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Mumbai Warriors retained the Indian Premier Futsal League title after beating Delhi Dragons 6-3 in 2017's final at Al Wasl Indoor Stadium in Dubai on Sunday.
Despite the presence of captain Ryan Giggs, Lucas Francini was the star man as he bagged a hat-trick for the Warriors, while Carlos Gonzalves also chipped in with a brace. Ronaldinho scored for the Dragons, as did Ismail Hamdaoui (twice), but a Diego Costa own goal proved costly for the beaten finalists.
There were just five minutes left when Costa's own goal gave the Warriors an early lead. Typically, Delhi's response came from the magic feet of Ronaldinho, with the 37-year-old Brazilian's shot saved shortly after the restart.
Costa tried to make amends towards the end of the first period, but a stubborn Mumbai defence blocked his powerful drive. Things got worse for the Dragons at the start of the second quarter, when Francini's brace stretched the Warriors' advantage.
Highlights of the Argentinian's second were relayed on the team's official Twitter account:
Hamdaoui offered the Dragons' first response, but the Warriors were still in firm control as the half-time break approached.
It was imperative the Dragons got the next goal and it came when Ronaldinho netted from close range early in the third quarter. Costa and Hamdaoui both went close early in the final quarter, as the Warriors clung on to their slender lead.
Ronaldinho was the next to drag a shot off target while Delhi desperately sought some inspiration. However, it was Francini who produced the magic, completing his hat-trick with a deft chip to put the Warriors on the brink of retaining the title.
Gonzalves helped wrapped things up with a brace, with Hamdaoui's second sandwiched in between.
Gonzalves' first goal came at the end of a slick passing move, one applauded on the Warriors' official Twitter account:
Ultimately, Mumbai had too much firepower and know-how for the Dragons, although Ronaldinho and Co.'s efforts were saluted on the team's official Twitter account:
Like Giggs, the Brazilian has done his bit to light up what has been a hugely entertaining tournament. This format is sure to grow in popularity.
Delhi Dragons will face the Mumbai Warriors in the final of this season's Indian Premier Futsal League after defeating respective semi-final opponents Bengaluru Royals and Telugu Tigers in their second-leg meetings on Saturday.
Ronaldinho led the Dragons to a proud 8-4 triumph over Bengaluru and scored a hat-trick of goals to complement his side's late surge, overpowering the Royals, who were led by Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.
But one Red Devils icon will feature in the final after Ryan Giggs' Warriors bested Telugu Tigers 4-1 to make it into the competition's curtain call.
Unlike Ronaldinho and former team-mate Scholes, Giggs failed to get on the scoresheet in his semi-final second leg, although neither could Telugu's star man, Deco, as the Tigers fell out at the penultimate hurdle.
The second Indian Premier Futsal League final will take place on Sunday at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium in Dubai, with Ronaldinho and Giggs set to meet in a clash of vintage football icons.
Saturday's Second-Leg Results (Aggregate)
Delhi Dragons 8-4 Bengaluru Royals (12-8)
Telugu Tigers 1-4 Mumbai Warriors (6-8)
The futsal drama continued in Dubai on Saturday as the four remaining teams made their last efforts to reach Sunday's final, having seen out two extremely tight first-leg matchups on Friday evening.
Saturday's first second-leg matchup began in similar fashion, and the Dragons trailed 2-1 at the halfway mark, with marquee names Ronaldinho and Scholes each on the scoresheet for their respective teams.
But Delhi came out a different team after the break and blitzed Bengaluru 3-1 in the third quarter, with Ronaldinho tricking his way to a second strike and Nicolas Rolon scoring on the whistle to give the Dragons a lead for the first time heading into the final 10 minutes.
The tortoise ended up winning the race, too, as despite their slow start, Delhi again won the fourth quarter 3-1, with Ronaldinho, Ismail Hamdaoui and goalkeeper Franco Starna helping complete an 8-4 revival rout:
Telugu and Mumbai were also separated by the finest of margins early on in their evening encounter, where Mauro Canal and Rico Zulkarnain provided the goals for their respective teams to draw 1-1 at half-time.
But it was at this point that the Warriors found a more vicious streak and rained down three second-half goals without response to reach their second successive Indian Premier Futsal League final:
Former United marvel Giggs was the man who led Mumbai to the inaugural title last year and appears to be having the same boosting effect in 2017, with Ronaldinho's Dragons standing in his side's way.
