2018–19 I-League

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I-League
Season2018–19
ChampionsChennai City
1st I-League title
1st Indian title[1]
RelegatedShillong Lajong
AFC Champions LeagueChennai City
Matches played109
Goals scored303 (2.78 per match)
Top goalscorerPedro Manzi
Willis Plaza
(21 goals)
Biggest home winReal Kashmir 6–1 Shillong Lajong
(11 December 2018) Chennai City 6–1 Shillong Lajong
(29 December 2018)
East Bengal 5-0 Shillong Lajong
(14 February 2019)
Biggest away winMohun Bagan 0–3 Churchill Brothers
(25 November 2018) Shillong Lajong 0–3 Indian Arrows
(13 January 2019)
Highest scoringReal Kashmir 6–1 Shillong Lajong
(11 December 2018) Chennai City 6–1 Shillong Lajong
(29 December 2018) Chennai City 4–3 Aizawl
(18 January 2019)
Longest winning runChennai City, East Bengal
(4 games)
Longest unbeaten runReal Kashmir (13 games)
Longest winless runShillong Lajong (11 games)
Longest losing runShillong Lajong (5 games)
Highest attendance64,867
East Bengal 3–2 Mohun Bagan
(16 December 2018)
Lowest attendance100
Indian Arrows 0–2 Chennai City
(8 February 2019)
Total attendance1,114,349
Average attendance10,223
All statistics correct as of 9 March 2019.

The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019.[2] Unlike the Indian Super League, the I-League did not take a mid-season break during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[2]

Minerva Punjab was the defending champions having won the previous season. Real Kashmir joined as a promoted club from the I-League 2nd Division. Churchill Brothers, having been relegated the previous season, were given an exemption by the All India Football Federation for this season.

Chennai City FC were the champions for this season, winning the title on the last day.[3] This was their first title win in the history of the club. The top scorer in the league was Chennai City FC's Pedro Manzi, who finished the season with 21 goals.[4]

Teams[edit]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the I-League clubs


Stadiums and locations[edit]

Team City/State Stadium Capacity
Aizawl Aizawl, Mizoram Rajiv Gandhi Stadium 25,000
Chennai City Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 35,000
Churchill Brothers Vasco da Gama, Goa Tilak Maidan Stadium 15,000
East Bengal Kolkata, West Bengal Salt Lake Stadium 85,000
Gokulam Kerala Kozhikode, Kerala EMS Stadium 80,000
Indian Arrows Cuttack, Odisha
Bhubaneswar, Odisha 		Barabati Stadium
Kalinga Stadium 		60,000
30,000
Minerva Punjab Panchkula, Chandigarh Tau Devi Lal Stadium 15,000
Mohun Bagan Kolkata, West Bengal Salt Lake Stadium 85,000
NEROCA Imphal, Manipur Khuman Lampak Main Stadium 40,000
Real Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000
Shillong Lajong Shillong, Meghalaya Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 35,000

Personnel and sponsorship[edit]

Team Head coach Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Aizawl India Stanley Rozario Vamos NECS Limited
Chennai City Singapore Akbar Nawas Penalty Nippon Paint
Churchill Brothers Romania Petre Gigiu Nivia Churchill Group
East Bengal Spain Alejandro Menéndez Perf Quess Corp
Gokulam Kerala India Gift Raikhan Kaizen Aqualine
Indian Arrows India Floyd Pinto Nike Hero
Minerva Punjab India Sachin Badadhe Astro Apollo Tyres
Mohun Bagan India Khalid Jamil Shiv Naresh None
NEROCA Spain Manuel Retamero Fraile Sqad Gear Classic Group
Real Kashmir Scotland David Robertson Adidas J&K Bank
Shillong Lajong India Alison Kharsyntiew Lotto McDowell's No.1

Head coaching changes[edit]

Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment
Chennai City India V. Soundararajan Contract finished Pre-season Singapore Akbar Nawas 20 March 2018[5]
Aizawl India Santosh Kashyap Contract finished India Gift Raikhan 6 June 2018[6]
NEROCA India Gift Raikhan Contract finished Spain Manuel Retamero Fraile 6 July 2018[7]
Indian Arrows Portugal Luís Norton de Matos Contract finished India Floyd Pinto 25 July 2018[8]
Minerva Punjab India Khogen Singh Contract finished Northern Ireland Paul Munster 9 August 2018[9]
East Bengal India Khalid Jamil Mutual consent Spain Alejandro Menéndez 20 August 2018[10]
Mohun Bagan India Sankarlal Chakraborty Resigned 6th(11 game in) India Khalid Jamil 7 January 2019[11]
Aizawl India Gift Raikhan Resigned 10th(11 game in) India Stanley Rozario 9 January 2019
Minerva Punjab Northern Ireland Paul Munster Resigned 9th(16 game in) India Sachin Badadhe(interim) 12 February 2019
Gokulam Kerala India Bino George Move To Technical Director 10th(18 game in) India Gift Raikhan 28 February 2019

Foreign players[edit]

On 20 June 2018, it was decided by the All India Football Federation that the number of foreigners for each I-League club will be kept six as previous season. Asian player quota is abolished. Clubs can sign maximum six players of any nationality.[12]

Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.

Club Foreigner 1 Foreigner 2 Foreigner 3 Foreigner 4 Foreigner 5 Foreigner 6
Aizawl Ivory Coast Léonce Dodoz Liberia Alfred Jaryan Liberia Ansumana Kromah Nigeria Kareem Omolaja Uganda Richard Kasagga
Chennai City Italy Mauro Boerchio Slovakia Jozef Kapláň Spain Roberto Eslava Spain Néstor Gordillo Spain Pedro Manzi Spain Sandro Rodríguez
Churchill Brothers Bosnia and Herzegovina Nenad Novakovic Ivory Coast Lorougnon Christ Remi Lebanon Hussein Eldor Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Wolfe Uganda Khalid Aucho
East Bengal Costa Rica Jhonny Acosta Mexico Enrique Esqueda Senegal Kassim Aidara Spain Toni Dovale Spain Borja Gómez Pérez Spain Jaime Santos
Gokulam Kerala Ghana Daniel Addo Haiti Fabien Vorbe Nigeria Ejiogu Emmanual Trinidad and Tobago Andre Ettienne Trinidad and Tobago Marcus Joseph
Minerva Punjab Colombia Jorge Caceido Ghana Kalif Alhassan Spain Juan Quero Syria Mahmoud Amnah Ukraine Roland Bilala
Mohun Bagan Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda Egypt Omar Elhussieny Haiti Sony Norde Japan Yuta Kinowaki Nigeria Kingsley Obumneme Uganda Henry Kisekka
NEROCA Australia Aryn Williams Bhutan Chencho Gyeltshen Equatorial Guinea Eduardo Ferreira Japan Katsumi Yusa Liberia Varney Kallon Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili
Real Kashmir Ghana Abednego Tetteh Ivory Coast Bazie Armand Ivory Coast Gnohere Krizo Nigeria Loveday Enyinnaya Scotland Mason Robertson Zambia Aaron Katebe
Shillong Lajong

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chennai City (C) 20 13 4 3 48 28 +20 43 Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1[a]
2 East Bengal 20 13 3 4 37 20 +17 42
3 Real Kashmir 20 10 7 3 25 14 +11 37[b]
4 Churchill Brothers 20 9 7 4 35 23 +12 34
5 Mohun Bagan 20 8 5 7 27 28 −1 29
6 NEROCA 20 7 5 8 27 26 +1 26
7 Aizawl 20 6 6 8 27 28 −1 24
8 Indian Arrows 20 6 3 11 19 28 −9 21
9 Minerva Punjab 20 4 6 10 10 19 −9 18[b]
10 Gokulam Kerala 20 3 8 9 25 33 −8 17
11 Shillong Lajong (R) 20 3 2 15 23 56 −33 11 Relegation to I-League 2nd Division (withdrew)
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) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ If the league champions cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage, they will enter the AFC Cup group stage.
  2. ^ a b The game between Minerva Punjab and Real Kashmir was rescheduled, but eventually it was not played and both teams were awarded a point.[13]

