Mumbai: India football head coach Stephen Constantine believes that the Indian Super League (ISL) is a pool of opportunities for the home players or Indian players as have a lot to learn as well as gain from this tournament. The players will get to play shoulder to shoulder with a lot of knowledgeable international players and train under various notable coaches.
In a discussion about the positive impacts of ISL on Indian football and Indian players with the media, Constantine said, “The positive impact has been the sharing of experience from the foreign recruits, or may I call it the knowledge transfer. So many foreign recruits who have played at much higher levels are coming to India to play in the ISL. They are here to share their experience and do it in a positive manner.”
“It’s now up to the Indian player to grasp as much as possible from them. It is an unique opportunity and one needs to make the most of it. You won’t get such a chance every day,” he further added.
Since 2014 with the launch of the tournament, ISL has never failed to attract international players who have also played in some of the best leagues around the world. Constantine mentioned that the Indian players will get to learn a lot from these well established players coming to India to play for ISL.
Apart from the players, the tournament has been found interesting by a lot of high skilled and quality coaches from around the world who have trained in much bigger leagues than ISL before.
He told the media, “It’s so significant that we have some very good coaches who are coaching in the ISL. A player can improve only when he trains under a quality coach. The ISL is providing the opportunity to the Indian player,”
“I expect them to approach it positively, be inquisitive and learn as much as possible to add expertise and more value to the Indian player and Indian football as a whole. I would expect my players to interact and learn as much as possible. There is no substitute to learning,” He further added.
The third edition of the ISL is scheduled to begin on October 1, 2016 with NorthEast United facing Kerala Blasters in the opening game at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.