Both veterans have had a significant impact in helping guide their respective outfits to the decider in Dubai, and they are poised to collide on Sunday as Giggs attempts to win back-to-back crowns and maintain his perfect record in the competition.
It was goals galore in the 2017 Indian Premier Futsal League qualifiers in Dubai on Tuesday, as Mumbai Warriors beat Chennai Singhams 10-7 before Bengaluru Royals drew with Kerala Cobras in a 6-6 thriller.
Ryan Giggs and Hernan Crespo were on target for the Warriors and Singhams, respectively, while Michel Salgado's goal wasn't enough to help the Cobras outscore the Royals.
Results and standings available per the tournament's official website.
The day began with Giggs and the Warriors getting one over on Crespo and Chennai. Crespo scored but couldn't sufficiently inspire the Singhams to overcome last year's champions.
Instead, Giggs found the net, as did Tairong Petchtiam and Kurniawan Yulianto. Crespo scored in the third period, in between a brace from Lucas Francini for Mumbai.
Goals from Angel Claudino, Maico Monteiro and Hamad added some respectability to the overall scoreline but provided scant consolation for Chennai.
By contrast, the Warriors went through the gears as this match progressed and looked a good bet to contest the semi-final stage and take a step closer to defending their crown.
Bengaluru pivot Jonathan Silva helped himself to four goals as the Royals staged a comeback from two goals down. It was left to Paul Scholes to pull the strings as the Royals wrestled back control from Salgado and Co.
Petterson Medeiros also proved a threat for the Royals, netting twice as part of a thrilling finish. The Cobras couldn't answer, despite goals from Salgado and Raphael Mathias.
Ton Phi restored the Cobras' lead before three more goals saw the match end tied. The prolific double act of Silva and Medeiros both scored late on confirm the stalemate and spoil the night for Mathias, who scored four times for Kerala.
Mumbai will now meet Kerala, while Chennai face Bengaluru on Wednesday. Those fixtures will bring the round-robin playoff format to a close and determine which two teams join the Delhi Dragons and Telugu Tigers in the semi-finals.
Ronaldinho continued his fine play for Delhi Dragons in the 2017 Indian Premier Futsal League on Thursday, scoring twice in a 6-4 win over Kerala Cobras.
Ryan Giggs also got on the scoresheet, but his Mumbai Warriors couldn't get past Telugu Tigers, losing 5-3.
For full scores, standings and the schedule, visit the Premier Futsal's official website.
Recap
Delhi continued their fine run in the first match of the evening, a 6-4 win over Kerala that gave Dragons their third win in four tries.
Star forward Ronaldinho contributed two goals to the win, and per the event's official Twitter account, he has scored in all of Delhi's contests:
Ismail Hamdaoui and Henrique Catarino broke open the match in the second period, giving their team a two-goal advantage Kerala would never bridge. Ton Phi, Michel Salgado and Daniel Ibanes gave Cobras some faint hope, but Ronaldinho's second strike put the final score on the board.
In the second match of the night, Telugu took a quick two-goal lead through Anupam Vishwakarma and Peerapat Kaewwilai, but Rico Zulkarnain pulled one back for Mumbai with a fantastic goal.
The third period was a close affair, and Giggs went close to tying things up, but Mauro Canal restored the two-goal advantage for Telugu, instead.
A late rally from Mumbai saw Giggs net an equaliser, but Peerapat and Anupam both found the target again to hand Telugu three points.
Ronaldinho scored twice as he helped the Delhi Dragons beat Hernan Crespo's Chennai Singhams 4-2 in the 2017 Indian Premier Futsal League on Sunday.
In the day's later kick-off in Mumbai, the Mumbai Warriors beat the Kerala Cobras 6-4 after a dramatic flurry of late goals.
The complete standings can be found at the Premier Futsal's official website.
Recap
Ronaldinho, who bagged a four-goal haul on Friday in the Dragons' opening match, got on the scoresheet within a minute as he gave his side the early lead, though Crespo hit back just two minutes later to level proceedings.
The two sides traded blows in the early stages, with Henrique Catarino coming close to putting Delhi back in front:
Angel Claudino's 14th-minute strike sent Chennai ahead before half-time, but three goals in six second-half minutes ensured the Dragons had picked up two wins from two.
Nicolas Rolon and Diego Costa (not the Chelsea striker) scored either side of a second from Ronaldinho. Premier Futsal hailed the Brazilian's contribution as he fired them in front again:
In the later match, the Kerala Cobras broke the deadlock after just two minutes thanks to Raphael Mathias.
