2015–16 I-League

The 2015–16 I-League was the ninth season of the I-League, the Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season commenced on 9 January 2016, after the Indian Super League finished, and concluded on 24 April 2016.[2]

I-League
Season2015–16
ChampionsBengaluru FC
AFC Champions LeagueBengaluru FC
AFC CupMohun Bagan
Matches played72
Goals scored186 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerRanti Martins (12 goals)
Biggest home winMohun Bagan 5–0 Bengaluru FC
(23 April 2016)
Biggest away winSalgaocar 0–3 Sporting Goa
(23 April 2016)
Highest scoringSporting Goa 5–2 Shillong Lajong
(10 April 2016)
Longest winning run3 games
Bengaluru FC
East Bengal
Longest unbeaten run11 games
Mohun Bagan
Longest winless run10 games
Mumbai
Longest losing run4 games
Salgaocar
Highest attendance62,342
Mohun Bagan 1–1 East Bengal
(23 January 2016)[1]
All statistics correct as of 24 April 2016.

Bengaluru FC won their second I-League title after winning their first title in 2013–14. The defending champions Mohun Bagan finished second. Aizawl and DSK Shivajians entered the league for the first time in their history, Aizawl through promotion from the I-League 2nd Division and DSK Shivajians through a direct-entry spot.

Teams & Season Details

After the 2014–15 I-League season, three-time I-League champions, Dempo, were relegated to the I-League 2nd Division.[3] Mizo club, Aizawl, were promoted from the 2nd Division earlier in May following a 4–2 victory over Chanmari.[4] DSK Shivajians were announced as the direct-entry club for this season on 12 November 2015.[5]

In August 2015, it was first reported that Pune clubs, Pune, and Bharat F.C., the direct-entry side from the previous season, would be withdrawing from the I-League due to the lack of a "long-term vision" for the league.[6] Then, towards the end of October, it was announced that both Pune and Bharat FC had failed to compile to the AFC-licensing criteria needed to participate in the I-League.[7] On 21 November 2015, it was confirmed that Royal Wahingdoh, another debutant club from the previous season, were withdrawing from the league.[8]

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2015–16 I-League teams
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Stadium Capacity
Aizawl Rajiv Gandhi Stadium 20,000
Bengaluru FC Sree Kanteerava Stadium 24,000
DSK Shivajians Balewadi Sports Complex 22,000
East Bengal Salt Lake Stadium 68,000
Kanchenjunga Stadium 35,000
Mohun Bagan Salt Lake Stadium 68,000
Barasat Stadium 22,000
Mumbai Cooperage Ground 5,000
Salgaocar Tilak Maidan Stadium 12,000
Shillong Lajong Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 30,000
Sporting Goa Fatorda Stadium 19,500

Personnel and kits
Team Head coach Captain Kit Sponsor Shirt sponsor
Aizawl Jahar Das David Lalrinmuana Vamos North East Consultancy Services
Bengaluru FC Ashley Westwood Sunil Chhetri Puma JSW
DSK Shivajians Derrick Pereira Aser Pierrick Dipanda Nivia DSK Group
East Bengal Trevor Morgan Gurwinder Singh Shiv Naresh Kingfisher
Mohun Bagan Sanjoy Sen Shilton Paul Shiv Naresh None
Mumbai Khalid Jamil Taisuke Matsugae Nivia Playwin
Salgaocar Santosh Kashyap Karanjit Singh Shiv Naresh Salgaocar
Shillong Lajong Thangboi Singto Aibor Khongjee Adidas Gionee
Sporting Goa Mateus Costa Odafa Onyeka Okolie None Models

Head coaching changes
Team Outgoing head coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming head coach Date of appointment
East Bengal Eelco Schattorie Mutual consent 19 June 2015 Pre-season Biswajit Bhattacharya 19 June 2015[9]
Salgaocar Derrick Pereira 26 June 2015 Malky Thomson 26 June 2015[10]
Aizawl Hmingthana Zadeng 20 August 2015 Manuel Retamero Fraile 20 August 2015[11]
DSK Shivajians New club Derrick Pereira 20 August 2015[12]
Salgaocar Malky Thomson Mutual consent 29 January 2016[13] 9th Santosh Kashyap 29 January 2016[14]
Aizawl Manuel Retamero Fraile Sacked 7 February 2016[15] 7th Jahar Das 7 February 2016[15]
East Bengal Biswajit Bhattacharya Resigned 11 April 2016[16] 3rd Trevor Morgan 13 April 2016[17]

Transfers
Main article: I-League transfers for the 2015–16 season

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to Five per team. A team could use Four foreign players on the field each game.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player
Aizawl Alfred Jaryan Emmanuel Chigozie Joel Sunday Yuta Kinowaki
Bengaluru FC John Johnson Michael Collins Curtis Osano Kim Song-Yong
DSK Shivajians Aser Pierrick Dipanda Douhou Pierre Juan Quero Zohib Islam Amiri
East Bengal Bernard Mendy Ranti Martins Bello Razaq Do Dong-hyun
Mohun Bagan Luciano Sabrosa Sony Norde Cornell Glenn Katsumi Yusa
Mumbai Ryuki Kozawa Eric Brown Son Min-chol Taisuke Matsugae
Salgaocar Éder Monteiro Fernandes Darryl Duffy Martin Scott Calvin Mbarga
Shillong Lajong Fábio Pena Uilliams Penn Orji Yusuke Yamagata
Sporting Goa Loveday Enyinnaya Odafa Onyeka Okolie Densil Theobald Mahmoud Amnah

