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I-League: Team Of The Eight Rounds
As the I-League takes a break after eight rounds due to the two national camps, Goal.com picks a team comprising of Indian players who have impressed the most so far this season...
19-Nov-2009 10:56:36 PM
Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper:
Subashish Roy Chowdhury (Mahindra United)- So far this season a majority of the goalkeepers have made errors that have cost their respective teams. But Subhashish has been an exception to that trend as he has hardly made any mistake and instead been the savior of his side in a couple games. Most notably in the 2-2 draw against Dempo, when Mahindra were down to ten man, Subhashish had a blinder of a game as he came up with a number of important saves which earned his side a point.
Defenders:
Naoba Singh (Churchill Brothers)- The young fullback was in fine form in the last two seasons and has maintained his consistency this term also. He is very sound defensively and going forward he is as good as any fullback in the country. He has provided some important assists including the one on the very first day of the season when his accurate cross was volleyed into the back of the net by Japanese import Dan Ito against Mahindra. Naoba is easily one of the most talented defenders in the country and his good performances have finally earned him a call to the national setup.
Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers)- The champions didn’t make the best of starts as they failed to win four of their first five matches. But importantly they didn’t lose any of those matches and that was mainly down to the fact that they have a very well organized defence which is led by Indian international Gouramangi Singh. The Manipuri keeps improving with every game and is one of the very few Indian defenders who wouldn’t be bullied easily by even the very best foreign strikers. We haven’t seen the best of him yet but without a doubt he has been in good form this season also.
Dharmaraj Ravanan (Mahindra United)- The Tamil Nadu born defender has been on the top of his game from the very first match of the season when he won the man of the match award after keeping Odafa and company relatively quiet. Compared to last season, Mahindra look a much more solid outfit defensively and Ravanan has played a very big role in it. Other than the game against Dempo where he got sent off, the 22 year old has done very well this season and so has been rightly rewarded with a call up to the under-23 squad for the SAFF Cup.
Debabrata Roy (Mahindra United)- Four seasons back when Debabrata was in East Bengal, many tipped him to be a regular in the national team for years to come. But consistency was missing from Debabrata as a result he started falling further in the pecking order and lost his place in the national setup. At Mahindra he did ok last season but this term he has looked a much more complete fullback. His link up play with Paresh Shivalkar has been impressive and defensively he has been as solid as ever. The former Chirag man has been called up to the senior national camp so now he would be hoping to stay clear of injuries and not let his level drop.
Midfielders:
Reisangmi Vashum (Churchill Brothers)- Vashum was in the form of his life in the IFA Shield and Durand Cup triumphs. He was always known to be a good creative player but in those two tournaments he looked a very capable goalscorer while playing upfront. He continued his good form in the I-League also and scored crucial goals during Churchill’s unconvincing start despite dropping back to midfield. Vashum remains the joint highest scoring midfielder and even though he has failed to get on the scoresheet in the last four matches, his wing play has been quite impressive.
Denson Devadas (Chirag United)- Denson will feel a little hard done by for not getting a call up to the national camp despite having a very successful 2009. The Kerala born player was made the skipper in the first game against Mohun Bagan which he marked with a man of the match performance. He has been playing in a more defensive role this term but still he remains the driving force of the Chirag team. The Kolkata side is currently placed third in the table and Denson's consistent displays has played a major role in it.
Snehashish Chakraborty (Mohun Bagan)- Snehashish has probably been one of the most improved midfielders in the last twelve months. Last season he helped Chirag save relegation and this term he has helped Bagan recover from a poor start. His consistent performances has either kept Ishfaq Ahmed on the bench or made the Kashmiri play upfront. The fact that Bagan have lost only once when he has started shows his importance to the team. He is still a very young player so there is surely a lot more to come from him.
Forwards:
Mohammed Rafi (Mahindra United)- It took Rafi five rounds to finally open his account this season but he looked in fine touch in the earlier matches also. Scoring goals is not Rafi’s main quality but instead his ability to make space for others and linking up with the midfield is what separates him from the rest. That has caught the eyes of Bob Houghton also and as a result Rafi has earned a call up to the senior squad for the very first time. He scored four in the last four matches and has developed a very good partnership with Muritala Ali, which has played a key role in Mahindra’s unbeaten start.
Sunil Chhetri (Dempo)- As expected Sunil has settled very quickly at Dempo and has made a pretty good start this season. He has been both scoring and creating goals but more importantly his presence makes Dempo a more potent attacking outfit, which previously was over reliant on Ranti Martins for the goals. One can argue that he hasn’t scored in the big games but even when he is not scoring, Sunil has created problems for the defenders. He has never won the league so he will be looking to keep scoring goals and change that statistic this season.
Baljit Singh Sahni (JCT)- With the presence of so many foreign strikers it is not easy for an Indian player to lead the scoring charts. But Baljit managed to do that till the end of round six after scoring six in the first five including a hat-trick in the first game against Lajong. Other than scoring, Baljit is well adept in creating chances also and one must not forget that he is a player who used to play in midfield earlier so the way he has adapted to a new role is truly admirable. He failed to score in round six and seven and then unfortunately met with a bike accident. However the league next resumes only in January so he would be hoping to recover on time and regain his good goal scoring form.