Two minutes into the second half he brought the scores back to 2-2 after Daniel Cabezon's own goal and Rico Zulkarnian's strike had swung the match back in the Warriors' favour, while orange cards for Michel Salgado and Tairong Petchtiam hinted at the physical nature of the contest.
The scores remained even heading into the final quarter, but an own goal from Vatsal Bhatia and Raphael's hat-trick strike in the space of a minute put the Cobras ahead.
However, a remarkable comeback saw Mumbai rattle off four goals in the final six minutes, including Rico's second and an own goal from Salgado.
So after months of admin, red tape, tears and sweat, Galveston Pirates have finally got their man!
Young Indian midfielder Pratik Shinde finally had his visa to the U.S. approved last week, with the player heading to Houston on Wednesday September 18th to join up with his teammates and sponsor for his visit to Texas.
Despite a positive outcome, the youngster has had a roller coaster ride with the highs of initially gaining himself a dream move and professional playing contract in Texas to the lows of being turned down by the U.S. consulate for a visa. However, late last week his appeal was heard and thanks to Galveston Pirate coach and general manager Brendan Keyes, who will be housing and supporting the youngster financially in his time in the Southern State, the appeal ended well with his visa being stamped, allowing him to enter the U.S. to complete his dream move.
When the initial news broke back at the early part of this year that Pratik had signed, news broadcasters in his home country went into overdrive as the player aged just 15 had become the youngest Indian player to sign for a foreign club.
Pratik started playing football in the slums of Mumbai and is a world away from the golden streets of Galveston that he's arriving to, but he will be in the good hands of Pirate coach Brendan Keyes who himself is no stranger to moving country.
Brendan is Irish by birth and moved to the U.S. to play in the NASL before there was a MLS, so knows well what is required to live in a new town and new country.
It's a story that will be heard for some time to come and perhaps has raised the expectation on the player before he arrives, but Keyes knows what he's doing as his coaching certificates will tell you, so expect something special from the youngster.
I am sure Pratik will ease himself into the Galveston society gently and amongst a young Pirate side, he will blend well with the current players.
We wish him well for the future and we will be watching closely as his American journey begins.
Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Bleacher Report as well as Not Just Scottish Football and youth development reporter for Ayr United Football Academy. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated. This article can also be found here.
If footballers, dancing, and reality TV seems like a bad combination to begin with, matters have taken a turn for the worse in India after the national captain, Bhaichung Bhutia, was accused by his own club of being more keen to participate in a television dance show than playing in the I-League.
In response, Bhaichung Bhutia has demanded to be immediately released from his club, Mohun Bagan.
India’s version of Dancing with the Stars, “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa", asked the country’s most popular footballer Bhutia to appear on the show, and according to most reports Bhutia’s life on the show was expected to be short-lived.
With that being the case, Mohun Bagan agreed to release their star-forward, only for Bhutia to shock the nation and progress further than anyone had predicted.
Cue the scandal.
Despite the I-League ending back in April, Mohun Bagan had arranged a series of friendlies in the offseason. But, due to Bhutia’s television commitments, the 32-year-old forward was forced to miss an exhibition match last week.
This appears to have been the final straw for Mohun, who made public a letter which they sent to Bhutia accusing the striker of lacking commitment.
Not taking the issue lying down, Bhutia responded angrily in the press, saying “I no longer have any desire to play for Mohun Bagan after all that has happened. It is good, both for me and the club, to part ways in a peaceful way. After playing for 17-18 years, I don’t need to prove my commitment. From day one, the club was aware of my schedules for the dance programme. I am extremely disappointed with this attempt to make me the scapegoat… I have been humiliated and now I feel no urge to play for the green and maroons.”
Bhutia is regarded as the player who can inspire India in the 2011 Asian Cup, having scored an impressive 41 goals in 58 appearances for his country.
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Fully decked out in his football strip, footage of Bhaichung Bhutia showing off his dance moves can be seen here.
Air-India, Churchill Bros, Dempo, East Bengal, JCT, Mahindra United, Mohammedan Sporting, Mohun Bagan, Sporting Clube de Goa, Mumbai, Chirag United, and Vasco.
If anyone were to ask any Indian (Asian nation) as to what these names are I doubt most would know. These are the names of the football clubs in India's Football League, which is better known as I-League.
Fact is even I am not so aware of this league. Most of the time, football in India means the World Cup or the famous leagues like La Liga, Serie A, and yes the EPL. Then there is the national cricket team and the IPL.
