The Indian Super League teams have got their respective head coaches for the new season, right in time ahead of the ISL player draft, scheduled for June 27. The ten sides, including new entrants Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC, have made their announcements official.
Read: The players retained by the ISL sides ahead of season 4.
The ISL has managed to attain the official status from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and from now on, the Indian Super League seasons could well spread over five-six months.
Here are the key rule changes
- 5 : The foreign players in the starting 11 of an ISL side has been brought down, from six to five.
- 17 : The ISL franchisees can sign up to 17 Indian players now. The earlier cut-off figure was 14.
- 2 : The ISL franchisees need to sign at least two U-21 players/
- Marquee no more : The marquee players rule has been scrapped from the ISL 2017-18 season.
There can be two reasons for this. Firstly, the marquee players have not been at their best in the past three years. Secondly, the ISL has grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the last three editions with the presence of Del Pieros and the Roberto Carlos-es.
So, from now, it could only be about Indian players and their overall growth.
List of teams and their coaches for ISL 2017
Atletico de Kolkata - Teddy Sheringham
Nationality: England
Profile: Veteran Manchester United striker who managed English football side Stevenage for close to a year between 2015 and 2016
Kerala Blasters - Rene Meulensteen
Nationality: Netherlands
Profile: One of the key figures in Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching staff at Manchester United, Meulensteen served as the youth coach, reserves coach and assistant coach at Old Trafford.
He also managed Fulham for a brief period between 2013 and 2014.
Jamshedpur FC - Steve Coppell
Nationality: England
Profile: One of the most lethal wingers in his time, Coppell made a total of 322 appearances for Manchester United between 1975 and 1983.
He managed English sides like Manchester City and Crystal Palace, has over 30 years of coaching experience under his belt and was recently associated with English side Portsmouth as the director of football, before moving to Kerala Blasters in 2016.
Bengaluru FC - Albert Roca
Nationality: Spain
Profile: Having worked as an assistant under the legendary appointed Frank Rijkaard in FC Barcelona, Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national football team for a decade, Roca joined Bengaluru FC last year.
FC Goa - Sergio Lobera
Nationality: Spain
Profile: A former FC Barcelona youth coach as well as an assistant under Tito Vilanova.
Chennaiyin FC - John Gregory
Nationality: England
Profile: Almost two and a half decades of coaching experience, Gregory has managed the likes of Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers, Aston Villa and Derby County.
Delhi Dynamos - Miguel Angel Portugal
Nationality: Spain
Profile: Former manager of the Real Madrid B and C teams as well as the ex-technical director of the club.
FC Pune City - Antonio Habas
Nationality: Spain
Profile: Winner of the Indian Super League title in the inaugural season with Atletico de Kolkata, Habas moved to FC Pune last year. His services have been retained.
Mumbai City FC - Alexandre Guimaraes
Nationality: Brazil
Profile: Despite being Brazilian, he played for Costa Rica and also served as the head coach of the national team during the FIFA World Cup 2002 and 2006. He joined Mumbai City FC last year.
NorthEast United FC - João Carlos Pires de Deus
Nationality: Portugal
Profile: Former manager of the Cape Verde national football team as well as the Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' side.
