Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS): Thirty-three European footballers are part of the group of 49 international players to go into the ‘central player draft pool’ for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) to be held here Thursday.
The comprehensive list boasts of experienced footballers and young promising talents from across the world with an average age of 28 years, having played 8197 competitive matches in various leagues globally with an average of 186 appearances per player.
The 49 international players represent countries like Spain (9 players), France (8), Czech Republic (8), Brazil (5), Portugal (5), Colombia (4), South Korea (2), and one each from Argentina, Canada, Serbia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, England, Greece and Cameroon.
Scouting of international players’ for the ISL, which is promoted by IMG-Reliance and Star Sports, was aimed at providing the opportunity for each club to fill in the key positions in their respective team. These international players will form the spine of each team’s line-up and bring in quality to raise the football standard in the country.
“We are thrilled with the calibre of international players who will be participating in the Hero Indian Super League this season. They have the quality, skill, determination and ambition to thrive in India and ensure a great playing product to entertain the fans. These players have committed to play in India given their excitement and belief in the future of Indian football," said Andy Knee, vice-president IMG football.
ISL will have a total of 56 international players, of which 49 will be picked through the international player draft, while the remaining seven were contracted directly by the four clubs.
International Players Pool:-
Striker: Michael Chopra (England), Arnal Llibert Conde Carbó (Spain), Diego Fernando Nadaya (Argentina), Eduardo Silva Lerma (Spain), Iain Hume (Canada), Iván Bolado Palacios (Spain), Luis Alfredo Yánes Padilla (Colombia), Miguel Bruno Pereira Herlein (Portugal), Miroslav Slepicka (Czech Republic), Pedro Adriano Veloso Gusmão (Brazil).
Goalkeepers : André Matos Dias Pereira (Portugal); Apoula Edima Edel Bete (Cameroon); Gennaro Bracigliano (France); Jan Šeda (Czech Republic); Marek Cech (Czech Republic).
Defenders : Andrés Felipe González Ramírez (Colombia), Erwin Spitzner (Brazil), Henrique Dinis Oliveira Dias (Portugal), Ilias Pollalis (Greece), Massamba Lô Sambou (Senegal), Raphael Romey (France), Sylvain Monsoreau (France), Tomáš Josl (Czech Republic), Grégory Arnolin (France), Bernard Mendy (France), Pavel Cmovš (Czech Republic), Youness Bengelloun (France), Johann Letzelter (France), Cédric Hengbart (France), Jairo Andrés Suarez Carvajal (Colombia), José Miguel González Rey (Spain).
Midfielders: Park Kwang-Il (South Korea), Bojan Djordjic (Sweden), Bruno Augusto Pelissari de Lima (Brazil), Cristian Hidalgo González (Spain), Edgar Carvalho Figueira Marcelino (Portugal), Francisco Javier Fernández Luque (Spain), Gustavo Marmentini dos Santos (Brazil), Víctor Herrero Forcada (Spain), Jan Štohanzl (Czech Republic), Omar Andres Rodriguez Martinez (Colombia), Saïdou Mady Panandetiguiri (Burkina Faso), Bruno Herrero Arias (Spain), Bruno Filipe Tavares Pinheiro (Portugal), Guilherme Felipe de Castro (Brazil), Pavel Eliáš (Czech Republic), Jakub Podaný (Czech Republic), Jofre Mateu González (Spain), Do Dong-Hyun (South Korea).