After his finest, Chhetri aims bigger in 2017
Chhetri reminisces his splendid moments of the year that gave him special recognition with Bengaluru FC.
“C’mon India, lets football!” screams the slogan of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) 2016 match, grabbing the attention of several audiences especially in Kolkata, other states and around the globe. Both children and elders in every other household are probably glued to their television screens with the present football match.
The 2016 Hero Indian Super League Season started off with a grand ceremony initiating its third season, featuring eight teams namely, Delhi Dynamos, North East United, Atletico de Kolkata, Mumbai City, Pune City, FC Goa, Chennaiyin and Kerala Blasters.
As many as 14 matches were to be played at regular seasons at various stadiums like Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium (Pune), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai), Mumbai Football Arena (Mumbai), Rabindra Sarobar Stadium (Kolkata), Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (Guwahati) and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Goa).
The first match took place on 1 October, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Saturday where North East United FC took over with one point on the Kerala Blasters FC. José Francisco Molina is the head coach of Atletico de Kolkata.
The head coach for Chennaiyin is Marco Materazzi, Gianluca Zambrotta for Delhi Dynamos, Zico for Goa, Steave Coppell for Kerala Blasters, Alexandre Guimaeaes for Mumbai City, Nelo Vingada for North East United and Antonio López Habas for Pune City. ISL gives an opportunity to several young Indian players to showcase their talents in football. Kolkata is presently gripped with football-fever – from T-shirts to scarves and caps with the logo of their favourite team.
The Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata was built in 1961, and has a capacity of holding almost 20,000 fans. The stadium is thronged with lively spectators around the world, yelling their heads off for their favourite teams. The stadium also witnessed one of the finest matches played in Kolkata on 2 October between Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC that ended with a draw of (2-2). On 16 October, Atletico and FC Goa ended with (1-1) points each.
The Kolkata team proved their worth as they won by one point in tackle with Delhi Dynamos on 22 October. Another amazing match was witnessed by the city on 25 October, where the Mumbai City FC beat the home team with 1-0.
A few other noteworthy matches that took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Delhi were Delhi Dynamos Vs FC Pune City (27 October), Delhi Dynamos Vs Kerala Blasters FC (4 November) and the one where the same Delhi team defeated the Chennaiyin FC scoring 4-1. On Sunday, 13 November, the same stadium saw a tight match between Delhi Dynamos and Atletico de Kolkata with a draw of 2-2. Team Kolkata also played against the Northeast United FC on 17 November (Rabindra Sarobar Stadium) and the Chennaiyan FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai) on 20 November; each of the matches with a draw of 1-1, while it emerged victorious against the FC Goa on the 24 November (2-1).
At their home ground, the team scored a draw of 1-1 against the Kerala Blasters FC on 29 November. The semi-finals start on 10 December and the excitement of football fanatics is reaching its zenith.
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