The thing is these teams do not actually represent any state or district. At least the vast majority of them are teams financed by companies. This model is very similar to that followed in Japan. Some of the players continue to work for the companies after their retirement.
They have a steady income and get to play football. Many Indians including me keep talking about the nations we support in the world arena of soccer. Do we actually support football in our own nation?
I could actually state some of the political factors that hamper India's progress as a footballing nation but then that would be an endless debate. The I-League was started in 2007-08. It had replaced the National Football League which was on for at least 11 seasons.
A lot has been done to promote football in India and the I-League is the latest initiative. India's rankings in world football may be a joke to Indians themselves but we need to make a start somewhere. I wish and believe that slowly and steadily more people will start following the I-League seriously.
The above picture is that of the 2008-09 I-League finals fought between Mohammedan Sporting and Churchill Bros where the latter won 6-2. The very reason I write this is because sports articles in Indian sports sections are covering the IPL. In some corner you get to see the I-League.
It is high time. The I-League increases its visibility and scope so that it becomes a huge affair and not just another sport relinquished by a minority of the vast population.
When you might have asked someone in India about football a decade ago, they might have immediately uttered the name, "Baichung Bhutia" or might have simply not said a thing.
How things can change over time.
Today, the English Premier League is watched in thousands of homes every weekend, and football has now become the equivalent of a "Cesc Fabregas" or a "Cristiano Ronaldo" in India.
However as an Indian football fan, this can be good and bad. Good, because the youngsters are actually taking an interest in the game and bad, because the youngsters are following primarily the foreign leagues and players.
Bob Houghton's tenure as coach of the Indian national team has been positive by and large—India have qualified for the Asian Cup in 2011, which could give every Indian player an opportunity to impress clubs like Al-Ahli and Jeonbuk Motors mainly because of the modification of a rule by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The change means that in every league, each team can field upto four foreign players and one of those must be an Asian. This modification has given a massive opportunity for the likes of Sunil Chettri, Steven Dias, and N.P. Pradeep to move to other Asian clubs and ply their trade, thereby gaining a lot more experience and help India progress in the future.
Over the past couple of years, the likes of Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers have tried to set up links with clubs in India, with Manchester United also keen to set up such links.
But Baichung Bhutia, who has had spells with Bury in England and Perak in Malaysia, feels that these tie-ups might not necessarily have a positive effect on Indian football:
"Teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have been regularly going to Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore for the past 10 years. There is nothing new in it. Their presence did not help football (there) in any way there." Bhaichung said.
"India has to be very careful in dealing with them," the Mohun Bagan striker warned.
"People working on the Indian side in these joint ventures will have to be careful. We must see to it that we don’t lose out in the process. Their (foreign clubs’) marketing strategy is always very sharp," Bhaichung added.
"These tie-ups should help our football as well, it should be a win-win situation,” he concluded.
Bhutia does have a point—India can be seen as a lucrative market to attract viewers, but the fact is that football has to be brought into the equation at some time. Top clubs cannot take Indian clubs for a ride, and joint ventures should be mutually beneficial.
Having said that, Barcelona have set up a training facility in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Joan Laporta visited Barcelona FC's Bathlapalli academy in the Ananthpur district.
This training facility currently operates with a 100 children, aged between 6 and 16 years. It also includes two classrooms, a computer labratory, two dressing rooms for the children, a staff room, restrooms and a store.
For a centre which was only inaugurated in February 2008, this is very good progress indeed.
Laporta told reporters that he was pleased about the progress of Barcelona's social initiatives and even said that he would be happy if the children currently in the training centre could go on to represent Barcelona in the future:
"It's our contribution to the social integration of some of the most disadvantaged children. We aim to provide education in computer science, English and mathematics. We also provide sports training and nutrition. We're using football as a tool to better the lives of the less fortunate. If there's a very talented child here then we'll help him or her in every way we can," said Laporta.
The main reason for Laporta's trip was to lay the foundation stone for a second such training academy in Atmakur, which could hold up to 100 children when it is operational.
With such foreign collaborations bearing fruit in India, it is difficult to see how scouts will not find any talented players in the future. Former French international, Vikash Dhorasoo is also going to start a FIFA initiative to improve football in India - and that can only mean good things for Indian football.
Indian football is certainly on the rise, and with foreign clubs teaming up with clubs in India or starting social initiative programs, things can only go onwards and upwards for India after having qualified for the Asia Cup in 2011.
