ONGC I - LEAGUE 2007 - 2008

CLUBS PROFILE| TEAMS PROLFILE| Table,FIXTURE & RESULTS| INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE | PHOTO GALLERY| ALL SCORER ONGC I - LEAGUE 2007 - TEAMS PROFILE DEMPO SPORTS CLUB GOA Defending champions and on paper they are the best in this season as well….Dempo Sports Club were able to retain almost the same team and snatched experienced defender Mahesh Gawli from Mahindra United…. Beto will continue to lead the side and his presence will bolster Dempo’s mid-field…Ranty Martins will spearhead their striking force and Edeh Chidi is an apt partner for Ranty…The dangerous duo are expected to give some tough time for the rival defenders. Dempo had an ordinary outing at the Durand Cup but I-League will be a different ball game altogether and Armando Colaco’s boys will start as the favorite. Goal Keeper : Abhijit Mondal,VP Satish Kumar,Tyson Caiado Defender : Mahesh Gawli,Samir Naik, Dominic Noronha, John Charles Dias, Cressan Antao, Marcus Peixito, Valeriano Rebello,Melwyn Rodrigues Midfielder : Roberto Mendes Silva, Climax Lawrence, Jerry Zirsanga, Riston Rodrigues, Nacimento Silveira, Johnny D'Cruz, Peter Carvalho,Nicolau Borges Forward : Ranty Martins Soleye[C], Anthony Pereira,Joaquim Abranches, Clifton Gonsalves,Chidi Edeh Others : Avdhesh Pal, Pio Rodrigues,Clifford Miranda,Lester Mark Fernandez,Sarvanand Korgaonkar COACH: ARMANDO COLACO JAGAJIT COTTON TEXTILES - PUNJAB The only team from Punjab… JCT Mills are the lone representation from the state from quite some time now and last year they finished second… The winners of inaugural edition of NFL will look to recreate the magic after a decade in the first professional league… Coach Sukhwinder Singh is a seasoned campaigner and is well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of all his oppositions. JCT’s home record is always good and this year they have to perform consistently in away games to win the title. Striker Sunil Chhetri was last year’s find in National Football League… Sunil’s brilliant performance in Nehru Cup helped India to win it for the first time and the Delhi lad is the mainstay of his club side this year… Edeh Chidi’s move to Dempo is a big blow for JCT but the Punjab side has shown in recent tournaments that they have recovered well and ready for I- League. Goal Keeper : Karanjit Singh, Mukhwinderjit Singh, Jaspal Singh, Shivraj Singh, Daljit Singh, Harish Sharma, Taranjit Singh,Pawan Kumar Defender:Jaswinder Singh,Julius Irabor Akpele [C], Anwar Ali, Daljit Singh,Narinder Singh, Baldeep Singh Sr,Gurwinder Singh,Baldeep Singh Jr. Mid Fielder: P Renedy Singh, Rakinderjit Singh, Ram Pal, Yadvinder Singh Bajwa,Amrinder Singh, Palwinder Singh, Baljit Singh Sahni , Gagandeep Singh,Marcos Pereira,Sivraj Singh. Forward :Sunil Chetri,Eduardo Escobar,Sakatar Singh, Asim Hassan,Praveen Kumar COACH: SUKHVINDER SINGH MAHINDRA UNITED - MUMBAI Mahindra United: Winners of 2005-06 season….Mahindra United suffered badly as a number of players left for other clubs….Mahesh Gawli joined Dempo, Sur Kumar Singh signed in favor of East Bengal…Players like Venkatesh and N.S Manju moved to Mohun Bagan….But Mahindra United is still no pushovers and the “Red Devils” of Mumbai have proved this in Federation Cup soccer. Mahindra reached the finals of India’s premiere knock out tournament and lost narrowly to East Bengal. Sandip Nandy and N.P Pradeep could the ones to watch out for….Yusuf Yakubu will be there as well..This Ghanaian striker could prove dangerous for the opposition at any point of time….So overall Mahindra will fight for the title this year as well. Goal Keeper :Sandip Nandy, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Amit Nandi Defender:Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep,Sunil Kumar,Harpreet Singh,Dharamraj Ravanan,Goutam Debnath,N Kali Alaudeen , Justin Stephen , Manas Das, Mid Fielders: Susant Mathew, Steven Dias,Krishnan Nair Ajayan,,Izumi Arata ,Sukhwinder Singh,Noel Fernandes ,Bhola Prasad, Keegan Pereira, Surajit Bose,Manjit Singh,Djidjia Douhou Pierre,Khangemban Thoi Singh Forwards: Craig D'Souza, M Mohammed Rafi, Andrews Pomeyie Mensah, Sushil Kumar Singh, Edson Dico Minga ,Yakubu Yusif, Adnan Rahimtullah COACH: DERRICK PEREIRA