Thanks for the kind words guys. @ ashindia, what exactly is so funny? : p : ( Here are a few post game pics: Man of the match ceremony Mumbai FC team after the game Post game pep talk for the Mahindra United team
Thanks for filling us in. It surprises me that players from Europe find the MLS physical. I was under the impression that the MLS had more of a Latin touch to it and not a European one. I haven't seen much of Chetri after his transfer, but in some practice game he scored a hat trick. Subrata Pal is a probably the best Indian keeper at the moment. He is a good penalty stopper and is decisive, i.e he generally doesn't hesitate in coming off his line to clear the ball. Unfortunately for him, long after he retires, he will be remember for his infamous accident with a Brazilian player called Junior which resulted in Junior's death. Though it was later confirmed that the death was due to cardiac arrest, Subrata Pal was suspended by the AIFF for 2-3 months. btw: Correct me if I am wrong guys, but the Bengalis tend to pronounce Pal as poll, which the British corrupted as Paul in their official records. Many of the Pals then stuck with the spelling that the British used.
This was a Mumbai derby, Mahindra is in the first position in the I league and there were 200 spectators........... Ridicolous !!!!!
MLS is not physical in the same way that the European leagues are physical. Lots of flying tackles, lots of hard hitting, but not as much on-the-ball physical defense as you see in England or Germany. If you've ever had the opportunity to see Brazilian matches, it's very similar in style, but not in skill. There is a more Latin feel to the game here, but that has a lot to do with the climate. It's impossible to play the end-to-end pressing style you see in England. The weather in Washington in the summer is only slightly cooler than Mumbai right before the monsoons. Even places like Boston, Chicago and New York get extremely hot and humid in the summer.
You also have to take into account that it was on a Wednesday afternoon at 4pm. Even on weekends, you'd have 2000 spectators at most, kind of like the club you support . Mahindra United vs Mumbai FC is not really a derby. Mumbai FC are a recently formed club. Air India vs Mahindra is more of a local derby. Even in those games, the vast majority of the spectatots are the people who are epmloyed by Mahindra and Air India.The real crowds gather for the East Bengal vs Mohan Bagan derby. At times around 100,000+. Even the games in Kerala and Goa draw good crowds. I however, like the afternoon, relaxed atmosphere at Cooperage with not much noise and limited crowds. More like a closely knit family.
Today, at a restaurant called Saffron , I came across Mayanti Langer, Mayank Sabnis (not sure) and a few more people from Zee Sports, who were there because they were around for some event. The restaurant was quite empty considering that it was a Saturday afternoon. I got a few minutes to talk to her, and asked her questions about a lot of things ranging from the ONGC I-league, the Indian national side, current football updates, the world cup etc. She said that she picks Dempo to pip Mahindra United for the I-league title. I hadn't seen much of Dempo play, so I didn't have much to add or contest. She said she had a lot of expectations from Mumbai FC and Viva Kerala, but so far the two teams have disappointed her. She is of the impression that Bob Houghton is a coach with a vision and that his work will show tangible results in the near foreseeable future. She thinks that he's a got the right mix of carrot and stick for the players and expects a decent show at the Asian championships in 2011. On Champions league football, she said that both she and Novi Kapadia were disappointed to see Manchester United bow out. She thinks that Barcelona is just too strong and will retain their title. David Villa is her pick for golden boot in the WC, which i think is a good choice, given Spain's relatively easy group. She expects Mexico to be the surprise package in this WC. I figured out that she's a Punjabi when I heard her talk on her cell with someone. On the flip side, my fiance, was suddenly showing much more interest in the sport than he generally does
Looks like Chhetri might get his start tonight in Kansas City's US Open Cup match against Colorado: http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/6...sunil-chhetri-to-finally-make-his-competitive FYI, the US Open Cup is our equivalent of the FA Cup and it's been around almost as long. This is it's 96th year.
Big day for Indian Football and Sunil,after his 4 goals against University teams this will be his real test.I hope he gets on score-sheet or atleast assist an goal
Chhetri went 45 minutes in his debut.. picked up a yellow card in a 2-1 loss to Colorado. You can read his thread in the Kansas City forum: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1393311 MLSSoccer.com match report here: http://www.mlssoccer.com/content/thompsons-brace-leads-rapids-past-kc
Re: I-League TWIST IN THE TALE 1) Lajong shock Mahindra to jump-off relegation spot,while Mahindra fail to close in the gap Lajong 2-1 Mahindra 2) SC Goa stun Churchill to keep themselves alive in relegation battle,meanwhile Churchill hope of retaining the title look dim SC Goa 2-1 Churchill Bros 3) JCT thrash Viva Kerala,JCT in mid table battle JCT FC 5-1 Viva Kerala
4) Mohun Bagan thrash Air India to make a strong comeback Mohun Bagan 4-0 Air India 5) Pune FC held to a Draw by late Salgaocar goal Pune FC 1-1 Salgaocar SC
Just adding a follow-up story by Sports Illustrated about the reaction to Sunil Chhetri's signing with Kansas City Wizards. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...50.ap.soc.star.of.india.adv17.1292/index.html
Things are certainly hotting up in the I.League. One question to ou frequent followers of the league: Expansion - will this be good for the league? Currently, the gaps aren't huge between bottom and mid table, but throwing more teams in could open up bigger gaps. Wouldn't it be wiser to create a more competitive 2nd tier league first? This season, the league is still going strong into the last few weeks, with more teams in the future, such issues as relegation matters, could be over leaving the last few weeks rather pointless. Is it wise to expand at this time?
Hi Everyone, This is my first post on BigSoccer. Anyone who wants to keep tabs on Sunil Chhetri can go to KC Wizards unoffical blogs. There are lot of Pics and Videos of chhetri training. BackPost - http://www.backpost.net/ Down the Byline - http://www.downthebyline.com/ Also there is One thread open on Sunil Chhetri itself on Kansas City Wizards Section on BigSoccer by KC Wizards fans. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1393311 I hope you all will enjoy it. Thanks.
This is a question which nobody has an answer.... Are there enough quality players?? nobody can answer that but this was the same question people asked when Lajong and Pune FC made der debut and both des clubs were a gr8 success dey brought new age professionalism, gud attendances nd som unknown talents. In a big country like India having a second division league is very costly and expanding the league is only gud option AIFF have...