Results[edit]

Home \ Away AFC CHE CHU EAB GOK INA MIN MOH NER REK SHI
Aizawl — 1–2 2–1 3–2 3–2 0–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 0–0 4–1
Chennai City 4–3 — 2–2 2–1 3–2 4–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 0–1 6–1
Churchill Brothers 4–1 3–2 — 1–2 3–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 4–2
East Bengal 1–1 1–2 1–1 — 3–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 5–0
Gokulam Kerala 1–3 2–3 1–1 1–2 — 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–1
Indian Arrows 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 — 2–1 0–2 2–3 2–2 1–0
Minerva Punjab 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 — 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1
Mohun Bagan 2–2 1–1 0–3 0–2 2–2 1–3 2–0 — 1–0 1–2 2–0
NEROCA 0–0 3–3 2–1 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–1 — 2–3 3–2
Real Kashmir 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 –[a] 0–1 0–2 — 6–1
Shillong Lajong 2–1 2–4 3–2 1–3 1–1 0–3 2–2 2–3 1–2 0–1 —
Source: I-League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ Both teams agreed to share one point each. Match was abandoned because of security issue.[14]

Season statistics[edit]

Scoring[edit]

As of 9 March 2019[15]

Hat-tricks[edit]

Main article: List of I-League hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref
Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Indian Arrows 4–1 (H) 26 October 2018 [16]
Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers Shillong Lajong 4–2 (H) 15 November 2018 [17]
Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Shillong Lajong 6–1 (H) 29 December 2018 [18]
Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Gokulam Kerala 3–2 (H) 4 January 2019 [19]
Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City NEROCA 3–3 (A) 11 February 2019 [20]
India Laldanmawia Ralte East Bengal Shillong Lajong 5–0 (H) 14 February 2019 [21]

Cleansheets[edit]

As of 9 March 2019
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 India Bilal Khan Real Kashmir 9
2 India James Kithan Churchill Brothers 5
India Prabhsukhan Singh Gill Indian Arrows
India Rakshit Dagar East Bengal
5 India Shilton Paul Mohun Bagan 4
6 India Bhaskar Roy Minerva Punjab 3
India Lalit Thapa NEROCA
India Lalawmpuia Aizawl
9 Spain Nauzet Santana Chennai City 2
Italy Mauro Boerchio NEROCA
India Arshdeep Singh Minerva Punjab
India Shankar Roy Mohun Bagan
India Gurpreet Singh Chabal Aizawl

Average home attendances[edit]

As of 9 March 2019[22][23]
Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
East Bengal 10 272,699 64,867 9,952 27,270
NEROCA 10 191,383 29,932 6,135 19,139
Mohun Bagan 10 176,486 62,628 3,388 17,649
Gokulam Kerala 10 148,230 30,246 2,136 14,823
Real Kashmir 9 92,440 12,857 2,792 11,206
Chennai City 10 61,381 9,856 3,253 6,138
Minerva Punjab 10 56,239 8,591 3,470 5,624
Shillong Lajong 10 41,231 14,697 1,107 4,123
Churchill Brothers 10 33,867 3,796 2,417 3,387
Aizawl 10 28,801 5,324 863 2,881
Indian Arrows 10 16,497 4,520 100 1,640
Total 109 11,14,349 64,867 100 10,223

Awards[edit]

Hero of the Match[edit]

