2014–15 I-League

The 2014–15 I-League (known as the Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 17 January 2015, after the conclusion of the 2014–15 Federation Cup and finished on 31 May 2015 with a title deciding match between defending champions Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan scored a late equalising goal to win the championship by two points. It was to be their first I-League title and fourth Indian championship in total

Teams The official number of teams for the new season will be eleven. After the success of the leagues first direct-entry side, Bengaluru FC, the All India Football Federation held bidding for new teams from 15 May to 2 June 2014 with cities such as Chennai and Ahmedabad in the running. At the same time the federation would review the AFC Club Licensing Criteria and any club which failed to pass the criteria will be banned from entering the league.

On 22 May 2014 the All India Football Federation officially announced that former I-League champions Churchill Brothers, Rangdajied United, and United S.C had been axed from the 2014–15 season for failing to pass the club licensing criteria. Then, in August 2014, it was announced that the AIFF had awarded a direct-entry spot to the Kalyani Group and that they would start a team based in Pune. The team was officially launched in November 2014 as Bharat FC.

In terms of promotion and relegation, Mohammedan were relegated from the I-League the previous season, while Royal Wahingdoh were promoted after winning the 2014 I-League 2nd Division. This would be Wahingdoh's first season in the I-League after remaining unbeaten through the entire 2nd Division campaign.

Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order. Team Stadium Capacity Bengaluru Sree Kanteerava Stadium Bharat Balewadi Sports Complex Dempo Fatorda Stadium East Bengal Salt Lake Stadium Mohun Bagan Salt Lake Stadium Mumbai Cooperage Ground Pune Balewadi Sports Complex Royal Wahingdoh Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Salgaocar Fatorda Stadium Shillong Lajong Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Sporting Goa Fatorda Stadium

Personnel and kits Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Head coach Captain Main Sponsor Eelco Schattorie

Transfers

Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment Mohun Bagan Karim Bencherifa Sacked 29 April 2014 Pre-season Sankarlal Chakraborty 27 July 2014 Pune Mike Snoei Sacked 30 May 2014 Karim Bencherifa 10 June 2014 Royal Wahingdoh Nandakumar Singh Unknown 25 October 2014 Santosh Kashyap 25 October 2014 BharatNew team Stuart Watkiss 4 November 2014 Sporting Goa Óscar Bruzón Mutual Consent 4 December 2014 Mateus Costa Unknown Mohun Bagan Subhash Bhowmick Unknown 8 December 2014 Sanjoy Sen 8 December 2014 East Bengal Armando Colaco Sacked 19 February 20154th Eelco Schattorie19 February 2015 Dempo Arthur Papas Mutual Consent 2 March 2015 8th Trevor Morgan 3 March 2015

Foreign players Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries and a marquee player. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player Bengaluru John Johnson Josh Walker Curtis Osano Sean Rooney Bharat Romuald Boco Bobby Hassell Kris Bright Omar Jarun Dempo Zohib Islam Amiri Carlos Hernández Calum Angus Tolgay Özbey East Bengal Leo Bertos Ranti Martins Dudu Omagbemi Milan Susak Mohun Bagan Pierre Boya Sony Norde Bello Razaq Katsumi Yusa Mumbai Josimar Chika Wali Taisuke Matsugae Pune Luciano Sabrosa Darko Nikač Edgar Marcelino Ryuji Sueoka Royal Wahingdoh Bekay Bewar Loveday Enyinnaya Densill Theobald Kim Seng-yong Salgaocar Douhou Pierre Darryl Duffy Francis Kasonde Khaled Baleid Shillong Lajong Uilliams Penn Orji Cornell Glen Son Min-chol Sporting Goa Odafa Okolie Miguel Garcia Anthony Wolfe Mahmoud Amnah

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Ranti MartinsEast Bengal172 Cornell GlenShillong Lajong163 Sony NordeMohun Bagan9 Dudu OmagbemiEast Bengal5 JosimarMumbai8 Odafe Onyeka OkolieSporting Goa7 Darryl DuffySalgaocar7 Thongkhosiem HaokipPune UilliamsShillong Lajong Katsumi YusaMohun Bagan

Top Indian Scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Thongkhosiem HaokipPune72 Eugeneson LyngdohBengaluru6 Balwant SinghMohun Bagan Robin SinghBengaluru Satiyasen SinghRoyal Wahingdoh6 Jackichand SinghRoyal Wahingdoh5 Thoi SinghBengaluru8 Bikash JairuSalgaocar4

Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref. Thongkhosiem HaokipPuneShillong Lajong5–229 January 2015 Ranti Martins 5East BengalDempo5–11 March 2015 Satiyasen Singh Royal WahingdohSalgaocar4–23 May 2015 Cornell Glen Shillong LajongBharat3–117 May 2015 Odafe Onyeka Okolie Sporting GoaPune4–030 May 2015 Cornell Glen Shillong LajongEast Bengal5–130 May 2015

5 Player scored 5 goals

Discipline Most yellow cards (7) Dharmaraj Ravanan (Bharat) Robin Singh (Bengaluru) Most red cards (2) Dhanpal Ganesh (Pune) Worst disciplinary record (2 red cards & 5 yellow cards) Dhanpal Ganesh (Pune)

Fair play The Fair Play qualities of the participating teams and which are pertinent to the spectators will be evaluated using the FIFA Fair Play evaluation form. East Bengal led the Fair Play rankings at the end of the season.

RankTeamGamesTotal Points East Bengal Royal Wahingdoh Pune Salgaocar Bharat Mumbai Shillong Lajong Bengaluru Dempo10 Mohun Bagan Sporting Goa

Awards

AIFF Awards All India Football Federation awarded the following awards for the I-League season. Best player of I-League: Jackichand Singh (Royal Wahingdoh) Best goalkeeper of I-League: Debjit Majumder (Mohun Bagan) Best defender of I-League: Bello Razaq (Mohun Bagan) Best midfielder of I-League: Eugeneson Lyngdoh (Bengaluru) Best forward of I-League: Ranti Martins (East Bengal) Best coach of I-League: Sanjoy Sen (Mohun Bagan)

2014–15 I-League

Bron en licentie