ISL all set to kick off with more excitement than ever

With a productive pre-season, where most ISL sides sent their first teams to participate in Durand Cup, the clubs are all set to give fans an enthralling experience across the season, which will return to its pre-covid home and away format. Champions Hyderabad FC will aim to become the first ISL team to defend their crown successfully but will have some healthy competition to deal with. With some major transfers in pre-season in the likes of Roy Krishna and Greg Stewart finding new bases and the influx of top international coaches, the title will be more fiercely contested than ever.

“This season, the teams are better I think,” said Manolo Marquez, Hyderabad FC head coach. “There are some teams that have improved the quality of the squad and I think that in some moments this will be good, because I think all the teams will lose some important points. We could see last season that Odisha FC had chances to qualify even with only two games left.

I think every team can beat other teams and it will be an equal competition for sure.” Hyderabad will be looking for a repeat from their main marksman Bartholomew Ogbeche, who topped the scoring charts with 18 goals and led the Nizams to be the highest-scoring team in the league stage. Ogbeche is part of a solid core for Hyderabad FC, which includes captain Joao Victor. “I said this last year, I’m the one who wears the armband, but we are full of leaders in the team,” Victor said ahead of the season.