THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
Indian Super League is acting as the guiding light for home grown footballers and aiding them in taking giant strides towards improving as professionals and subsequently helping them to evolve into skillful footballers, stated Chennaiyin FC midfielder Godwin Franco.
"The experience of playing in the ISL has been completely different than playing other Indian tournaments like the I-League and the Federation Cup. Here everything is organized and conducted in a systematic way," Franco told .
"I always wanted to play abroad to improve myself as a professional, but the ISL has given me the opportunity to realise it. Admitting the gulf between the ability of Indian footballers and the hired foreigners is starkly contrasting in the ISL, he said the biggest disparity that is visible to all eyes is in the difference in basic techniques of players.
The foreign stars who are playing in the league have all undergone sound training to develop basic technique of ball trapping, shooting, passing and movement in their formative years.They have all come up through the academies of their home club or countries.Something we Indians lack in," Godwin said, adding that the advent of ISL has increased the awareness in the deficiencies that plague the most popular sport of the world in the second most populous country of the world.
The Royal Wahingdoh FC midfielder said that the ISL is giving them an opportunity to learn at a ripe age what they didn't get in their tender age. "The primary techinques of foreigners is so impressive. I am trying to learn a much as I can from them during the training session.They are very helpful in showing us the correct way of things," Godwin, who is managed by former Itallian legend Materezi, said.
"I was able to learn a lot after joining last year's runners-up Kerala Blasters. That was a new experience as playing alongside greats like David James and Micheal Chopra was a revelation," reminisced Gowdin who featured in the playing XI and had impressed his fans.