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Bengaluru FC (C) 16 10 2 4 24 17 +7 32 Qualification to Champions League qualifying play-off
2 Mohun Bagan 16 8 6 2 32 16 +16 30 Qualification to AFC Cup qualifying play-off[lower-alpha 1]
3 East Bengal 16 7 4 5 22 18 +4 25
4 Sporting Goa 16 5 7 4 24 20 +4 22 Withdrew[lower-alpha 2]
5 Mumbai 16 4 7 5 20 19 +1 19
6 Shillong Lajong 16 4 6 6 14 23 −9 18
7 Salgaocar[lower-alpha 3] 16 4 4 8 19 27 −8 16 Withdrew[lower-alpha 2]
8 Aizawl[lower-alpha 4] 16 4 4 8 15 21 −6 16
9 DSK Shivajians[lower-alpha 5] 16 3 6 7 16 25 −9 15
Source: I-League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Mohun Bagan qualified for the 2017 AFC Cup by winning the 2015–16 Federation Cup.
  2. Sporting Goa and Salgaocar withdrew from I-League.[18]
  3. Salgaocar ahead on head to head record with a 1–1 draw and 1–0 win over Aizawl over the two legs.
  4. Aizawl were supposed to be relegated, but reinstated for 2016–17 season.[19]
  5. DSK Shivajians were given relegation immunity for three years.[20]

Result table
Home \ Away AFC BFC DSK KEB MB MUM LAJ SFC SCG
Aizawl — 0–1 2–0 2–3 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–2
Bengaluru FC 1–0 — 4–1 3–1 0–2 1–0 3–0 2–0 1–2
DSK Shivajians 0–1 1–1 — 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–3 3–1
East Bengal 2–0 0–1 1–0 — 2–1 2–2 4–0 2–1 0–0
Mohun Bagan 3–1 5–0 3–3 1–1 — 2–0 1–1 4–2 1–0
Mumbai 2–2 2–0 4–0 0–0 0–0 — 2–1 2–1 2–2
Shillong Lajong 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 — 1–0 1–0
Salgaocar 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–1 1–3 2–2 1–0 — 0–3
Sporting Goa 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–3 1–1 3–2 5–2 1–1 —
Source: Results & Fixtures
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics
As of 24 April 2016[21]

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Ranti Martins East Bengal Shillong Lajong 4–0 9 February 2016 [22]
Darryl Duffy Salgaocar DSK Shivajians 3–2 14 February 2016 [23]
Ranti Martins East Bengal Aizawl 3–2 12 March 2016 [24]

Awards

AIFF Awards

All India Football Federation awarded the following awards for the I-League season.[25]

References
  1. "I-League: Mohun Bagan hold East Bengal to a 1–1 draw in derby". PTI.
  2. "I-League to start on January 9, Goan teams yet to ascertain home grounds". Navhind Times. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  3. "Dempo SC relegated after losing to Salgaocar". The Times of India. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. Jitendran, Nikhil (7 May 2015). "Aizawl FC become Mizoram's inaugural representatives in the I-League". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  5. Jitendran, Nikhil (13 November 2015). "DSK Shivajians will fly the flag for Pune this season". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  6. "I-League clubs Pune, Bharat FC planning to disband first team". The Indian Express. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  7. "Pune FC, Bharat FC fail licensing criteria". The Times of India. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  8. "Royal Wahingdoh FC pull out of I-League, 3rd club to do so this year". IBN Live. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  9. Bera, Kaustav (19 June 2015). "East Bengal announce Biswajit Bhattacharya as Head Coach for the 2015–16 season". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  10. "Malky Thomson takes over as Salgaocar FC head coach". Goal.com. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  11. Menon, Rohit (20 August 2015). "Aizawl FC sign Spanish coach Manuel Retamero Fraile ahead of debut I-League campaign". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  12. "Derrick Pereira confirmed as head coach for DSK Shivajians Football Club". SportsKeeda. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  13. "Salgaocar part ways with Malky Thomson". Goal.com. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  14. "Kashyap takes charge of Salgaocar". The Times of India. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  15. "Aizawl FC part ways with Manuel Retamero, Jahar Das appointed as new head coach". Goal.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  16. "I-League: East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya resigns, search for new coach begins". Goal.com. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  17. "East Bengal appoint Trevor Morgan as head coach, gaffer to arrive in Kolkata by weekend". Goal.com. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  18. "Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa withdraw from I-League". The Indian Express. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  19. Bilgi, Sumedh (26 September 2016). "Aizawl FC reinstated in the I-League". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  20. "DSK Shivajians not guaranteed an ISL Berth". goal.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  21. "Players — I-League". soccerway. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  22. "I-League: East Bengal 4–0 Shillong Lajong: Ranti Martins hat-trick sends Red and Golds top of the table". 9 February 2016.
  23. "Top and Flop: Sporting Clube de Goa 3–2 Mumbai FC". 15 February 2016.
  24. "I-League: Aizawl FC 2–3 East Bengal: Ranti Martins' hat-trick secures victory for stuttering Kolkatans". 12 March 2016.
  25. "Individual awards of Hero I-League 2015–16". AIFF.

See also
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