CHURCHILL BROTHERS SC - GOA Youth, exuberance and enthusiasm…That’s how you can describe Churchill Brothers…Karim Bencherifa’s boys stunned everyone this season by winning the Durand Cup football in Delhi. Players like Zenith, Chitra Singh and Naoba Singh can be a threat for the other teams…Churchill Brothers will run fast and the young guns are of never say die spirit. The mainstay of the team is Nigerian striker Odafa Okelie…The striker has an awesome goal scoring rate and won the highest scorer’s award last season…Okelie had shown no signs of stopping as he continued to dominate in the Durand by scoring a dozen…Churchill is the dark horse of India’s first professional football league. Goal Keepers :Vinay Singh, Arindam Bhattcharya,Lalit Thapa Defenders : Robert Lalthalma,Thokchom Naoba Singh, Vinu Jose,N Govind Singh,Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh,A.S Firoze,Rowilson Rodrigues, Martin Louis Joseph Daniel, Rowilson Rodrigues Mid Fielders : Mashangva Genius Zenith,Villroy D'Cruz, Chitrasen Chandam Singh,Bernard Pires, D Raju,Reisangmi Vasum,Khemtang Paite,Favoi Vidal Mid Fielders :Odafe Onyeka Okolie,Mboyo Iyomi,Thangjam Saran Singh Others : K Boboi Singh , Gurjinder Singh , Anbalath Suleiman,RC Prakash,Jaison Vales, Sachin Rawat,Shambhu Mistry,N Itocha Singh, Stephen Njon Mbanyam,Bungo Thokchom Singh, Drupesh Dessai, COACH: KARIM BENCHERIFA, Morocco EAST BENGAL FOOTBALL CLUB - KOLKATA : Red and Gold have lifted the NFL title thrice and they are among the title contenders this year as well… The team coached by Subrata Bhattacharya lifted the Federation Cup title this year and filled with a number of good footballers in all positions. Syed Rahim Nabi, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Subrata Paul, Alvito D’Cunha, Ashim Biswas… All are gifted footballers to have in a team. Striker Edmilson has proved himself a goal scoring machine and even in Federation cup final the Brazilian scored the all important winning goal against Mahindra United. After winning the Federation Cup it was a bumpy ride for Subrata Bhattacharya’s team…. East Bengal lost to arch rivals Mohun Bagan on both the occasions when they met at the Kolkata Premiere League and I league could be a testing time for the footballers. Goal Keepers :Subrata Pal,Abhra Mondal, Gopal Das Defenders : Aibor Khongjee,Irungbam Surkumar Singh,Syed Rahim Nabi, Madhab Das, Muttath Suresh, Majekodumni Bolaji, Gurpreet Singh, Soumik Dey, Debabrata Roy Mid Fielders:Alvito D'Cunha, Jayanta Sen, Chandan Das, Dipankar Roy, Hardip Singh Saini, Snehashis Chakroborty,Mehtab Hussain, Mehraj din Wadoo, Forwards:Ashim Biswas, Vimal Pariyar, Edmilson Marques Pardal, Dipendu Biswas,Dipendu Biswas, Mcdonald Mukanci COACH: SUBRATA BHATTCHARJEE SPORTING CLUBE DE GOA - GOA: They started with a lot of promise last year but couldn’t live up to the expectations and finished towards the bottom of the league table. Sporting Club will definitely miss their mercurial striker Dudu Omagbemi this season as the striker opted to play in Europe… A string of young footballers are there in the team… Brahmanand Gaonkar has been appointed as the goal keeping coach of sporting and supporters can witness some high class performance in this department…Sporting Club is very much a capable team to beat any one on their day but a lot will depend on how they start their journey in I-League. Goal Keepers:Luis Xavier Barreto, Felix D'Souza Defenders: Philip Gomes, Chinta Chandrashekar Rao, Mathew Gonsalves, Samananda Singh,Denzil Franco, N Rajesh Meetei,Freddy Mascarenhas, Mid Fielders:Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Wilton Gomes,Joseph Pereira, Cavin Lobo,Bibiano Fernandes, Forwards:Steven Fernandes, Boniface Ngairah Ambani, Terence Tobo, Nicholas Muyoti , Micky Fernandes, Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh, Olushola Ogundare,Elija Junior Coach:Clifford Chukuwama - Nigeria AIR INDIA - MUMBAI : The team with a never say die spirit…. Hardly any professional infrastructure in the club, still the team is delivering every year… Coach Bimal Ghosh is a dedicated soul and does everything to put up a good side. Air India played some brilliant football last year in patches but inconsistency led them to finish