian Zico, who is into the third season with FC Goa.
With the former Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta joining Delhi Dynamos, Materazzi will have his former teammate in the opposition dugout raising the intensity of the contest.
Mumbai FC has Costa Rican national team coach Alexandre Guimaraes while Spaniard Jose Molina will attempt to take former champion Atletico de Kolkata to another triumph.
