Choose your football heroes

The Indian Super League brings foreign footballers to play alongside Indian talent in a two-month-long tournament. Here's what you need to know to pick the team to support

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For a country that finds itself languishing at the 158th position in the FIFA rankings and possesses a domestic league where matches are often played in front of empty stands on barren patches of grass, a bunch of world-class foreign players hitting its shores for a game of football always seemed a distant reality.

The last time it happened was in 2011, when Bayern Munich came to New Delhi to play against the Indian national team in a one-off promotional friendly. The German champions were welcomed by a rapturous home crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. For a major part of 90 minutes that evening, the Bavarians bedazzled the capacity crowd at the stadium and thousands others watching on TV with some sumptuous football. For once, the partisan Indian crowd rooted for the opposition team, urging them to go on and score a few more. Bayern ran out comfortable 4-0 winners in the end. The Indian team, led by Bhaichung Bhutia may have imploded on the pitch, but the fans went back home ecstatic. For one evening perhaps, but they had got a taste of European football - and the opportunity to see the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Mueller live in action.

Three years later, the country's football enthusiasts can look forward to many more such evenings. The Indian Super League (ISL), football's version of the Indian Premier League, is all set to kick off on October 12. Aimed at promoting the sport in the country and putting Indian football on the global map, the league will follow a round robin system featuring eight franchises.

There were serious doubts about the number of quality foreign players the organisers would be able to bring to India, but with names such as Robert Pires, Alessandro Del Piero, Fredrik Ljungberg and Nicolas Anelka on board, ISL can boast of some truly world class players.

With several of them coming out of retirement, and most of them well past their prime, it would be ludicrous to expect these players to perform the way they did in their heyday. But even their presence in the team dressing room, along with their experience, will hugely benefit young Indian players. Moreover, they will get a chance to work with coaches like Brazilian legend Zico, Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi and former England international Peter Reid.

Some of the major problems that have plagued India's rather lustreless football history have been the lack of proper infrastructure and quality coaches as well as the failure to put in place an effective youth system. ISL may change all that. Swanky new stadiums are in place, an opportunity to work with world-class coaches beckons, and franchises have put together a scouting system, which, hopefully, will spot much-needed talent. More than the impact on the pitch, the success of ISL will be determined by its ability to refurbish India's youth system and improve the grass roots level game, two areas that have been woefully neglected by the All India Football Federation for several years now.

When Pires, famously of Arsenal in the English Premier League, landed in India, his first words were: "India needs a start. I'm here to give you that start." The Frenchman's dissection of the lamentable state of Indian football couldn't have been more apt. ISL will give young Indian players the platform to shine, and maybe trigger a football revolution in the country. The major European leagues enjoy a massive fan following in urban India, with Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid all featuring heavily on television sets over the weekends. Now, it's time to translate that passion into popularising the game at the grass roots level. In a sporting season that has seen a sport like kabaddi soar to unthinkable heights, football, already immensely popular, will look to inspire young kids through ISL.

While national team stars like captain Sunil Chhetri, striker Robin Singh and goalkeeper Karanjit Singh will not be playing in the league, the likes of Syed Rahim Nabi, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Nirmal Chettri will have the chance to rub shoulders with some of their heroes. FIFA President Sepp Blatter once described Indian football as "a sleeping giant". Maybe, it's time for the giant to finally wake up. Here's a look at the teams and the players to watch out for during the two-month long league.