The Indian Super League’s clash with the World Cup qualifiers has created a sort of unequal competition, feels Antonio Lopez Habas, the head coach of Atletico de Kolkata.
“Of course, representing the country is the most important thing in football. But now, some teams lose three players, some teams lose one. It’s not good for the competition, it doesn’t make it an equal one,” said the Spaniard.
Defending champion Kolkata, and its ISL rival on Tuesday Kerala Blasters, will lose two players each for India’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Guam but FC Goa will be without four players and Chennaiyin will be giving away three stars including Jeje Lalpekhlua, the league’s first Indian goal-scorer this season, and goalkeeper Karanjit Singh.
Indian striker Sunil Chetri’s return from national duty recently, which brought Mumbai City FC three straight wins, had given a big push to its campaign while other Indian stars, Delhi Dynamos’ forward Robin Singh and FC Pune City’s midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh had played key roles for their teams in the league.