Franchisees in the Indian Super League have been handed the licence to sign players, both foreign and domestic... Read More

MARGAO: Franchisees in the Indian Super League have been handed the licence to sign players, both foreign and domestic, on their own for the next season.

The eight participating franchisees had to select from the IMG-Reliance pool of players for their 14 domestic and eight foreign needs for the inaugural edition.

But for the ensuing season, they can scour the international market and choose according to their own needs. "In the inaugural edition, the franchisees were new to the football set-up.IMG-Reliance signed players on their own and then put it up for the draft where franchisees could make their pick. Now, it's clear that the franchisees have learnt the ropes fast and are ready to make their own signigns," a source told TOI on Friday.

Some of the foreign players picked up from the draft came in for criticism from the franchisees for their fit ness and form after they were forced to make a minimum of seven choices.

This season, most of the coaches had to work with players who they had never heard of, and although coaches like Zico said they had no problem working with unknown players, others were not particularly enamoured by the idea.

"This year, the situation was very challenging," said FC Pune City coach Franco Colomba.

"It's good if the club's are given the choice of selecting their own players. It's better to build a team with the right knowledge of players," said the Italian coach.

When given a choice to sign players of their own, the franchisees made some impressive signings. Mumbai City FC signed Nicolas Anelka and Manuel Freidrich — both with UEFA Champions League experience — as part of their plus five player quota, while FC Pune City had former English Premier League star Jermaine Pennant on their roll. FC Goa convinced Brazilian World Cupper Andre Santos to sign for them on the dotted line while Chennaiyin FC, although belatedly, sprang a major surprise by getting Italian star Alessandro Nesta to don their colours. "Next season, you will see a far better crop of foreign players. The franchisees are flooded with requests from player agents and some of the names that are being talked about are impressive. I am sure, the second edition (of the ISL) will be far better than the first in terms of quality on the field," said one official.