Goal.com India
Goalkeeper:
Subashish Roy Chowdhury (Mahindra United)- So far this season a majority of the goalkeepers have made errors that have cost their respective teams. But Subhashish has been an exception to that trend as he has hardly made any mistake and instead been the savior of his side in a couple games. Most notably in the 2-2 draw against Dempo, when Mahindra were down to ten man, Subhashish had a blinder of a game as he came up with a number of important saves which earned his side a point.
Defenders:
Naoba Singh (Churchill Brothers)- The young fullback was in fine form in the last two seasons and has maintained his consistency this term also. He is very sound defensively and going forward he is as good as any fullback in the country. He has provided some important assists including the one on the very first day of the season when his accurate cross was volleyed into the back of the net by Japanese import Dan Ito against Mahindra. Naoba is easily one of the most talented defenders in the country and his good performances have finally earned him a call to the national setup.
Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers)- The champions didn’t make the best of starts as they failed to win four of their first five matches. But importantly they didn’t lose any of those matches and that was mainly down to the fact that they have a very well organized defence which is led by Indian international Gouramangi Singh. The Manipuri keeps improving with every game and is one of the very few Indian defenders who wouldn’t be bullied easily by even the very best foreign strikers. We haven’t seen the best of him yet but without a doubt he has been in good form this season also.
Dharmaraj Ravanan (Mahindra United)- The Tamil Nadu born defender has been on the top of his game from the very first match of the season when he won the man of the match award after keeping Odafa and company relatively quiet. Compared to last season, Mahindra look a much more solid outfit defensively and Ravanan has played a very big role in it. Other than the game against Dempo where he got sent off, the 22 year old has done very well this season and so has been rightly rewarded with a call up to the under-23 squad for the SAFF Cup.
Debabrata Roy (Mahindra United)- Four seasons back when Debabrata was in East Bengal, many tipped him to be a regular in the national team for years to come. But consistency was missing from Debabrata as a result he started falling further in the pecking order and lost his place in the national setup. At Mahindra he did ok last season but this term he has looked a much more complete fullback. His link up play with Paresh Shivalkar has been impressive and defensively he has been as solid as ever. The former Chirag man has been called up to the senior national camp so now he would be hoping to stay clear of injuries and not let his level drop.
Midfielders:
Reisangmi Vashum (Churchill Brothers)- Vashum was in the form of his life in the IFA Shield and Durand Cup triumphs. He was always known to be a good creative player but in those two tournaments he looked a very capable goalscorer while playing upfront. He continued his good form in the I-League also and scored crucial goals during Churchill’s unconvincing start despite dropping back to midfield. Vashum remains the joint highest scoring midfielder and even though he has failed to get on the scoresheet in the last four matches, his wing play has been quite impressive.
Denson Devadas (Chirag United)- Denson will feel a little hard done by for not getting a call up to the national camp despite having a very successful 2009. The Kerala born player was made the skipper in the first game against Mohun Bagan which he marked with a man of the match performance. He has been playing in a more defensive role this term but still he remains the driving force of the Chirag team. The Kolkata side is currently placed third in the table and Denson's consistent displays has played a major role in it.
Snehashish Chakraborty (Mohun Bagan)- Snehashish has probably been one of the most improved midfielders in the last twelve months. Last season he helped Chirag save relegation and this term he has helped Bagan recover from a poor start. His consistent performances has either kept Ishfaq Ahmed on the bench or made the Kashmiri play upfront. The fact that Bagan have lost only once when he has started shows his importance to the team. He is still a very young player so there is surely a lot more to come from him.
Forwards:
Mohammed Rafi (Mahindra United)- It took Rafi five rounds to finally open his account this season but he looked in fine touch in the earlier matches also. Scoring goals is not Rafi’s main quality but instead his ability to make space for others and linking up with the midfield is what separates him from the rest. That has caught the eyes of Bob Houghton also and as a result Rafi has earned a call up to the senior squad for the very first time. He scored four in the last four matches and has developed a very good partnership with Muritala Ali, which has played a key role in Mahindra’s unbeaten start.
Sunil Chhetri (Dempo)- As expected Sunil has settled very quickly at Dempo and has made a pretty good start this season. He has been both scoring and creating goals but more importantly his presence makes Dempo a more potent attacking outfit, which previously was over reliant on Ranti Martins for the goals. One can argue that he hasn’t scored in the big games but even when he is not scoring, Sunil has created problems for the defenders. He has never won the league so he will be looking to keep scoring goals and change that statistic this season.
Baljit Singh Sahni (JCT)- With the presence of so many foreign strikers it is not easy for an Indian player to lead the scoring charts. But Baljit managed to do that till the end of round six after scoring six in the first five including a hat-trick in the first game against Lajong. Other than scoring, Baljit is well adept in creating chances also and one must not forget that he is a player who used to play in midfield earlier so the way he has adapted to a new role is truly admirable. He failed to score in round six and seven and then unfortunately met with a bike accident. However the league next resumes only in January so he would be hoping to recover on time and regain his good goal scoring form.
Goal.com India
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