New year period a ‘difficult phase’ for teams
The Christmas-New Year period is a time to be jolly. It is also a very difficult phase for teams in football leagues around the world, including the Indian Super League.
“We are in [a phase] of the year when most of the population around the world is in the comfort zone. It’s Christmas, end of the year, and when you are in professional sport, teams take games easy, thinking: ‘Yeah, O.K., end of the year, we’re casual, no problem,’ and then you lose games,” Ivan Vukomanovic, the Kerala Blasters head coach, said after its 1-0 victory over Odisha FC, a victory on Boxing Day that was made possible by an 86th minute goal. It was the last match of the year for the club from Kochi.
“We are very pleased with the three points because this is the most difficult part of the season – December and first half of January – when many teams in the ISL drop points, lose games, and lose the grip of the competition.
“We want to stay among the best, to stay on top. We want to be in the playoffs. Football is not only about playing beautiful football, it is about showing the fighting spirit, showing character, and that was the case.”
- Stan Rayan
Yellove
Chennai is synonymous with the yellow colours in its sporting venues after the success of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Every other team based in the city in various sporting leagues have sought to build on it, often choosing yellow as its colour.
Last week at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, passionate fans in yellow were boisterous in support of their team. Only this time, they were supporting the visiting team Kerala Blasters FC against Chennaiyin FC. KBFC was on a roll with five consecutive wins leading up to the game in Chennai, and it won’t be a stretch to say that the visitors had more support than the struggling home team.
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When Kerala took the lead early in the first half, the ‘Manjappada’ were on cloud nine and made their presence felt. However, the home team managed to level the scores in the second half as both teams played out a 1-1 draw.
- S. Dipak Ragav
Contrasting fortunes
There were contrasting scenes at the two ends of the sporting spectrum. Disappointment was writ large among fans in the eastern suburb of the city, while 26 kilometres away, fans donning the yellow jersey and waving yellow flags ushered in early New Year celebrations. They played drums and cymbals, all the while chanting ‘Let’s go Hyderabad, let’s go’, a chant that has become a bit of a cult among the youth in the city.
Inspired performance: Cleiton Silva scores for East Bengal on December 30 against Bengaluru FC at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata. The news of the passing away of his legendary compatriot seemed to have inspired Silva, who played like a man possessed, scoring two goals for his side. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports/ISL
Amidst popular songs and acoustic chants, the city’s growing love for football was well on display when Hyderabad FC vanquished NorthEast United FC to end the calendar year on a high. The cricket fans who were let down by the Hyderabad Ranji Trophy team found solace in the city’s football team as Hyderabad FC dethroned Mumbai City FC to reclaim the top spot in the points table.
The Gachibowli stadium had a festive atmosphere as fans, young and old, enjoyed the goalfest orchestrated by Manolo Marquez and executed by the Bartholomew Ogbeche-led side. Such was the dominance that Hyderabad FC pumped in five goals and was aided by an own goal by its opponent to spark off celebrations. The trip to Uppal was marked with a sense of disappointment, but the outing at Gachibowli healed the hearts of the fans, who were singing and dancing to the beat of football.
- V. S. Aravind
Cleiton remembers Pele
It was a sombre evening on December 30 at Kolkata. East Bengal took the field against Bengaluru FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, one of the greatest amphitheatres of Indian football. A sense of loss pervaded the giant venue of many footballing battles as news of the passing away of Pele, football’s biggest icon, broke the hearts of some 9,000-odd people turning up to see their home team in action.
A slideshow of the legendary footballer’s black-and-white photographs was played on the giant screen as a tribute to the man. A minute’s silence was observed to offer prayers to the departed soul.
The news of the passing away of his legendary compatriot seemed to inspire East Bengal’s Brazilian forward Cleiton Silva, who played like a man possessed, scoring two goals for the side. Cleiton’s best came in injury time when he produced a world-class free-kick to give East Bengal the first win at home after 10 matches in the season. Cleiton celebrated the goal, raising one of his fists, just like Pele in the famous picture of his from 1970: Pele celebrated with Jairzinho after scoring the first goal in the 1970 World Cup final against Italy at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
For Cleiton, it was a way to salute and remind the world of the immortality of Pele’s genius – Pele was the only footballer to have won the World Cup thrice!
- Amitabha Das Sharma
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