India is obsessed over a game, and for a change it isn't cricket. It's football. The ISL is in town.
With people thronging to the stadiums to watch their favourite teams and fans coming up with innovative chants for their beloved players, the tournament has really struck a chord off the pitch.
What about the action on the pitch then? Who's the standout Indian player? And which foreign superstar has lit up the competition?
Well, the obvious and most well-deserved candidate for Player of the Tournament currently is Elano from the Chennaiyin FC.
Carrying the squad almost single-handedly at times, he is a man never devoid of ideas when in possession of the football. He is also winning the race to the Golden Boot with 8 goals, with all his nearby competitors a distant second with 3 goals.
The Chennai outfit have done remarkably to build the entire team around the Brazilian and are reaping the rewards of their investment. He is, at the moment, simply unstoppable.
Another foreign player to have caught the eye in the Chennai team is Marco Matterazi. The World Cup winner has often been deployed in the center of midfield, providing tenacity and strength in the middle of the park.
Another important mention in the goal-scoring department goes to Fikru from the Atletico de Kolkata side. He has provided the team with a valuable focal point up front and has chipped in with important goals to maintain his side's lead at the top of the league.
The disappointing factor in the goals department is the lack of Indian players in the list. The Indian contingent has largely struggled in front of goal with the maximum goals by an Indian being held by Calvin Lobo of Ateltico de Kolkata at two.
If the Indians were missing in front of goal, they certainly have made their presence felt in goalkeeping and defence.
Subrata Pal, the national team's goalkeeper, is the standout name in the clean sheets section with four to his name.
His club Mumbai City FC also have an impressive record of keeping four consecutive away clean sheets, much of which has been down to the brilliance of Pal and the defensive wall.
In the heart of defence, another Indian who has caught the eye is Anwar Ali of Delhi Dynamos.
Although the Delhi outfit languish in the bottom half of the table, they have the meanest defence in the league. Much of it was down to resolute defending by Ali, and they have done considerably well to keep quality attacks at bay.
Many of the quality young Indian players of the tournament have impressed in defence and midfield, and the teams have done well to get the balance right between home players and the foreigners in the squads.
The ISL is in full swing now, with a mighty scramble for the top four places for semifinal qualification. The quality on display so far has been outstanding, and one would hope the latter half of the tournament would pave the way for a much brighter future for the Indian football.
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