A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Former France and Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka will return to Mumbai City FC as the team's marquee player-manager for the second season of the Indian Super League (ISL), the club announced on Friday.
The diminutive batsmen believes that football might one day emulate the national sport of cricket in India.
Table toppers Mumbai City FC qualified for the semi-finals of the Indian Super League for the first time in three seasons after they outclassed defending champions Chennaiyin FC 2-0 in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mumbai scored a goal in each half through Matias Defederico (32nd minute) and Krisztian Vadocz (60th), and should have won by a much bigger margin but for India captain Sunil Chhetri muffing two of the three gilt-edged chances in the last 10 minutes of the game. Mumbai did not start the game at the frenetic pace they set during their 5-0 thrashing of Kerala Blasters at this same ground four days ago, but they clearly had the better of the exchanges with their slick passing upfront.
A stunning goal from Nicolas Anelka helped Mumbai City FC to pip Kerala Blasters 1-0, in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Brazilian striker Gustavo dos Santos struck an injury-time goal as Delhi Dynamos beat defending champions Atletico de Kolkata by a solitary goal in a closely-fought Indian Super League match.
'You have to have a good coach to direct you on the right path.' 'I had Arsene and Pep in my professional career, but I was lucky to have good coaches in my younger days.'
Despite beating Chirag United 1-0 in their season-ending match on Friday, Sporting Clube de Goa finished 13th in the standings and could not avoid relegation to the second division.
Benzema to stand trial in sex tape case, says lawyer.
Mohun Bagan's winless streak stretched to four matches as Sporting Clube de Goa rode on a Boima Karpeh double for a 2-1 win in the I-League at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.
R Malsawntluanga's injury time goal helped Aizawl FC hold Salgaocar to 1-1 draw in a fifth round encounter of the I-League, in Vasco on Sunday.
Shillong's Lajong FC defeated Dempo Sports Club of Goa 2-1 while VIVA Kerala and JCT played a goalless draw in the 31st Federation Cup football tournament in Guwahati on Thursday.
Salgaocar S C scored a fluent 3-0 victory over Mumbai Schools Sports Association on the opening day of the Nike-Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) under-15 India football finals at the Nehru stadium in Margao, Goa, on Monday.
A brace by Nitendra Chandra helped Mahindra United beat Churchill Bros 3-0 on the opening day of the Nike-Manchester United Premier Cup (under-15) South and West Zone football qualifiers at the Nehru stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Wednesday. The other goal was an own goal by Churchill Brothers' Jesel Baretto. In another match, played at the Raia Football ground, Mumbai Schools Sports Association were held to an 1-1 draw by Barca FC.
"In fact, we are in negotiation with stakeholders including ISL franchisees on the issue," Dhar told reporters at the 11th Convocation of Tata Football Academy (TFA) in Jamshedpur.
He spoke to Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi on why ISL could prove to be a much-needed shot in the arm for Indian football and how it attracted him back to India.
Cedric Hengbart scored the fastest goal of the third edition of Indian Super League but that wasn't enough for the Kerala Blasters as they were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Pune City, in Pune, on Monday.
Rangdajied United FC turned in an impressive display but had to settle for a 1-1 draw with defending champions Churchill Brothers in the I-League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Shillong, on Thursday.
Joseph Pereira's goal enabled the Goa team consolidate their position atop the I-League table with 15 points from six matches.
Mahindra United scored a goal in each half to down Vasco in a sixth round match of the ONGC I-League, at the Nehru stadium, Margao, Goa, on Saturday. Mahindra, who led 1-0 at half-time scored through Edeh Chidi (40th minute) and Sushil Kumar Singh (51st). Mahindra have six points from six matches, while Vasco remain at the bottom of the league table with one point.
The accused -- Lemos, his wife Valany and Ryan D'Souza -- were convicted on Sunday by the Dubai Misdemeanours Court in the 515 cases filed against them
A goal on either side of the break powered Real Kashmir to a 2-0 win over Indian Arrows in the I-League, in Margao, on Sunday.
Chennaiyin FC stormed into the final of the Indian Super League football on 4-2 aggregate against defending champions Atletico de Kolkata despite losing the semi-final second leg 1-2.
Poor defending dashed Dempo's hopes of becoming the first Indian club to reach the final of the AFC Cup after they were demolished 1-4 by Lebanon's Safa FC in the return leg semi-final tie to go down 1-5 on aggregate in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The Goan club had lost 0-1 in the first leg in Beirut.
A fortuitous goal from Ogba Kalu ensured full points for Churchill Brothers and a place in the semi-finals of the Osian's 121st Durand Cup as the Goa side beat Army XI 1-0 at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.
A summary of the second day's play in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
The ace Indian striker has been granted an International Transfer Certificate to play in Malaysia.
Delhi Dynamos edged past Chennaiyin FC by a solitary goal in a close-fought match to register their first victory in the second season of Indian Super League in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Canadian striker Iain Hume proved his worth once again as he scored a last minute goal to help Atletico de Kolkata hold NorthEast United FC to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League match, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
The Indian Super League trophy will go to the traditional home of Indian football as Atletico de Kolkata edged past Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the final.
"We do not mind Yakubu moving over to another club, but the transfer fee has to be settled", Churchill Bros manager Denzil Ferrao said.
Kushal Das feels their model could be used as a case study for institutions and international sports federations which have seen their bio-bubble being breached
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, Indian football's traditional outfits, decided to "withdraw" from the forthcoming season of the I-League over the All India Football Federation's decision to restructure the domestic league system.
Indian cricket's Test captain Virat Kohli has congratulated the national football team and lavished praise on skipper Sunil Chhetri for leading the side to a record seventh SAFF Cup triumph. India exacted sweet revenge of their last edition defeat as they beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 in the summit clash in a dominating display to lift the South Asian Football Federation Cup in Thiruvananthapuram last night.
Inspired by the presence of Brazilian great Pele, defending champions Atletico de Kolkata climbed to the top of the table with a 2-1 win over last year's runners-up Kerala Blasters in their first home match of the Indian Super League.
With India gearing up to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he sees the "outset of a footballing atmosphere" in the country that longs to one day compete in the sport's showpiece event.
The Indian Super League (ISL) said on Friday it is looking into allegation that former France midfielder Robert Pires was punched in the face by an opposition coach during a halftime altercation in Thursday's match in Goa.
They topped their respective groups after beating Dempo and Vasco respectively in the Durand Cup.
Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil looks back on his playing days and the challenge of coaching.
