Dubai: Last season’s I-League championship winning coach Ashley Westwood has said that while the new Indian Super League (ISL) will raise football’s profile in the country, a year-long domestic season is still the best way to build a national team.
The inaugural two-month-long ISL, which started with much fanfare on Sunday, is modelled on cricket’s Indian Premier League, and involves eight star-studded franchises with veteran marquee players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Freddie Ljungberg and David Trezeguet.
The regular 10-team I-League season, which acts as India’s premier domestic division, will start after the ISL in December and run until May, as opposed to the usual September to April run-time.
England’s Westwood, 38, who led Bengaluru FC to last year’s I-League title, told Gulf News that although the ISL would add glamour to the game, the I-League was still the country’s footballing cornerstone.
“Every country’s main aim is to develop the national team and every country needs a year-long national league if they are going to compete in World Cups and Asian Cups, as a country they will need a sustained national league,” he said.
“Obviously the ISL will bring attention to Indian football, which is good. It’s an experiment, and, in my opinion, if it’s done for the right reasons you don’t know what it could bring. So, let’s have a look and see what happens, hopefully it will be good for the country and for football.
“The country has been crying out for a new sport, cricket has been around for years and now the English Premier League is being shown in record numbers on Indian TV and you see kids in football jerseys walking down the street. The country is ready for an influx of football, so hopefully this will do the trick and raise the sport’s profile.”
The former Manchester United Academy defender who most notably played for Crewe Alexandra, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday, won Bengaluru their first championship in their first year since formation last season. The victory was also Westwood’s first title in his first season as a head coach, having only previously assisted.
“We had only just entered the league last season and there was no pressure from the owners other than to try and put some systems in place and finish outside the bottom three,” he said.
“We introduced professionalism and built a proper football culture and it worked. The players enjoyed what we did and it was a dream come true to win the league.
“To see that all the areas you are tackling as a coach, have worked, is very rewarding. It gives you belief in yourself that when you’re given a blank canvas, and the support from owners, to put your ideas into practice, it works. A lot of times in football you’re not given time to reap the fruits of your labour.”
Westwood stands to lose players to the ISL ahead of his I-League title defence preparations, but the former Portsmouth, Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers assistant is still confident Bengaluru can retain their crown.
“You can never be too confident because you are only a week away from disaster at a football club with regards injuries and bad decisions. But we’ve strengthened in the summer and we are a better team than last season.
“Pre-season has gone well and our signings have been good, so we’re looking strong, but like I say you can never count your chickens.”
