Football Shots

Kolkata based I-League club Mohammedan SC recently terminated the contract of their coach Andrey Chernyshov for the poor performance in the club's I-League campaign. After 9 matches, they stood in 9th position in the league table in a 12 teams tournament, winning three games, drew two and lost in 4 games. They have a total 11 points on their name and are far behind table toppers Sreenidi Deccan with 8 points gap. Pic - Kibu Vicuna Following this situation, the Black Panthers appointed former I-League winning coach Kibu Vicuna. He won I-League in 2019 with another Kolkata based giant Mohun Bagan. Recently he was also the head coach of newly formed CFL club Diamond Harbour FC. He also managed Kerala Blasters in the 2020-21 season in the Indian Super League. The path to win the title for Mohammedan SC now looks very tough, however there are many experienced players in the squad, let's see what happens in the next phase of their campaign. Pic - Mirla...

Now India's second tier football tournament Hero I-League is going in full swing with 12 clubs across multiple venues in the country. As per previous reports, this year's I-League Champions will get a direct spot in next year's Indian Super League on fulfilling the  licensing criteria . Let's see which team tops the league table for now and which other teams in top 4 of the table are on the run to snatch that position. Currently Sreenidi Deccan is the table toppers with 19 points on their name, they won 6 games, drew one and lost two. Their performance is super delight from last season. Then comes Roundglass Punjab FC, who played one less match and behind two points from table toppers. They won 5 matches, drew two and lost one, achieving 17 points. After that, there comes the club from Heaven on Earth, Real Kashmir. The snow leopards have 16 points and stands in 3rd position in league table. They won most of their home matches in the firs...

Last year's I-League runners up, Kolkata based Mohammedan SC recently announced their full squad ahead of new Hero I-League season 2022-23. The Black Panthers are ready for the challenge to win I-League title for next year's Indian Super League promotion.  Image Let's see the squad :-   Goalkeepers :-  ZOTHANMAWIA, SANKAR ROY, MITHUN SAMANTA DEFENDERS :-  SAFIUL RAHAMAN, VANLALZUIDIKA, OUSMANE N'DIAYE, SHAHER SHAHEEN, WAYNE VAZ, SAIRUATKIMA, DIPU HALDER, ABHASH THAPA, ABHISHEK AMBEKAR, RHILL MIDFIELDERS :-   NURIDDIN DAVRONOV, NIKOLA STOJANOVIC, ONGNAM MILAN SINGH, ABHISEK HALDER, FASLURAHAMAN, CHRISTY DAVIS WINGERS :-  SK FAIAZ, NINGTHOUJAM PRITAM SINGH, KEAN LEWIS, YUMNAM GOPI SINGH, RIDGE DEMELLO STRIKERS :-   MARCUS JOSEPH,  ABIOLA ADEDEJI DAUDA,  AZAHARUDDIN. Under the guidance of Head Coach Andrey Chernyshov, the club will play their home matches in Kishore Bharati Stadium, Kolkata. 

Hero I-League, the second tier of Indian football structure, will start from 12th November onwards with 12 teams accross the country. The new 2022-23 season will be the most interesting and a game changer for the future of Indian football development.  Pic The 12 clubs will fight for the I-League glory, as the champions of this season will get a direct spot in Indian Super League 2023-24, on the basis of fulfilling sporting merit and clearing the Premier 1 Licensing criteria. Also, last two teams will get relegated to I-League second division and top two teams from I-League second division will get promoted to I-League 2023-24. The first match will be played in Manjeri Payyanad Stadium, Kerala between Gokulam Kerala FC and Mohammedan SC 4:30 pm. Live streaming of the tournament will be seen at  DD Sports and  Eurosport tv Channel. DD Sports will cover the 80% matches, while  Discovery+ will be the online streaming platform.  Se...

I-League Champions Gokulam Kerala recently signed an foreign midfielder for the upcoming season. Farshad Noor, the player from Afghanistan will join the Malabarians to bolster the squad in their second consecutive I-League campaign. Pic - Farshad Noor ( Google) He started his football career at PSV youth academy and played for various European clubs including Jong PSV, Roda JC Kerkrade, AFC Eskilstuna etc, and for Indonesian club Persib Bandung in Liga 1. Last season he played for a Baharini club  Al-Hala SC.  His most successful stint was for Nea Salamis where he scored 6 goals in 59 matches. In his early days he was in Netherlands u17 team and recently played against India in Asian Cup Qualifiers for the Afghanistan national team. He displayed a brilliant performance against India on that match. 

Ex player of Kolkata Giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, 32 year old Raju Gaikwad joins I-League side Churchill Brothers FC on a two year deal as per reports.  Pic - Raju Gaikwad ( Google ) The player started his football career Indian Arrows in 2010, primarily plays as a centre back but also able to play as a full back, is a well known name in Kolkata football. In 2011, he moved to East Bengal where he won Federation Cup, IFA Shield and Calcutta Football League 4 times in his 4 years stint with the club.  Also played for various Indian Super League side including FC Goa, Mumbai City, Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters FC and for Mohun Bagan 2016-17 on loan, and won the Federation Cup 2015-16 with the Mariners. Last season he played for Red and Gold brigade East Bengal, where he is on the field for 19 matches throughout the season. Previously he also played for Indian u23 and senior football team. This year, having no interests from ISL clubs he fin...