at the lower half of the table. This year the airmen have already created sensations in Durand Cup by defeating Dempo Sports club… Winger Paresh Shivalkar and striker Samson Singh could be the spectators delight…Veteran Ghanaian Suley Musah along with Covan Lawreance will be there to provide strength in the defense. Air India could provide trouble for the biggies. TEAMS: Goal Keepers:Raju Ekka,Ec Sarath,Arnab Das Sharma Defenders:Nepoleon Singh,Suley Musah, Nirmal Chetri,Uttam Leishangthem Singh, Santosh Koli, Gautam Debnath, Madhusudan Majumdar, Amritpal Singh,Ravinder Singh Mid Fielders:Sanju Pradhan, Hringsolal Thomte, Kumar Samson Singh, T Surojit Roy, Jiten Rai,L Dhanachandra Singh , Vijith Shetty,Hamza Zaheer Abbas, Paresh Shivalkar,Hirohito Elangbam Forwards:Bashiru Abbas,Singam Subash Singh,Abdul Shamim,Narender Meetei,Njoh Jean, COACH: BIMAL GHOSH MOHUN BAGAN A.C - KOLKATA : Three times winners are loaded with stars and on their day they can defeat any club side in India… Baichung Bhutia and Jose Ramirez Barreto make a deadly combination in the forward line…Mid Fielder Lal Kamal Bhowmik is one of the best on offer in Indian football now… A bunch of talents like Lalam Puia, Dharamjit Singh, Habibur Rehman are there in the side. Their defense in a bit cause of concern but recent championship crown in Kolkata football league had no signs of that. In last few years the team had suffered at times because a number of players were busy at the national duty…It could be a trouble for them this year as well but a team like Bagan are capable to overcome that. TEAMS Goal Keepers:Sangram Mukherjee,Imran Khan,Shilton Pal,Pralay Dutta, Defenders:Sanjeev Kumar Maria,Bijay Basfore, Dharamjit Singh,Subhashish Roy Chowdhury,Peter Odafe,N.S.Manju,Rauf Khan,Peter Siddiqi,Habibir Rahaman Mondol, Mid fielders:Dharamjeet Singh,James Lukram Singh, Lal Kamal Bhowmick, Shanmugam Venkatesh,Anit Kumar Ghosh,D.Mohonraj,Tapan Maity,Douglas Da Silva,Jonathon Bobo Forwards:Baichung Bhutia, Pachau Lalam Puia,Ayan Chowdhury,Jose Ramirez Barreto,Ishfaq Ahmed,Sewram Govin COACH: CARLOS ROBERTO PEREIRA da SILVA, Brazilian SALGAOCAR S.C - GOA : One- time National League winners have made a re-entry into the tier one of Indian football after getting relegated to division two couple of seasons back… Coach Savio Medeira got an offer from East Bengal after they were relegated but the former India and Salgaonkar footballer took a challenge to pull his team back in the NFL…. Salgaonkar have a squad boast of youth and experience…Rocus Lamare could be the man to watch out for…Felix would lead the striking force and Salgaonkar are expected to deliver in the first Pro-league. TEAMS Goal Keepers:Milagrio Madeira,Marcus Basumatari,Navjot Singh Defenders:Nicolau Colaco, Samson Fernandes,Remus Gomes,Peter Costa,Vincent Brice Pires, Agnelo Colaco, William Colaco, TV Biju Kumar,Hery Habiamana Mid fielders: Rocus Lamare,Nicholas Rodrigues,Francis Fernandes,Zico Costa, Francis Andrade,Jerose Oliveira,Shylo Malswam Tulunga,Sachin Gawas, Forwards:Agnelo Barreto, Milagres Gonsalves, Bevan D'Mello,Joe Rodrigues PK Anil Kumar ,Felix Chimaokwu COACH: SAVIO MEDEIRA VIVA KERALA - KERALA : Kerala is making representation at the National Football League a long time….Thanks to Viva Kerala…. They have promoted to I-League from NFL second division last year… The team is a good blend of youth and experience. Othallo Tabia, Sunil Kumar Thakur, Praveen Rawat and PK Anil Kumar could be the players to watch out for. Viva scored 19 goals of 9 matches in second division NFL and proved their scoring abilities. Defense will be a worry for them and that could be visible in Federation Cup.The team is expected to get a huge support from football crazy Kerala. :TEAMS Goal Keepers:S. ARUN , M.V. NELSON T.G. PURUSHOTHAMAN [C], M. SHIJU, Defenders:AKSHAY DAS,Jain P. RAJ,Irungbam KHELEMBA SINGH,K.V.LALU, Othallo TABIA, Shabbas SHALEEL,C. SHINE RAJ,P.C.SHINOJ, George TUTU Mid Fielders:BIMANYU BIMAL BIRUA,Sagolsem JAMES SINGH,Jo Paul Ancheri, P. SAJEESH,Saikhom SANTA SINGH,Sabbarayan SATISH KUMAR,RAJESH, SUNIL KUMAR Thakur, Forwards:BADMUS BABA TUNDE,Wisdom ABBEY,Awudu ADAMA ,D. EBIN ROSE ,Chanambam JOTIN SINGH,O.K. JAVEED, COACH: A.M. SREEDHARAN GO TO MAIN PAGE