To the few uninitiated, Alessandro Del Piero, garlanded with marigold, was mistaken for a Hollywood star before football aficionados sent across the message that the biggest attraction of the inaugural Indian Super League had just landed in New Delhi.
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In an exclusive chat, Del Piero tells Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi of his urge to entertain fans and his interest in understanding India and its culture.
Hertha Berlin's Salomon Kalou scored twice, including a stoppage-time penalty, to earn a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Delhi Dynamos dominated the proceedings but yet again played out a draw in a 1-1 result against FC Pune City in a familiar show of their strikers missing chances galore in the Indian Super League football match in New Delhi on Thursday.
FC Goa came from behind to hold North East United to a 1-1 draw in the 12th round encounter of the Indian Super League.
Mohun Bagan, East Bengal blast AIFF after Goan clubs quit I-League
Defending champions Chennaiyin FC broke their Guwahati jinks with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over NorthEast United FC in an absorbing Hero Indian Super League clash at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, in Guwahati, on Thursday.
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Mumbai City FC edged out defending champions Atletico de Kolkata 3-2 in their concluding round match of the Indian Super League on Friday.
Italian legend Alessandro del Piero scored his first goal at the fag end of the tournament via a superb free-kick as Delhi Dynamos rallied from two goal down to hold leaders Chennaiyin FC 2-2 in a thrilling Indian Super League football match on Tuesday.
Defender Anas Edathodika and midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh emerged as costliest picks for an identical Rs 1.1 crore by new outfit Jamshedpur FC and two-time champions ATK respectively in the Indian Super League domestic players draft in Mumbai on Sunday.
Richarlyson Felisbino struck the only goal of the game as FC Goa breathed new life into their Hero Indian Super League campaign with a gritty 1-0 victory over Mumbai City FC at Mumbai Football Arena, in Mumbai, on Friday.
The Indian football team has re-entered the top-100 of the FIFA world rankings and is now placed at 99th at the latest chart released on Thursday.
2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan struck a brilliant hat-trick, the first of the season, to power Mumbai City FC to the top of the Indian Super League table with a 5-0 demolition of Kerala Blasters in Mumbai on Saturday.
Legendary Sachin Tendulkar feels that Indian Super League has begun on the right note and the 'fantastic start' on Sunday would be a huge boost towards changing the face of the game in the country.
Iain Hume's 23rd minute goal proved the decisive winner as Kerala Blasters beat Pune City FC to book a semi-final spot in the Hero Indian Super League.
Minerva Punjab did not turn up for the first match of the qualification round, prompting the national federation to describe it as a 'crazy' and 'unacceptable' move.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
India football captain Sunil Chhetri capped a superb display with a fine hat-trick to orchestrate Mumbai City FC's 5-1 rout of North East United FC in the Indian Super League at the D Y Patil Stadium.
Bollywood star Salman Khan used micro-blogging site Twitter to deny reports of him investing in Indian Super League team FC Pune City. The actor, who was believed to be the co-owner of the Pune franchise, posted: "I do not own any ISL team. My friends Dheeraj & Kapil Wadhawan had asked me to be their partner in FC Pune City.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Atletico de Kolkata's erratic run in away games continued as a spirited Pune City FC held them to a 1-1 draw in an 11th round encounter of the Indian Super League, in Pune, on Saturday.
Actor John Abraham, co-owner of Northeast United FC, is confident that the club would give a tough fight to other teams at the upcoming Indian Super League.
Mumbai City FC and FC Goa played out an action-packed goalless draw in the Hero Indian Super League clash after both the teams failed to score on many occasions at the D Y Patil Stadium on Monday.
Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg and Spanish World Cupper Luis Garcia will be the centre of attention when Mumbai City FC kick off the inaugural Indian Super League football tournament on October 12 at Atletico de Kolkata, in a tournament that will feature 61 games spread across 70 days.
Former Italy great Alessandro Del Piero will play for the Delhi franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL) and will also be the competition's brand ambassador, the ex-Juventus player has said.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the best sporting action from the week gone by.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
FC Goa got their act together after a couple of winless outings as they handed Delhi Dynamos an embarrassing 4-1 defeat, riding on Youness Bengelloun's twin strikes in an Indian Super League encounter in New Delhi.
Chennaiyin FC marquee player Elano Blumer and John Mendoza fired two goals each to steamroll a hapless Mumbai FC 5-1 and bounce back from their previous match defeat in the Hero Indian Super League on Tuesday.
The glittering trophy, which will be awarded to the winner of the Indian Super League, was unveiled by chairperson of IMG-Reliance, Nita Ambani, in the presence of icon players Alessandro Del Piero and Fredrik Ljungberg among others.
Ambani's holding group launched the Indian Super League, an elite competition of newly created teams, in 2014 with the aim of attracting investment and big global names, much like the Indian Premier League has in cricket. 'It was 100% a wasted opportunity'.
FC Goa secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over FC Pune City to climb up from the bottom of the Indian Super League points table in Pune on Thursday. FC Goa were in danger of exiting the league early this season but coach Zico masterminded his first win over a team coached by Antonio Habas as Brazilian striker Rafael Coelho scored the all-important goal from a free-kick in the 32nd minute at Balewadi Sports Complex Stadium here. The win helped FC Goa move to the seventh spot with seven points from eight matches while FC Pune City are now at the bottom with six points from seven matches.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Chennaiyin FC stand in the way as Bengaluru FC, the model club of Indian football, seek a triumphant conclusion to what has been a remarkable maiden campaign in the Indian Super League, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Dhoni on Monday became the co-owner of Chennaiyin FC, one of the eight franchise of Indian Super League.
Minerva Punjab FC will take on Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC on April 2 in the inaugural Super Cup football tournament which begins in Bhubaneswar on March 31.
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