Former Mohun Bagan star midfielder Joseba Beitia has joined I-League outfit Rajasthan United for the upcoming season. Rajasthan United announces his signing as their 6th foreigner.  Pic - Joseba Beitia ( Google )  The 32 year old Spanish star, Joseba Beitia is a well known name in Indian football. After playing for several low division clubs in his country like Real Sociedad B, Somozas, Marbella etc, he came to India in 2019 as a Mohun Bagan player. In his first season in India he won I-League 2019-20 with Mohun Bagan where he scored 3 goals in 16 matches.  But the club didn't included him in Mohun Bagan and ATK FC's merger team ATK Mohun Bagan's squad in ISL 2020-21. Following this, he joined another I-League side RoundGlass Punjab FC and played for them in the last two seasons. Rajasthan United after giving an emphatic performance in it's debut in Durand Cup, journey to quarter finals from a tough group consisting three ISL teams, will be looking for ...

I-League side RoundGlass Punjab FC are set to give a high class performances to achieve Indian Super League promotion for next season through this year's I-League. Following this, they already signed a branch of foreign players to strengthen their squad. Staikos Vergetis, the Greek coach will be the first manager of RPFC in 2022-23 I-League.  Pic - Head Coach Staikos Vergetis ( RPFC social media) The first signing, a Nepali goalkeeper who previously played for them in the past, has joined the team. Last season he played for Maziya S&RC in the Dhivehi Premier League. He also played for Nepal national team. Nextly, the experienced Slovenian forward Luka Majcen will lead the lines from the front. In the past season he played for some Indian clubs like Churchill Brothers, Bengaluru United and Gokulam Kerala FC. He will add a good experience in the whole squad.  Anoth...

The 21 year old Indian forward Subha Ghosh has joined I-League side Gokulam Kerala FC on multi years deal. He terminated his contract with Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC after having no game time for their senior team.  pic - Subha Ghosh ( Google ) The player, Subha Ghosh is a academy product of Mohun Bagan. Firstly he played for Mohun Bagan junior teams and then promoted to senior team in 2019. In that season he played total 8 matches for Mohun Bagan in the I-League and scored 3 late goals that season. He won I-League 2019-20 with them. Then he eventually joined newly formed ATK Mohun Bagan, but soon he was signed by Kerala Blasters on a three year deal following coach Kibu Vicuna. Last season he played for East Bengal on loan from Kerala Blasters where he had the chance to play only 3 matches. This year, he played for Kerala Blasters B team, which played this year's Durand Cup edition. 

Indian Super League side Odisha FC announced their new goalkeeper signing from I-League side Rajasthan United. They signed Niraj Kumar by paying transfer fees to replace Kamaljit Singh - who already left the club and joined another ISL side East Bengal.  pic - Niraj Kumar ( Rajasthan United social media )  The 19 year old Indian goalkeeper, Niraj Kumar started his football career at Ozone FC. Later he played for Real Kashmir FC and Jamshedpur FC on loan. However, he didn't get any game time on those clubs. Last season he played for newly I-League team Rajasthan United. Where he played as their first choice goalkeeper and kept one clean sheet in the tournament. The player played a critical role beneath the bar to keep Rajasthan United fight on the I-League title. This year, he played 4 group stage matches in Durand Cup for them and standout his performance against ATK Mohun Bagan, where Rajasthan United won by 3-2 scoreline. He also played for Indian u19 team in the...

Northeast United FC announced the signing of ex Gokulam Kerala FC midfielder Emil Benny for the upcoming ISL season. The 21 year old Indian midfielder played a vital role in Gokulam Kerala's I-League winning campaign.  pic - Emil Benny ( Google ) The young midfielder can play the role of attacking midfielder and has very skill in box-to-box situation. He already won I-League two times with Gokulam Kerala FC. And in 2020-21, he awarded as the emerging player of the season for his standout performance. He also included in 2020-21 I-League team of the season. He played total 32 matches for Gokulam Kerala and scored 4 goals for them. The malabarian also played in 2022 AFC Cup group stage matches for his previous club.  Marco Bulbul, the man from Israel will lead the highlanders in the upcoming Indian Super League. 

I-League side RoundGlass Punjab FC appoints Greek manager Staikos Vergetis as their new head coach ahead of new season.  pic - Staikos Vergetis ( credit - Google ) The man, Staikos Vergetis started his managerial career with Greek top division club Asteras Tripolis in 2013. Later in 2016, he managed a Cyprus club named Nea Salamina. After that he also managed several Greek Clubs in the second division of Greek football league system. The 46 year old is new to India and will lead RoundGlass Punjab FC in the upcoming 2022-23 I-League season. This year, which team will win I-League, they will get the direct chance to play Indian Super League next season.

Kolkata based I-League side Mohammedan SC announced their squad for the upcoming football season. Head Coach Andrey Chernyshov named 27 men squad ahead of the new season.  pic - Mohammedan SC social media The squad is as follow -  GOALKEEPERS :  MITHUN SAMANTA ,  SANKAR ROY, MO RAFIQUE ALI SARDAR ,  ZOTHANMAWIA DEFENDERS :  SAFIUL RAHAMAN, VANLALZUIDIKA ,  ABHASH THAPA,  ABHISHEK AMBEKAR ,  DIPU HALDER SAIRUATKIMA, WAYNE VAZ ,  GUSMANE N'DIAYE ,  SHAHER SHAHEEN  MIDFIELDERS :  MILAN SINGH ,  ABHISEK HALDER, FASLURAHAMAN ,  CHRISTY DAVIS, NURIDDIN DAVRONOV WINGERS:  KEAN LEWIS ,  SK FAIAZ 21. PRITAM SINGH ,  RIDGE DEMELLO, YUMNAM GOPI SINGH STRIKERS :   ABIOLA DAUDA,  MARCUS JOSEPH ,  RAHUL PASWAN, AZAHARUDDIN