ISL 2016: Recap Of the Season - ATK Wins Title, Kerala Wins Fans

#IndianSoccerLeague2016 #ISL 2016
#LetsFootball #Tournament #RoundUp

So, the #ISL Season 3 is finally over and #ATK deservedly won the final and the trophy for second time in 3 years. #KeralaBlasters came agonizingly second, yet again and will have to wait another year for a shot at glory.

Here's a round up of the entire tournament:

Week 1: #NEUFC North East United FC were surprise table toppers and #FCGoa were at the bottom stunning everyone.

Week 2: NEUFC started slipping but maintained their top spot. Kerala Blasters hadn't scored a single goal.Wow!

Week after week, the table positions started changing hands quickly especially the top of the table. #MumbaiCityFC held on to the top position the longest. 

#PuneCityFC and #NEUFC are the only teams not to participate in finals of any season yet. So, they do need to pull up their socks.

#DelhiDynamos' Souvik Chatterjee clocked most minutes on the pitch for any player this season, an average of 92 minutes on the pitch. That's staggering!
#DDs had a season high of 7,395 passes, almost a thousand more than second placed #ATK.

#ATK won the league, #Kerala won fans and their love. 

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ISL 2016: Indian Players Need Better Facilities To Become World Class - FC Goa midfielder Jofre

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#IndianSoccerLeague #Season3

For Indian football to develop, the stress should be on creating an environment where players do not just enjoy the sport but are well aware of their tactical positioning, feels #Spanish #Midfielder #Jofre Mateu Gonzalez.

The #FCGoa #Footballer who robbed Atletico de Kolkata (#ATK) of a win by winning and converting a late #Penalty here on Sunday, said: "You need to have academies where children grow in a #Football environment."

"It's not only about practicing and enjoying the game, but knowing a lot about being part of a team, a lot of skills and #Tactical issues which you must know in your (playing) position," Jofre added.

"It's very good for the #League and for the country. And my mates (Indian players at FC Goa), you can see they are improving every year." Jofre, who has played over 300 games in the second division of the #Spanish #LaLiga, pointed out the importance of off-field activities like nutrition and rest, which are as important as the on-field development.

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ISL 2016 Last Minute Goal Exposes FC Goa Brittle Defence Vs FC Pune City

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#Indian #Soccer #League

Fragility is fast becoming the overarching trait that defines manager #Zico's #FC #Goa.This goes back to the last season of the Indian Super League (#ISL) in which #Goa thumped #MumbaiCity #FC by a record seven-goal margin, yet also suffered two 0-4 meltdowns against #AtleticoDeKolkata and #ChennaiyinFC, in addition to throwing away a last-minute lead in the final at home.

Dying moments of that final would've replayed in the minds of the Goan supporters on Saturday night, when #FC #PuneCity's forward Momar #Ndoye breezed past #Lucio, the home team's marquee defender, and curled in a 90th-minute winner that gave goalkeeper Laxmikant #Kattimani no chance of saving. It meant another disjoint display by Goa ended in another defeat.

FC Pune City had won only once in 14 away matches heading into this fixture and that was back in 2014 during the inaugural season. The visitors carried mental baggage of their own, even with a revamped squad. However, there's a growing belief in Goa's opponents that if you can stop Zico's men from scoring, you will, sooner or later, be gifted clear-cut openings to take full advantage of.

The Brazilian manager had a familiar moan after the match — "we created many chances but we were able to convert just once"— and to a certain extent, it's hard not to sympathise with him. Two gilt-edged chances fell to Romeo Fernandes, a second-half substitute who brought with him greater attacking emphasis, but the Indian winger shot one straight at the goalkeeper and skied the other high and wide.

On the other hand, Pune profited twice from a handful of their own opportunities. Arata Izumi converted a generous rebound into an open goal, while Ndoye found himself in space and one-on-one with Lucio. All of Pune's six shots were on target and, furthermore, they were unlucky not to have at least one, if not two, penalties (though Goa should've had one of their own too).

It's a worrying trend for Zico. Opponents, who acknowledge Goa's attacking potential, are content to sit back and then wait for the right opportunities to come by (though Pune were adventurous in patches).Owing to injuries in a revamped FC Goa squad, a new-look team is taking longer to gel — which means Goa must learn how to eke out points on the tougher days or, at the very least, not throw points away.

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ISL 2016: Teams Scramble As FC Goa Retain Lucio For ISL Season 3

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Panaji: World Cup and UEFA Champions League winning central defender #Lucimar #Ferreira da Silva aka #Lucio has been retained by #FC #Goa as the marquee player for the third edition of the Indian Super League starting 1st October 2016.

File picture of Lucio. Getty Images

Consistency was the key for head coach #Zico, who decided to retain the spine of the team, which reached the finals of the second edition of the ISL. He has won the treble (Seria A, #UEFA #ChampionsLeague and #CoppaItalia) in 2010 under present Manchester United head coach #Jose #Mourinho after strong performances in the heart of the defence at #InterMilan

He also played for #Bayer #Leverkusen and German giants #Bayern #Munich prior to joining #Inter.
Along with his strong showing for his club, #Lucio was a mainstay in the Brazil national team with 105 appearances at the heart of the defence, scoring four goals in the process and helping Brazil win the 2002 World Cup, having played every minute of the competition.

He joined the ISL in 2015 when he signed for FC Goa to play under Zico. The coach had thrown the captain's armband to Lucio, primarily due to his wealth of experience playing football in Europe and South America.

Alongside Martinique powerhouse Gregory #Arnolin, Lucio was one of the main reasons for FC Goa's superb run to the finals of the ISL in 2015. His aerial prowess and ability to intercept were key attributes in making him one of the fittest marquee players of the second edition of the tournament.
He regularly stopped opposition attacks in their tracks and started attacking moves of his own for his side.

For the third edition of the ISL, Zico decided to keep faith in the 38-year-old player. Lucio will be looking to lead his team to the final once more in 2016 and go all the way this year in his second attempt at the title.

"I am very happy to sign for #FCGoa once again. We had a good tournament last year and I hope to make FC Goa champions this year. Consistency is the key for us and I am sure that we will do well once again this year under Zico's leadership. It is important to train hard and put in 100 per cent effort on the field in order to get maximum results. I hope to make the fans of Goa proud this year," he said.

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