In the inaugural game of the ISL this season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on 3 October at 19:00 IST, Atletico de Kolkata will take on Chennaiyin FC .
Chennaiyin FC
The Chennai based club were one of the Best in Group Stages last season and were Looking favorites to kiss the title but then things went wrong as they finished quite on unexpected spot.
In this season the team comes up with very little changes, and a similar lineup, led by that "he is surprisingly calm as a manager" Marco Materazzi, Chennaiyin will, not only want to dominate the league phase of ISL 2015, but go one better and lift that title come the end of December.
In the ISL auctions, Chennaiyin FC also hooked up the goalkeeper Karanjit Singh and midfielder Thoi Singh along with Dhanpal Ganesh, Zakeer Mundampara, Lalmangaihsanga Ralte, Justin Stephen and Nidhin Lalwhile picked up in the draft. Chennaiyin have boosted their striking force as securing the signature of - Fikru Teferra,who was the first Goal scorer in ISL last season.
"I have fantastic memories of my first season in India, where I really enjoyed performing in front of some great support especially in our Marina Arena in Chennai. I credit my individual success to the wonderful support I received from the entire Chennaiyin FC family starting from the owners, management, teammates and of course the passionate fans of CFC. I am already looking forward to the second season and determined to make Chennaiyin FC the ISL champions this time." Elano said before the start of preseason.
Key players:
Foreigners:
Elano and Fikru: Competing for the top places, Chennaiyin will be up right there again if this two forward-thinking players can hook up well. Also the team is expecting from Bernard Mendy to show his all-action again in ISL 2015.
Indian: Thoi Singh has been a disclosure for Bengaluru FC, and with Chennaiyin hooking up at the sum of Rs 86lakhs on the midfielder, he will be expected to set the ISL debark as well.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: A Nidhinlal, Apoula Edima Edel Bete, Karanjit Singh.
Defenders: Eder, Mailson, Abhishek Das, Alessandro Potenza, Bernard Mendy, Dhanachandra Singh, Justin Stephen, Lalmangaihsanga Ralte, Mehrajuddin Wadoo.
Midfielders: Raphael Augusto, Bruno Pelissari, Dhanapal Ganesh, Elano, Godwin Franco, Harmanjot Khabra, Thoi Singh, Manuele Blasi, Zakeer Mundampara
Forwards: Balwant Singh, Fikru Teferra, Jayesh Rane, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Stiven Mendoza
Atletico De Kolkata
Everything looked simple for Atletico De Kolkata last season, from Winning the opening Fixture against Mumbai City FC to Kissing glory against Kerala Blasters. Co-owned by Kolkata's very own Sourav Ganguly, the franchisee shrugged off competition from teams from the Southern, Northern, and Western parts of India, to earn the bragging rights.
The inaugural champions of the ISL also did something possibly no one could have imagined before – unite Mohun Bagan and East Bengal fans and get them to cheer in unison for one football club.
Mohammad Rafique earned his place in the book of history by putting his name in the score sheet and was the most important goal for the Kolkata side at the death in the final against Kerala Blasters last season, as because that goal helped them for clinching the trophy.
However this season, Atletico de Kolkata are strengthening in every possible way to retain the title, and giving platform for Football fans in Kolkata to cheer once more.
Road to ISL season 2
This year one of the major achievement for this team has been that of Portugal international Helder Postiga, who pursue his trade in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last year. Former marquee player Luis Garcia, nevertheless, has also been released.
Not only this much, even star forward Fikru has moved to Chennaiyin FC, but former Kerala Blasters striker Ian Hume is been expected by his side to fill Fikru's void on the attacking field.
Josemi the Spanish defender along with Borja Fernandes-who had a galactic last season with ATK-has been retained for this edition as well. Among the Indians, the presence of new signings Arata Izumi and Clifford Miranda, along with utility player Rahim Nabi, is expected to hold up the squad.
Key Players
Foreigner -
Helder Postiga : One of the experienced forward is been expected by his crew to be the star player for the ISL champions once the tournament finishes off. In the opening preseason game, the 33-year-old Portugal forwarder scored hat-trick for the Kolkata side as they flagellate Gimnastica 9-0. The experience of getting his feets rugged side Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo playing for Portugal will help him bring some match defining moments.
Indian -
Rino Anto: The Bengaluru FC right-back, who was hooked up by the ISL franchisee at the sum of Rs 90 lakh in the Player Auctions this summer, could turn out to be the joker in the pack. The Kerala lad, who was stamped at a base price of just Rs.17.5 lakh in the auctions, has played an instrumental role for the I-League side over two seasons, and he is good both in attack and defence.
Atletico de Kolkata:
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Kunzang Bhutia, Juan Calatayud.
Defenders: Arnab Mondal, Denzil Franco, Josemi, Mohan Raj Nallapan, Augustin Fernandes, Tiri, Lalchhawnkima, Rino Anto.
Midfielders: Borja Fernandez, Ofentse Nato, Jewel Raja, Syed Rahim Nabi, Clifford Miranda, Arata Izumi, Jaime Gavilan, Sameehg Doutie, Valmiro Lopes Rocha (Valdo), Javi Lara.
Forwards: Iain Edward Hume, Helder Postiga, Nadong Bhutia, Baljit Sahni, Sushil Kumar Singh.
Chennaiyin FC vs Atletico de Kolkata previous encounters:
Chennaiyin FC and Altetico de Kolkata have met each other 2 times and both the matches were draw with score ATK 0-0 CFC and CFC 1-1 ATK
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