Match Hero of the Match Match Hero of the Match Match Hero of the Match
Player Club Player Club Player Club
Match 1 Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Match 38 India Nagen Tamang Real Kashmir Match 75 India Jobby Justin East Bengal
Match 2 Mexico Enrique Esqueda East Bengal Match 39 India Amarjit Singh Kiyam Indian Arrows Match 76 Ivory Coast Gnohere Krizo Real Kashmir
Match 3 India Arjun Jayaraj Gokulam Kerala Match 40 Uganda Khalid Aucho Churchill Brothers Match 77 India Arnab Das Sharma Gokulam Kerala
Match 4 Nigeria Philip Njoku Minerva Punjab Match 41 India Ningthoujam Pritam Singh Gokulam Kerala Match 78 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers
Match 5 India Naorem Mahesh Singh Shillong Lajong Match 42 India Alexander Romario Chennai City Match 79 India Boris Singh Thangjam Indian Arrows
Match 6 India Bilal Khan Real Kashmir Match 43 India Laldanmawia Ralte East Bengal Match 80 India Lalrinchhana Aizawl
Match 7 India Ronald Singh NEROCA Match 44 Uganda Henry Kisekka Mohun Bagan Match 81 India Rahim Ali Indian Arrows
Match 8 India Jobby Justin East Bengal Match 45 Spain Jaime Santos East Bengal Match 82 India Naorem Mahesh Singh Shillong Lajong
Match 9 Bosnia and Herzegovina Nenad Novaković Churchill Brothers Match 46 India Amarjit Singh Kiyam Indian Arrows Match 83 Nigeria Loveday Enyinnaya Real Kashmir
Match 10 Haiti Sony Norde Mohun Bagan Match 47 Spain Roberto Eslava Chennai City Match 84 Mexico Enrique Esqueda East Bengal
Match 11 India Ajith Kumar Chennai City Match 48 India Malemngamba Meitei NEROCA Match 85 Spain Sandro Rodríguez Chennai City
Match 12 India Ashish Rai Indian Arrows Match 49 Uganda Henry Kisekka Mohun Bagan Match 86 Bosnia and Herzegovina Nenad Novaković Churchill Brothers
Match 13 India Danish Farooq Real Kashmir Match 50 Equatorial Guinea Eduardo Ferreira NEROCA Match 87 Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City
Match 14 India Malemngamba Meitei NEROCA Match 51 India Jobby Justin East Bengal Match 88 India Laldanmawia Ralte East Bengal
Match 15 Ivory Coast Lancine Touré Minerva Punjab Match 52 Liberia Alfred Jaryan Aizawl Match 89 Uganda Henry Kisekka Mohun Bagan
Match 16 Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda Mohun Bagan Match 53 Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Match 90 Trinidad and Tobago Marcus Joseph Gokulam Kerala
Match 17 Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili NEROCA Match 54 India Nickson Castanha Churchill Brothers Match 91 India Lalrindika Ralte East Bengal
Match 18 India Gani Nigam Gokulam Kerala Match 55 India Subhash Singh NEROCA Match 92 match not held
Match 19 India Edwin Sydney Vanspaul Chennai City Match 56 Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City Match 93 Spain Pedro Manzi Chennai City
Match 20 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers Match 57 India Anwar Ali Indian Arrows Match 94 India Naorem Mahesh Singh Shillong Lajong
Match 21 India Kabir Thaufiq Chennai City Match 58 Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Wolfe Churchill Brothers Match 95 Spain Juan Quero Minerva Punjab
Match 22 India Rajesh S Gokulam Kerala Match 59 Scotland Mason Robertson Real Kashmir Match 96 India Suresh Singh Wangjam Indian Arrows
Match 23 Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda Mohun Bagan Match 60 India Jobby Justin East Bengal Match 97 Spain Néstor Gordillo Chennai City
Match 24 India Novin Gurung Shillong Lajong Match 61 Egypt Omar Elhussieny Mohun Bagan Match 98 Ivory Coast Léonce Dodoz Aizawl
Match 25 Ivory Coast Léonce Dodoz Zikahi Aizawl Match 62 The Gambia Dawda Ceesay Churchill Brothers Match 99 Mexico Enrique Esqueda East Bengal
Match 26 Spain Néstor Gordillo Chennai City Match 63 Liberia Alfred Jaryan Aizawl Match 100 India Lalkhawpuimawia Aizawl
Match 27 Ivory Coast Bazie Armand Real Kashmir Match 64 India Shilton Paul Mohun Bagan Match 101 India Rahul Kannoly Praveen Indian Arrows
Match 28 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers Match 65 India Lalengmawia Indian Arrows Match 102 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers
Match 29 India Arjun Jayaraj Gokulam Kerala Match 66 India Alexander Romario Chennai City Match 103 India Laldanmawia Ralte East Bengal
Match 30 Nigeria Philip Njoku Minerva Punjab Match 67 Spain Borja Gómez Pérez East Bengal Match 104 Ghana Daniel Addo Gokulam Kerala
Match 31 Haiti Sony Norde Mohun Bagan Match 68 Spain Sandro Rodríguez Chennai City Match 105 India Paul Ramfangzauva Aizawl
Match 32 India Subhash Singh NEROCA Match 69 Trinidad and Tobago Marcus Joseph Gokulam Kerala Match 106 India Phrangki Buam Shillong Lajong
Match 33 Ghana William Opoku Minerva Punjab Match 70 India Phurba Lachenpa Shillong Lajong Match 107 India Lalawmpuia Aizawl
Match 34 Ivory Coast Bazie Armand Real Kashmir Match 71 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers Match 108 India Danish Farooq Real Kashmir
Match 35 Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili NEROCA Match 72 India Phurba Lachenpa Shillong Lajong Match 109 India Laldanmawia Ralte East Bengal
Match 36 India Jobby Justin East Bengal Match 73 Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza Churchill Brothers Match 110 India Gaurav Bora Chennai City
Match 37 India Israil Gurung Churchill Brothers Match 74 India Malemngamba Meitei NEROCA

