On the eve of the final of the first ISL season to be played at the D.Y. Patil Stadium between Kerala Blasters and Atletico De Kolkata, former England goalkeeper and marquee player-manager of Blasters, David James said the inaugural ISL turned out to be a “wonderful competition” because the league stage did not prove to be a one-way street for a particular team.
But a veteran of 536 professional league games in England, James was quite categorical in saying that the “training facilities for the ISL at most places were inadequate”.
“The first year of the competition has been wonderful. But the training facility was one hour or more away from the team hotel. If you want the best performance, the training facilities have to be very good. That’s going to be my recommendation for next year,” said James, indicating that the ISL’s success this season may see younger players and a young marquee player come next year. The ATK’s coach Antonio Lopez Habas introduced an element of wit while describing the inaugural ISL. “It’s been like a fast car race. Now we are in the final and enjoying it.”
ATK’s mid-fielder Luis said: “I am with James on the training facilities. It’s difficult to train, play games, travel, with two or three days break in between. It’s difficult on the players. We need space between games. The final is a game, but a big game.”
James said it was ironic that the co-owners of the two teams, Kerala Blasters and ATK, are cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, what this means was that football was taking over cricket. “I think we had the biggest fan base. Kerala does not have an I-league team and that could be the reason; they came from all corners of Kerala to see matches at Kochi. The finalists (KB and ATK) have the biggest support.”
The Englishman also said that the next year’s draft should be held close to the end of the transfer window. “This year’s draft was held two or three weeks before the closure of the transfer window. No one knew what the ISL would be like this season. There’s a chance for more younger players to play next year.”
