Zambrotta disagrees with Vingada, says foreigners only help Indian football grow faster

10/22/2016

Gianluca Zambrotta has argued that the existing ratio of Indian players to foreign players in the ISL is necessary for "good balance" in the league after NEUFC boss Nelo Vingada recently said that every team should start seven Indians in a bid to help football grow faster in the sub-continent.

The ISL currently allows teams to field as many as six foreigners at any given point in time, and Vingada had said if more Indians played it would only be beneficial for Indian football.

"Now, there is a good balance. You need to ensure the quality remains. At the moment, it is well-balanced," former Italian World Cup winner Zambrotta said in disagreement to Gianluca ZambrottaVingada.

Earlier in the season FC Goa head coach Zico had also spoken of the need to field more local players in ISL to help improve the quality of Indian football.

"There are more foreigners than Indians which is not helpful. There hasn’t been a lot of improvement in these three years. Indian players need to be more in the starting XI,” the 63-year-old Brazilian great had said.

Zambrotta, who previously played for top clubs like Juventus and Barcelona, said the ISL was growing at a good pace and expected it to be on the same level as European leagues in the next few years.

"The difference between the ISL and La Liga or Serie A, there is a considerable difference. But the positive thing is that the Hero ISL is growing very well. So in a few years down the line, it will be on the same level as Serie A, La Liga or any other league. It is very important that we have good coaches as well foreign players here because in a few years it will be a very competitive league," Zambrotta told the media before his team’s clash against Atletico de Kolkata.

The Italian, who won 98 caps for the national team, showed his respect for his opponents, stating that the Kolkata side would be a difficult team to beat as they play "very well".

"Atletico de Kolkata are a very good team, they play very well. It will not be an easy match for us."

Both Delhi and Kolkata have six points from four games and could have a chance of going second on the table should other results be favorable.