ISL’S LONG BREAKS ARE A BIG BLESSING

Just a month after the long international break, from November 8 to 24, the Indian Super League will have another break starting from December 30 for the AFC Asian Cup which begins in Qatar on January 12. Will such breaks affect teams’ rhythm in the ISL? “Such breaks are good because you have more time to practice and more space and time to spend together,” says Ivan Vukomanovic, the head coach of Kerala Blasters. “Players can hang out and create this friendly environment where they come close to each other. And, as a coach, it gives you more time to think and try new things in training sessions.

“Now, in December, due to the Asian Cup there will be more time again to practise and try some other things, of course hoping that some of the injured players will come back. We still have some of them in recovery. That will give us more possibilities and the more time we get, the better.”

The breaks can be a blessing especially in a short league like the ISL. “The league is for a short term and you have a short period before the season to prepare something and then you enter the ISL. What happens often, in a short-term league is, you get one important player injured — and for many foreigners it is not easy to come to India and play, due to climate, weather conditions and all the other possible things — and the season is done for him. Because there is not enough space to recover, it takes six weeks to recover from one muscle injury,” says Vukomanovic who has guided the Blasters to a nice perch in the ISL table this season.

“Now, when the season is longer with these international breaks, it gives time for everybody to improve and the team becomes stronger. They get more time to spend together to become more friendly, to become teammates where actually they will play for each other and fight for each other. “This is important and I hope the ISL will be longer and longer on a long term whether it gets the breaks or not but it will increase the level of the league. I hope that will be the case in future.” Cuadrat chasing good fortune Three seasons in the Indian Super League had been particularly harsh for East Bengal, which has remained a perpetual wooden spooner without ever coming out of the bottom of the league table.

Going into the fourth one under the stewardship of its new gaffer Carles Cuadrat did not seem to change the fortune of the team as it could manage only two wins in seven ISL matches.

Cuadrat’s arrival was hailed by the