Indian Super League 2015: Zico, Carlos, Anelka & The Other Managers

The first edition of the Indian Super League was able to garner the participation of some of the top football players and managers in the World.

While the football players often steal all the limelight, the importance of the managers cannot be stated enough.Iconic football managers such as Zico, Peter Reid, David James, Ricki Herbert, Marco Materazzi and Antonio LA?pez Habas graced the Indian Super League last year. As the Indian Super League moves into its second season, several new names have been added to the managerial roster.Here is a look at all the team managers of the Indian Super League 2015.

David Platt (England) a FC Pune City

Former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder David Platt was appointed as the manager of FC Pune City earlier this year. He has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of the Pune based club, which finished 6^th in last yeara s edition of the Indian Super League. The former England captain has earned 62 caps and scored 27 goals for the senior national team over the course of 7 years.

Platt began his managerial career with Italian club Sampdoria in 1998. His brief stint with the club was disastrous as Sampdoria got relegated after the resignation of Platt barely a few months into the job. Platt took over as a player-manager for English Championship side Nottingham Forest in 1999. After yet another unsuccessful stint with Forest, Platt was appointed as the manager for the England U-21 squad. Platt resigned from the post in 2004 as his team were unable to qualify for the UEFA U-21 European Championships.

Platt last served as the assistant manager of Manchester City under head coach Roberto Mancini up till 2013.

Roberto Carlos (Brazil) a Delhi Dynamos FC

Former Brazilian World Cup winning left-back Roberto Carlos is the new player-manager for the Delhi Dynamos FC. He replaces Dutch International Harm van Veldhoven, who guided the Dynamos to 5th position in the first edition of the Indian Super League. Carlosa first stint in the dugout began in 2012 when he was briefly appointed as the interim manager of Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. In June, 2013, Carlos was appointed as the manager of Turkish Super Lig side SIvasspor. After a disappointing start to his second year in charge with the club, the former Brazilian International resigned from his position in December, 2014.

In January this year, Carlos took over the helm of another little knownTurkish Super Lig club – Akhisar Belediyespor. After a six month stint with Belediyespor, he left Turkey to join Indian Super Leaguea s capital club.

Nicolas Anelka (France) – Mumbai City FC

Former French International Nicolas Anelka was appointed as the player-manager of Mumbai City FC for the 2015 Indian Super League season. Anelka joined Mumbai City FC in the middle of last season as player. However, he failed to make a real impact for the club as they eventually finished in 7th position. Anelka, a seasoned French International, made 69 appearances and scored 14 goals for the national side. At the club level, Anelka has gone on to represent Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbah e and Chelsea amongst a whole bunch of other big clubs.

As a manager however, Anelka has virtually no experience at all. His only managerial stint was with Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua in 2012, which lasted for little over a year.

C sar Far as (Venezuela) – NorthEast United FC

Former Venezuela manager Cesar Farias was snapped up by North east United FC to manage their team for the 2015 Indian Super League season. He will take over former manager Ricki Herbert at the helm of the club. After managing several Venezuelan clubs since he became a professional in 1998, Fariasa real break came in November, 2007, when he was appointed as the head coach of the Venezuelan national team. He took Venezuela to the cusp of World Cup qualification as his side finished 2 points adrift of 5^th place playoff position in the South American qualifiers.

Farias created history 4 year later as he guided Venezuela to their first ever Copa America semi final after defeating Chile 2-1 in the Quarters. North East United FC will be hoping that Cesar Fariasa vast experience of top flight football can help them to improve upon their bottom place finish last year.

Zico (Brazil) – FC Goa

Arthur Antunes Coimbra or a Zicoa is a former Brazilian International player and current manager who has been retained by FC Goa as their manager for the 2^nd edition of the Indian Super League. Known for his immaculate vision, precision passing and excellent free kicks, Zico is considered to be one of the greatest playmakers of all time. He was part of the arguably the greatest Brazilian side of all time that played in the 1982 World Cup but did not win it. At the club level, Zico spent most of his career at Brazilian club Flamengo, making 249 appearances and scoring 135 goals.

.

Having managed a host of national teams (Japan, Iraq) and clubs (Fenerbahce, CSKA Moscow, Olympiakos) all over the world over a period of 16 years, Zico took over the helm at FC Goa last year. Zico took FC Goa into the ISL semi final last year and will be hoping to go two steps further this time around.

Marco Materazzi (Italy) a Chennaiyin FC

Player-manager Marco Materazzi will be in charge of Chennaiyin FC for the second year running after being retained by the club in the summer. Under the astute leadership of Materazzi last season, Chennaiyin FC topped the table at the end of the group stage but were unable to make it to the final of the tournament. A no nonsense, hard tacking centre-back, Materazzi established himself as one of the best defenders in the Italian Serie A while playing with Inter Milan. He made 209 appearances for the Nerazzurri over a span of 10 years, scoring 19 goals in the process.

However, it was with the national team that Materazzi truly made his mark. He was instrumental in Italya s 2006 World Cup win in Germany. In the final, Materazzi equalized for the Azzurri after Zinedine Zidane had given France the lead. In a rather infamous incident that followed, Materazzi was headbutted by Zidane in extra time after he verbally abused the latter. Zidane was subsequently sent off due to the act and Italy took advantage of that shift in momentum to lift the World Cup. His presence as their manager will provide a much needed solidity at the back for the Chennaiyin FC in their pursuit for a maiden ISL crown.

Peter Taylor (England) – Kerala Blasters FC

Former England International winger Peter Taylor was chosen as the successor to David James by Kerala Blasters FC for the new season of the Indian Super League. Taylor, who has 30 years of managerial experience, has been at the helm of several top English clubs such as Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Hull City over the course of his career. He achieved back to back promotions with Hull City from 2003-05, propelling the club from football league one to the Football League Championship. He also took Bright & Hove Albion and Wycombe Wanderers to promotions in 2002 and 2009 respectively.

Taylor played for a whole host of English clubs over his 19 year career as football professional. His spells with Tottenham Hotspurs and Crystal Palace in the 1970s is the definitive highlight of his playing career. Fans of the Kerala Blasters FC fans will be hoping that Taylora s vast managerial experience in English football will help the club improve its ^2nd place league last time around.

Antonio LA?pez Habas (Spain) – Atl tico de Kolkata

Former Sevilla defender Antonio Lopez Habas has been retained by Atletico de Kolkata after he steered them to glory in the first edition of the Indian Super League in 2014. Habas is one of the three foreign managers who have managed to retain their roles at the helm of ISL clubs. After a 10 year playing career, Habas entered management in 1990 when he took over the reserves at Club Atletico de Madrid. After spending two seasons managing clubs in amateur football, the Spanish International took over the reins of the Bolivian national side, first as an assistant and later as a manager.

Habas returned to Spain in 1998 and has since managed several top flight clubs in his native homeland such as Valencia, Sporting Gijon, Celta Vigo, Granada and Tenerife. In a media interview, Habas said, a We are the defending champions and there will be more pressure on us this time.a

Antonio Lopez Habas will be hoping to repeat the heroics of last year and help his club retain the ISL crown.