Tactical Note:Soccer Update

Delhi Dynamos FC sign Italian Legend Alessandro del Piero Alessandro del Piero joins Delhi Dynamos FC of Hero ISL Delhi Dynamos FC, the national capital’s Football Team for the Hero Indian Super League, has signed up Italian football superstar Alessandro del Piero as its marquee player.The 39-year-old Italian who has won almost every tournament he has played in for club and country, needs no introduction. Some of his top achievements over 2 illustrious decades include: Won 8 Serie A titles, the Champions League & Intercontinental Cup with Juventus; he played for Juventus since 1993 and was captain from 2001 until 2012. Led Italy to their FIFA World Cup win in 2006, scoring in the semifinal, and then in the penalty shootout in the final Golden Boot (top scorer): UEFA Champions League (1995-96, 1997-98), Serie A (2007-08) 2nd player to participate in 7 major tournaments for Italy(EURO 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and World Cup 1998, 2002, 2006) Won 2 European Championships as part of Italy’s U-21squad Won a total of 23 trophies Alessandro del Piero, also nicknamed "Il Fenomeno Vero" or The Real Phenomenon, is the 10thAll-time Top Scorer in the Champions League and been featured in FIFA 100, a list of the top greatest living footballers compiled by Pele. Having played alongside some great teammates like Gianluigi Buffon & Zinedine Zidane, del Piero has always managed to stand out. Footballing legend Maradona once said "He (del Peiro) is different to Zinedine Zidane. He likes to play, he feels it in his soul. Between him and the Frenchman, I choose him." The Italian great played for Sydney FC for the last two seasons and is credited for putting the A-league (theAustralian League) onto the world stage and inspiring a new generation of football players in that country. The Free-kick King won Sydney FC Player of the Year Award &Sydney FC Golden Boot in 2013 and also scored the A-League goal of the season for 2012–2013. After del Piero entered the A-league, there was an immediate positive impact on attendance, membership, TV ratings and corporate support for the club and the league. With Alessandro del Piero’s induction into Delhi Dynamos FC, the club representing India’s national capital is hoping for an encore and expects his presence to galvanize football fans across the country and put a nationwide spotlight on Indian domestic football. Commenting on his move to Delhi Dynamos, Alessandro del Piero said, “It’s really exciting to be coming to India and playing for the capital of the country. I am thoroughly looking forward to training with  my teammates and work together with the coach and the club and I hope to encourage the people of Delhi to follow our games! My passion has always been to play good football and I think I can definitely identify with my team’s philosophy of playing an attacking & attractive game. It is always amazing to visit new countries but I have a feeling India is going to be a really special part of my journey. See you soon, India…Thok Denge!” Sameer Manchanda, Passionate Football Fan, Chairman& Managing Director of DEN Networks, said: “We are very excited with the signing of Alessandro del Piero, a true football legend and a giant of the game. His coming to India is a path breaking moment for football in the country. Alessandro has been an inspirational member in every team that he has played for and his presence in the Delhi Dynamos will drive the entire squad to strive for even greater glory. We are sure that he will fire up the imagination of millions of Indian kids and make football a religion in India”

India U-23 register comfortable victory against Jiangsu Sainty China Exposure Tour Century Park, Shanghai India U-23 3-0 Jiangsu Sainty India U23: Sunil Chhetri(28th), Robin Singh(65th), Alwyn George(90th) India U-23 register 3-0 victory over Jiangsu Sainty The Asian Games bound India U-23 National Team started their China Exposure Tour on a high with a convincing 3-0 win over Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Sainty at the Century Park in Shanghai on Friday (August 29, 2014). Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh and substitute Alwyn George were on target either side of halftime for the men in blue who prior to this tour drew a Friendly Series against Pakistan 1-1. One time runners up Jiangsu are currently placed seventh in the Chinese Super League table having garnered 31 points from 21 matches so far. They fielded their second string side in this match.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM AIFF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING IN MUMBAI

MUMBAI: The President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Mr. Praful Patel Chaired All India Football Federation’s Executive Committee Meeting in Mumbai on August 28, 2014 (Thursday).

Besides, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, Senior Vice-President Mr. Subrata Dutta, Treasurer Mr. Hardev Jadeja, Vice-Presidents Mr. K.M.I. Mather, Mr. Larsing Ming and all other Members except Vice-Presidents Mr. Shrinivas V. Dempo and Mr. Subhash Chopra; Ms. Sara Pilot and Commodore Pushpendra Kumar Garg, attended the Meeting.

