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All an Indian fast bowler does when he gets dropped from the national side or during the off-season is that he either heads to the NCA in Bangalore, or to the MRF pace foundation in Chennai and just keep bowling in the nets, which is nowhere close to what a fast bowler has to do when he is not playing matches. On that tour of Australia in 2008, it was very clear that Ishant Sharma revels in conditions which render extra bounce and relies heavily on what the surface has on offer for him....

Also Read: Marquee Players and what they add to their teams Speaking at the introduction of champion midfielder, Mr. Gaurav Modwel, CEO of FC Pune City said, “Sissoko is a marquee player in all the true senses. He has played with some of the top European clubs in the world making meritorious contributions to every team he has donned the jersey for – be it Valencia, Liverpool, Juventus, Paris St....

Heaping praise on the ISL, Goian went on to feel that the league is in fact much better organised than the Chinese Super League. “The ISL is a better-organised league than the CSL. The local talent on show here is amazing. The Indian players are real professionals and have one up over the local Chinese players in the CSL in terms of talent and ability,” said the 33-year-old whilst speaking to Khel Now....

In fact, it was Sunday’s opponent Chennaiyin FC, who sent ATK crashing out in the semi-final last season, literally sealing the two-legged tie in the first game in Kolkata where they ran out 3-0 winners. However, Molina doesn’t seem one to dwell in the past. And he was quick to point out that his team is certainly not looking back as well, downplaying any murmurs of this being a revenge match....

The former Shillong Lajong coach praised the facilities which were available for the squad during their pre-season tour in Spain and said that that the squad is well balanced. “It’s not easy for a club to sponsor a team to stay one month in Spain. It was the best facilities that I personally have seen, at Marbella Football Centre.” “The players what we have now have won many trophies in football....

As things stand, the ISL franchise might not even be known as Atletico de Kolkata at all after close sources revealed that the long-standing association between Atletico Madrid and the Bengal ISL franchise has come to a screeching halt. The red and whites of Atletico Madrid had invested in the ISL back when the tournament started with the complete financial backing of the Kolkata-based club even lending the “Atletico” name and the unique red and white striped jersey....

Alberto Roca spoke about his team’s preparation ahead of their debut season in the competition. He said, “We have started earlier for the ISL. For sure it was advantageous. We have to try hard by the time we have gotten. We had some injuries, the team is structured well. We can be stronger than last year in the I-League.” On asked if the team will be under pressure in their debut campaign, Roca replied, “No pressure – it’s a challenge....

“We knew that we have to very strong at home. We understood after the first half, the kind of game the rivals are trying to play. We adjusted some things and we deserved the win in the second half. They had chances but we had too many chances too. We are back in the tournament with this. I’m happy that we are showing that it will be difficult to get points here (Mumbai)....

Meulensteen, who has worked with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in the past, spoke at length about his satisfaction at the club’s activity in the recently concluded draft. “The draft is in place for a reason. To create a level playing field. In years to come, we might see it disappear but at this moment in time, it serves the purpose. We have done our homework really really well and with the assistance of Thangboi and our staff, we made sure we got it right....

A brace from Jeje (26’, 90’) and a Dhanpal Ganesh header (29’) was enough for the South Indian side to quell the challenge of the Gaurs who were defensively at sixes and sevens. John Gregory opted to stick with the same team which garnered a 1-1 draw away in the first leg in Goa while Sergio Lobera opted to make two changes to his team. In came Moroccan midfielder Hugo Boumous after recovering from an injury and goalkeeper Naveen Kumar replaced Laxmikant Kattimani between the sticks....

The two sides have had a contrasting run of fortune in this season as the Highlanders have struggled this year and lie in the bottom half of the table in the ninth position with 11 points from their fifteen matches. Kerala Blasters FC, on the other hand, is in the fifth position with 21 points from the same number of matches and have a shot at making the playoffs....

Despite a mid-season managerial change, the Highlanders have not been able to improve their results, and eventually finished bottom of the league. The poor showing in the ISL was followed by yet another disappointment, as they failed to make it to the main draw of the Super Cup, where they were knocked out by I-League side Gokulam Kerala in the qualifiers. Now, manager Avram Grant has set his sights on retaining his major players for the upcoming season....

FC Goa’s dismal run continued while Jamshedpur stretched their unbeaten run to four games. Who were the XI players that stood out? Let’s find out. GK: Paul Rachubka (Kerala Blasters) David James described the rest of the fixtures for Kerala Blasters as ‘must-win games’, and Rachubka had a task of ensuring just that when Kerala Blasters faced NorthEast United. Wes Brown ensured that the Blasters took the crucial lead and it was then up to Rachubka to safeguard and ensure that the Blasters do not concede....

The India captain, however, has a contract with Bengaluru FC for another two seasons, and any transfer would require the Red and Golds to pay a transfer fee. Although Chhetri is 33-years-old now, he is still recognised as one of the best strikers in Indian football at the moment. According to Transfermarkt.com, Chhetri is worth around Rs 2.2 crore (£248,000), though it may take more than that to convince Bengaluru FC to sell their star forward....

In case you didn’t know… Costa made his name playing as Center back for Portuguese side Porto. He appeared over two hundred and fifty times for the Dragons over a course of fifteen long years. The defender also went on several loans during this fifteen-year phase, most notably to English side Charlton Athletic. He finished his playing career at Belgian club Standard Liege immediately after which he went into coaching....

In case you didn’t know… Ever since its start five years ago, the Indian Super League has been the premier football league in India. Although some might still say that the I-League is the true possessor of that title, others might tilt towards the ISL. The heart of the matter Indian Super League and Nivia have announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership. The partnership allows Nivia to produce footballs, which will be used in the league matches next season onwards....

Aquino, who plays for Murcia (also called Real Murcia) in the Segunda Division B (third division) of Spain, could be signed as a replacement for Bhutanese forward Chencho Gyeltshen. Also see : Manchester united Transfer News, Arsenal Transfer News, EPL Transfer News. Chencho was released by Bengaluru FC as the ISL table-toppers wanted a striker who can act as a No 9 as well as a winger. Ever since Miku suffered an injury after the game against Kerala Blasters in November, BFC coach Carles Cuadrat has had to tinker with his tactics to get BFC through....

It hasn’t just clicked for the defending champions who are enduring their worst season in ISL history. They are bottom of the table with just five points to their name in 13 games. More importantly, they have won just the one point out of a possible 18 at home - the worst record at home this season for any team. The team has failed to fire collectively with both the defence and the attack coming under the scanner....

The Lions started out strong as they scored an early goal in the third minute. Lallianzuala Chhangte’s cross-shot was deflected in the back of his own goal by Souvik Chakraborty. The away side pulled one goal back at the start of the second half via a Rafael Bastos penalty. At the hour mark, Crespi scored an own goal but his teammate Gianni Zuiverloon pegged one back for the home side three minutes later....

Memorial Day is a day for honoring and mourning military personnel who died in service and a day for Americans across the country remember them. At 3 p.m. local time, U.S. residents will observe a minute’s silence for the men and women who died serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Americans have been honoring military members who died in service since the late 1860s, following the Civil War in which ended in spring 1865, but Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971....