Dubai: Reigning Indian Super League champions Atletico de Kolkata kick-off their title defence away to last year’s losing semi-finalists Chennaiyin from 5.30pm (UAE time) on Saturday.
It will be a tight contest given that Chennaiyin topped the eight-team division last season with two draws over Kolkata, only to lose out in the semis to Kerala Blasters, who succumbed to Kolkata 1-0 in the final.
Having never lost to the champions, Chennaiyin - who retained last season’s league top scorer Elano (with eight goals) - will head into the game with confidence, and that’s why Kolkata’s coach Antonio Lopez is putting all his emphasis on their opening match.
“It will be a difficult game, but I am confident,” said Lopez, who has replaced Luis Garcia with Helder Prostiga as the Bengal Tiger’s marquee signing. “For me the main objective is to play well in the first match. I don’t want to plan for the entire season, I don’t plan long term. The main objective now is to do well in Chennai.
“Let us not compare seasons,” he added. “We want to take it game by game and our first objective is to reach the play-offs. We want to be a protagonist team and lead the way in the league.”
Marco Materazzi’s Chennaiyin were arguably the best team last season with the most amount of goals in the group stage, but they also conceded the second most amount of goals too, prompting retained Elano to promise some tightening.
“Last year we scored the most number of goals in the league,” said Elano. “This year we will concentrate on defence too and the team will be balanced and all areas will be taken care of.”
Last year’s other losing semi-finalist Goa will take on previously fifth-placed Delhi Dynamos at home in their opener on Sunday, also from 5.30pm (UAE time).
Goa finished second in the league last season but stumbled to eventual champions Kolkata in the semis. But coach Zico, who has replaced Robert Pires with Lucio, has promised to improve.
“The target is not like last year, we want to get better,” said Zico. “Last year I did not know the players, the foreigners and the technical staff. In the beginning it was difficult. This year we will be better because I got to choose the Indian players and the foreigners also.”
Meanwhile, Delhi, who have replaced Dutch coach Harm van Veldhoven and marquee player Alessandro Del Piero with player-coach Roberto Carlos, will also look to make a resurgence.
“I am getting to know the Indian players and they are really good,” said Carlos. “It’s just the mentality to play for a win that I would like to instil in them, because for me playing is winning.
“I would like them to play offensive. For me this is how football should be played. People don’t come to see a game where the teams play for a tie,” he added.
Mumbai, who finished seventh last season, are another side armed with wholesale changes in an attempt to rebuild, after marquee player Nicolas Anelka replaced Peter Reid as a player coach. The Blue Devils kick-off away to Pune on Monday, also from 5.30pm (UAE time).
“We need to do better,” said Anelka. “I think we’ve bought some good players, so now we target the semi-finals as a minimum. We believe we have a strong team and can reach the last four, after that we’ll target the final and the championship.”
Mumbai’s opponents Pune, who finished sixth last season, have been just as ruthless replacing coach Franco Colomba and marquee signing David Trezequet with David Platt and Adrian Mutu.
“The first game is always tough and when it’s a derby against Mumbai, it will be a difficult game,” said Platt. “But we have prepared well and are ready for the challenge.
“We worked hard in pre-season and now it’s time for the boys to deliver on the field. The domestic players especially must step up and prove themselves in front of their home crowd.”
Meanwhile, last year’s losing finalists Kerala kick off their campaign at home to North East United, who finished bottom of the league last season. They play on Tuesday from 5.30pm (UAE time).
Peter Taylor has taken over from David James as coach of Kerala, while Carlos Marchena occupies James’ marquee slot also. And Taylor said he was committed to taking the runners-up one-step further.
“Everyone remembers the name Mohammad Rafique,” Taylor said of Kolkata’s 93rd minute match winning scorer in last year’s 1-0 final defeat. “It could have been a different story had we hung on for another two minutes. That is now past, but we’ve learnt how important it is to maintain concentration right till the whistle is blown.
“Sometimes the manner of the defeat can be a good enough motivator for a runner-up going into the new season and that’s exactly the team’s mindset,” he said.
At struggling North East United Cesar Farias has replaced Ricki Herbert as coach and Simao Sabrosa replaces Joan Capdevilla as the marquee player. For them anything is progress, but Farias has made some brave statements about the underdogs.
“The expectations are always the highest, first let’s take the appropriate step to classify North East United to it’s first play-offs and once we’re there, of course, we would want to reach the final and then we want to be champions,” he said.