The Executive Committee welcomed Kalyani Group as the new Member in the forthcoming edition in the I-League and wished them success. “I believe they will bring in more professionalism in the League. Let’s not forget the manner Bengaluru FC came as a breath of fresh air in the I-League last season. The value of the I-League can be gauged from the interest it has generated among top Corporates of India, that too for two years in succession,” Mr. Patel said.

The Committee endorsed Mr. Patel’s decision and discussed at length India’s preparations for the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup. It was agreed the Coach of the Indian National Team for the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup will be signing a Contract soon for him to have a look and scout probable Indian Players for the World Cup from the final phase of the Coca Cola Cup which is to be held in November-December 2014.

The venue/dates for various upcoming Domestic Tournaments which were finalised in the Meeting stay as follows:

i.             Federation Cup to be held in Goa from December 28 to January 10, 2015.

ii.           Senior Women’s National Championship to be held in Orissa.

iii.          Final Round of the Santosh Trophy to be held in Uttarakhand.

Furthermore, as proposed by Mr. AR Khaleel, the Committee decided to name the Winners Trophy of the proposed U-15 League as Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy.

Meanwhile, the Committee confirmed the minutes of the last AIFF Executive Committee Meeting which was held on May 14, 2014 at Football House.

ISL 2014-15 Fixture Launched at official launch of Indian Super League

Logo unveiled at ISL launch in Mumbai

The official logo of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) was unveiled at a glittering ceremony here in Mumbai today. The star-studded launch was led by Nita Ambani, chairperson of the IMG-Reliance joint venture which initiated the idea of a club-based football league in India. The logo was introduced on a backdrop of a large model football.

Owners of the eight ISL clubs joined Ms Ambani, Praful Patel (President, All India Football Federation), Sanjay Gupta (COO of broadcasting partners Star India), and Pawan Munjal (Chairman & MD, Hero MotorCorp, the ISL title sponsors) on stage. ISL teams were represented by Kapil Wadhawan (FC Pune City), Utsav Parekh (Atletico de Kolkata), Sameer Manchanda (Delhi Dynamos FC), cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar (Kerala Blasters FC) and Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan (Team Chennai),  Ranbir Kapoor (Team Mumbai), John Abraham (NorthEast United FC)  and Varun Dhavan (FC Goa)

Lippi provisionally suspended

Kuala Lumpur:  Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Marcello Lippi will serve a provisional one-match suspension following his indiscretion during the team’s 0-1 defeat at the AFC Champions League quarterfinals first leg meeting against Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney. The former Italian national team manager has been provisionally suspended in accordance with Article 129 of the AFC Disciplinary Code after he entered the field of play to confront the match referee, Mohammed Abdulla Hassan (UAE),in the dying stages of the quarterfinals first leg match following the sending off of a second Guangzhou player. The Chairman of the AFC Disciplinary Committee last night decided that Lippi had purportedly displayed unsporting behavior, an offence under Article 57 of the AFC Disciplinary Code, as well as indiscipline under Article 69 of the AFC Champions League Competition Regulations 2014. Lippi will therefore not be allowed to sit in the continental champions’ dugout at the return leg to be played on 27 August in Guangzhou. The final decision of the AFC Disciplinary Committee will be issued following the completion of a full investigation. The Chinese Football Association has been notified of the decision

Indian Womens team announced for China exposure trip

22 member Indian Womens National Team announced for China tour Indian Womens team announced for China exposure trip India Women’s National Team's 22 member squad for Exposure Tour to China as a part of preparation for Incheon Asian Games has been announced. The exposure tour would start from August 25th till September 9th. Indian team will play against Jiangsu Huatai and Shanghai SVT, who are in top four in the Chinese Women’s Super League. The three matches will be played on  August 29th, September 2nd or 3rd and September 5th or 6th. The 22-member Squad: GOALKEEPERS: Okram Roshni Devi, Aditi Chauhan, Pushpa Tirkey DEFENDERS: Ashem Romi Devi, Ashalata Devi, Tuli Goon, Radharani Devi, Suprava Samal, Upamati Devi MIDFIELDERS: Premi Devi, Amoolya Kamal, Mandakini Devi, Oinam Bembem Devi, Kamala Devi, Supriya Routray, Indumati Kathiresan  FORWARDS: Sasmita Malik, Prameshwori Devi, Dangmei Grace, Bala Devi, Jyoti Ann Burrett, Salam Rinaroy Devi. Kalyani Groups to participate in i-League 2014-15 from Pune AIFF announce Kalyani Groups as the owners of the new i-League 2014-15 Kalyani Groups have won the bid for a new team in the i-League 2014-15. The team will have its base in Pune which means two i-League teams will participate from Pune which already includes Pune FC. January 17th 2015 is scheduled start date for the i-League 2014-15. The decision to take Kalyani Groups on-board was made by All India Football Federation(AIFF) Bid Evaluation Committee after a meeting at the Headquarters in New Delhi on Monday

