Garcia hopes ISL will put Indian football back on world map

Observing that Indian players have the talent and the passion for football, Atletico de Kolkata's marquee player Luis Garcia Sunday exuded confidence about the Indian Super League (ISL) becoming a catalyst in putting Indian football on the world map.

Interacting with the media on the occasion of introduction of the entire Atletico de Kolkata team, the Spanish attacking midfielder also hoped the ISL would turn out to be the league of young Indian players.

"ISL is the beginning of something that can become very useful for football in India. It will surely make youngsters believe that football is a good sport to play, and who knows maybe in a few years we will see Indian national team like they were in the 1950s qualifying for the World Cup. Probably in the near future we will see Indian players playing in many other countries," the former Barcelona star said.

The 36-year-old had two stints with Atletico Madrid besides plying his trade for premier English club Liverpool, with whom he had his best years winning the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FA Cup. Over the past few years, he has been playing in Mexico and Greece.

"Indian players have the quality, the talent and the passion for football and only the lack of proper training facilities hindered their growth. In Spain, kids take up football at a very young age and start training. In India what is lacking is proper training academies and infrastructure," Garcia said.

Rejecting notions that the onus was on marquee players to make the ISL successful, Garcia contended that spectators would love to see the tournament throwing up young Indian players as idols.

"I don't think that responsibility is more on marquee players, they are in the teams to bring the crowd. It's a team game and the responsibility is on the entire team.

"The ISL has to be a league of Indian players, the most important thing is that young Indian players shine and perform well. Spectators now watch the English and Spanish clubs but what they actually want is to see young Indian players becoming idols and hopefully the ISL will help them in realising that," added Garcia.

Echoing Garcia's views, team co-owner and former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly too hoped the tournament will contribute to Indian football's growth.

"Our main aim is to ensure that football gets better in India and do that we will play good football and help the standard of the game. Kolkata is known for its passion for football and hopefully that passion will be reflected in our game," said Ganguly.

Atletico de Kolkata take on Mumbai City FC in the opening game of the inaugural ISL at the city's Salt Lake Stadium Oct 12.