The Hero Indian Super League [ISL] is now just a few days away, and the Media Day on Saturday gave a glimpse of the buzz the nation can expect over the next few months. The event was held at the National Sports Club of India Stadium (NSCI) in Worli and it witnessed coaches, marquee players and Indian footballers answer a plethora of questions from various media outlets.It all kicked off with NorthEast United FC coming out first. They were represented by head coach Cesar Farias, marquee player Simao Sabrosa and Indian winger Sanju Pradhan. Farias shared his thoughts on how success could be achieved in the ISL. "The chemistry between international players and Indian players is key to success in the ISL,” the former Venezuela coach said.Atletico de Kolkata walked in next for their press conference and head coach Antonio Lopez Habas was accompanied by new recruit and marquee player Helder Postiga and Indian defender Rino Anto, who fetched good money (Rs 90 lakh) at the auctions in July. Former Valencia striker Postiga said sharing his huge experience with his team-mates would be his utmost priority. "I will try to pass on my experience to improve football in India. Pre-season was good and we're ready for ISL 2015.”David Platt, the former Manchester City coach, will be coaching FC Pune City and he expressed satisfaction with his squad and the pre-season training in Turkey. He said the similarity in weather conditions in Turkey and India will help his team a great deal."Pre-season was very good. The conditions there [Turkey] will help us prepare for the playing conditions here in India."Eugeneson Lyngdoh, one of the top buys at the auctions this year, partnered Platt and marquee player Adrian Mutu and was really excited at the prospect of playing alongside the former Chelsea striker. “I'm excited to be playing in the ISL, especially alongside the likes of Adrian Mutu," Lyngdoh enthused.The players then kicked the ball around for the cameras after a short lunch break. Once proceedings got back underway, Mumbai City FC were the first to take questions. Former France striker and marquee coach-cum-player Nicolas Anelka, Brazilian midfielder Andre Moritz and India striker Sunil Chhetri represented the Mumbai franchise. Anelka said he expected every player of his team to give his 100 percent once the tournament kicked off, while Chhetri, who will feature in the league for the first time after bagging a whopping Rs 1.20 crore at the auctions, expressed how glad he was to be involved this time around.Marco Materazzi’s Chennaiyin FC were next to face the media. When asked how he rated the team’s first season where they lost to Kerala Blasters in the semis, the former Italian defender said, “We were unlucky last year to lose Elano [Blumer] and [Stiven] Mendoza to injury at an unfortunate time [and that set us back greatly].” Chennaiyin FC were the top-scoring team last season and Materazzi expressed his desire of emulating that form up front.Before Indian defensive midfielder Harmanjot Khabra revealed how supportive and motivating his coach Matterazzi was, Elano Blumer, last season’s top-scorer and Chennaiyin FC’s marquee player, was seen in a light-hearted mood when he joked with Khabra that he wouldn’t let him play if he didn’t pass the ball directly to him.Following Chennaiyin FC, in came the fun trio from Delhi Dynamos FC. Norwegian legend John Arne Riise, French winger Florent Malouda and Indian forward Robin Singh were in high spirits and they joked around quite a bit in their interaction with the press. Riise shared how his team-mates, including Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, had sent him good wishes on his new adventure in India.Kerala Blasters FC was the last team to face the press and they were straight away asked why they didn’t choose to train abroad like other seven teams. Peter Taylor, the head coach of the team, responded by saying that he thought the ideal way for the side to prepare “was by training in the country in similar conditions that they would eventually have to play in”. The Englishman also said he was pleased with the ability of most of his players’ flexibility of playing in various positions.This concluded the day. The media got their first taste of the action. The tournament begins on October 3 and the anticipation and excitement seems already to have possessed fans and the media alike.