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sudharshan, M (3 March 2023). "Chennai City FC owners transfer sporting license". khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "I-League 2018-19: When does it start, fixture schedule & how to watch". Goal.com. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Chennai City sweep I-League awards". theshillongtimes.com. The Shillong Times. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Chennai City Triumph in Photo-Finish to Lift Maiden I-League Title". thequint.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Chennai City FC appoint Nawas as coach, Barcelona's Villa named assistant". Times of India. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Aizawl FC snap up Gift Raikhan from NEROCA FC". Goal.com. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Manuel Retamero returns to India as head coach of NEROCA FC". Goal.com. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  8. ^ "De Matos's assistant Floyd Pinto appointed coach of I-League side Indian Arrows". Scroll.in. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Paul Munster appointed new technical director of Minerva FC". Tribune India. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. ^ Banerjee, Ritabrata (20 August 2018). "Alejandro Menendez's appointment marks the beginning of new era in East Bengal". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Khalid Jamil joins Mohun Bagan as head coach". The Indian Express. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  12. ^ "AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE". AIFF. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  13. ^ "AIFF league committee meets in Bhubaneshwar". 13 April 2019.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS IN BHUBANESWAR". Aiff. 13 April 2019.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Players–Goals". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Manzi Hat trick 26 October 2018". Soccerway.
  17. ^ "Plaza Hat trick 15 November 2018". Soccerway.
  18. ^ "Manzi Hat trick 29 December 2018". Soccerway.
  19. ^ "Manzi Hat trick 4 January 2019". Soccerway.
  20. ^ "Manzi Hat trick 12 February 2019". Soccerway.
  21. ^ "Ralte Hat trick 14 February 2019". Soccerway.
  22. ^ "Attendance". worldfootball.net.
  23. ^ "Attendance I-League.org". i-league.org. I-League. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

External links[edit]

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