'I would just be kind to all my players and if there were ever mistakes, I would find a way to hide it.'
Lucknow Super Giants will don Mohun Bagan's colours when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders during their final league game on Saturday.
Sunil Chhetri stirred up emotions in his final international outing but the Indian football team just could not rise to the occasion as it settled for a goalless draw against Kuwait.
Amid the buzz surrounding what has been termed a game-changer for Indian football, Brazilian legend Zico says the 158-ranked nation's hopes of scaling greater heights in the world sport depends solely on the local players' "mentality" and their "ability" to develop.
Football icon Diego Armando Maradona arrived to a rousing welcome by thousands of frenzied fans who remained awake till past mid night waving Argentina's national flag of white and sky blue for first glimpse of the legend at the city airport here.
National-award winning actor, producer, hotelier, ex-politician, cricket team owner, philanthropist, highest tax payer, reality show judge, animal lover and, above all, people's hero -- Mithun Chakraborty -- who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- is truly a force of nature, notes Sukanya Verma.
The upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be held in the country next month could lead to a massive interest in football if the event gets good exposure in the media, said Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.
'Mission XI Million is the most ambitious football engagement programme to date in India.'
Images: Mohun Bagan get massive reception.
Mohun Bagan and India striker Jeje Lalpekhlua was declared winner of the 'Indian Player of the Year' award by the Football Players Association of India (FPAI) at its annual awards function held at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai. The 25-year-old from Mizoram, who made his international debut in 2012 and came through the junior ranks, received the highest number of votes from fellow professional footballers, beating the challenge from the short list of India captain Sunil Chhetri, Bikash Jairu, David Lalrinmuana and Dhanachandra Singh, to win the coveted award. Jeje, incidentally, was the winner of the FPAI's Junior Indian Footballer of the Year award in 2011, AIFF Emerging Player of the Year award in 2013 and the 2015 Indian Super League Emerging Player of the League award while representing franchise outfit Chennayin FC, the eventual champions, on loan from Bagan.
Last season's Golden Boot winner Marcelo once again proved why he was the biggest threat as he struck a double (13th and 60th minutes) and also assisted two other goals in a fine display of wingplay to bury ATK in front of their home fans.
Football fans in Goa are shaking off their sussegado and becoming an animated, raucous, even belligerent lot.
A man of big games! He may have faced a lot of backlash after a torrid start to the season, but KKR's 'big-bucks' man, proved exactly why he's worth every penny as he put up a match-winning performance to power Kolkata Knight Riders to their third Indian Premier League title.
Sanju Samson, then a skinny 14-year-old, curled on the bed in his hotel room, watched Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum hammering a 73-ball 158 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first-ever IPL match.
East Bengal suffered their third defeat in a row to be on eight points from seven matches.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are likely to play in the Indian Super League from the 2019-20 season, according to officials.
Substitute Arata Izumi rose to the occasion and struck two late goals to lead Atletico de Kolkata to a 3-2 victory over Kerala Blasters in an exciting Indian Super League (ISL) football match in Kochi on Tuesday.
AFC Cup tie moved to neutral venue after Australia denies Myanmar club visas
Shastri reminisced the first day of the IPL.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Having created a buzz with their 1.5 kilometre long floor art during Durga Puja, the fine arts students of West Bengal are all set to create a gorgeous 'Rangoli' keeping Under-17 World Cup theme in mind, during the final, in Kolkata, on October 28.
It's good news for football-crazy fans of the city. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and his teammates will play a FIFA official international friendly against Venezuela at Salt Lake's Yuba Bharati Krirangan on September 2.
'The venue has a very strong football culture and it would be a matter of great shame if we don't manage to fulfil the requirements in time'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The FIFA legends, including World Cup winner Frenchman Marcel Desailly, Colombian great Carlos Valderrama, Spain's Fernando Morientes, Mexican Jorge Campos and Nigerian Emmanuel Amuneke, will roll back the years and turn out for a short match at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
'The PCB will share the report with the ICC and BCCI if the delegation has any concerns.'
Bottom-placed NorthEast United FC struck through a Simao Sabrosa penalty to shock reigning champions Atletico de Kolkata 1-0 in an Indian Super League football match at Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.
The countdown for the city's date with Lionel Messi began as Argentinian footballers including the star strikers Gonzalo Higuan and Sergio Aguero arrived in Kolkata along with 19 members of Venezuela team in different batches for their FIFA International friendly on September 2.
India's biggest football draw -- clash between bitter foes Mohun Bagan and East Bengal -- was on Wednesday called off here after a no-show from the former team in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division. East Bengal had turned up for the match at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium but Mohun Bagan stood firm on their decision as match referee Pranjan Banerjee waited for 30 minutes before calling it off, and declaring the red-and-gold winners.
FIFA is set to shift India's Under-17 World Cup matches from Mumbai to Delhi as the apex soccer body has taken the host government's request 'very seriously'.
Football legend Pele tells defending Indian Super League champions Atletico de Kolkata to always respect the opponent.
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.
Real Kashmir FC face defending champions Chennai City FC in their first I-League home match of the season on Thursday in the first big sporting event in the Kashmir Valley since it became a union territory. The abrogation of Article 370 and the ensuing lockdown in the valley in August had raised security concerns, but Real Kashmir have made elaborate arrangements since then, allaying the fears of the visiting teams.
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano said the group had been looking for years at soccer in India and the Indian Super League (ISL), which is currently in its sixth season.
Soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday said he was surprised by the response of the crazy fans who thronged in thousands to have a glimpse of him as he laid the foundation stone of a football school at Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas district. Blowing kisses in the air and waving to the crowd, the 48-year-old Argentine, dressed in a grey shirt and matching trouser, said he had not anticipated that his two-day visit would evoke such a huge response.
Announcing the window for the 24-team championship, which includes India as hosts, Tournament Director Javier Cepii told a media conference in Mumbai that the D Y Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai is among the four centres, which has been given provisional approval to host matches in the 23-day event.
The draw, Goa's sixth on the trot, helped the Gaurs climb to the third spot on the table.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Former Manchester United and Mumbai City forward, Uruguay's Diego Forlan and La Liga's managing director for India, Jose Antonio Cachaza discussed ways for India to become a footballing powerhouse. Norma Godinho/Rediff.com sat in as the duo discussed Indian football and the Spanish League's new India tie-up.