ISL International Player Draft Completed

Hero Indian Super League’s most anticipated International Player Draft was held today at the Taj Palace, Mumbai with the participating eight clubs going for specific strategies in forming the spine of their respective team line-ups.

With a plethora of International stars and talented youngsters who have excelled in their trade at the highest-level, both for their country and many an elite Premier League of the World, up for grabs, it was perhaps befitting that their entry into Indian Football was crafted at an event held closure to the monumental Gateway of India with the Arabian Sea in the background.

The day marked the completion of players draft, both Indian as well as international, for the inaugural season of Indian Super League which kicks-off on October 12, 2014. Total 56 international players, 49 from today’s draft and seven being contracted by the clubs directly, were drafted among the eight ISL clubs. Earlier, in July 2014 the clubs had selected 112 Indian Players to complete the domestic players’ mandate.

“The 49 players who went into the draft today have had close to 9000 games in between them,” Andy Knee, Vice President, IMG, Football informed. “It only speaks about the experience and the competition they will bring into the Hero Indian Super League,” he maintained.

Kushal Das, General Secretary, All India Football Federation, felt “Indian Football needs a new dose of adrenalin.”

“We are extremely excited and hope the Indian Super League will provide the dose of much-needed visibility to Indian Football. The focus at present is on Youth Development and Grassroots which forms the base of the pyramid. But at the same time, the dose of commerce stays quintessential at the top of the pyramid. Both are interlinked to each other,” he stated. “We hope ISL will be the game changer for Indian Football.”

Anupam Dutta, CEO, Football Sports Development Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between IMG-Reliance and Star India said: “The international player draft today marks an important milestone in the Indian football. A League’s success depends on the Clubs and we are happy to have equally excited and committed partners in this journey. And against the backdrop of the International Player Draft, let’s not forget that we have a very good set of Indian Players in the League as well.”

Nitin Kukreja, President, Star India commented that “a milestone has been achieved.

“We will unleash a sporting revolution in India,” he concluded.

The draft picks from Hero Indian Super League’s International Player Draft stay as follows (Names appear as per the clubs’ picks during the round 1 to 7):-

FC Pune City: Bruno Cirillo, Emanuele Balardi, Ivan Boaldo Palacios, Saidou Mady Panandetigui, Omar Andres Rodriguez Martinez, Andres Felipe Gonzalez Ramirez, Park Kwang II.

Atletico de Kolkata: Borja Fernandez, Jofre Mateu Gonzalez, Jose Miguel Gonzelez Rey, Arnal Llibert Conde Carbo, Sylvain Monsoreau, Jakub Podany, Apoula Edima Edel Bete. 

Kerala Blasters FC: Michael Chopra, Ian Hume, Victor Herrero Forcada, Erwin Spitzner, Pedro Adriano Veloso Gusmao, Cedric Hengbart, Raphael Romey. 

Team Mumbai: Diego Fernando Nadaya, Jan Stohanzl, Francisco Javier Fernandez Luque, Pavel Cmovs, Johann Letzelter, Andre Matos Dias Pereira, Ilias Pollalis. 

North East United FC: Issac Chansa, Cornell Glenn, Massamba Lo Sambou, Do Dong-Hyun, Guileherme Felipe de Castro, Tomas Josl, Luis Alfredo Yanes Padilla. 

Team Chennai: Bernard Mendy, Cristian Hidalgo Gonzalez, Gennaro Bracigliano, Bojan Djordjic, Bruno Augusto Pelissari de Lima, Jairo Andres Suarez Carvajal, Eduardo Silva Lerma. 

Team Goa: Miroslav Slepicka, Jan Seda, Bruno Filipe Tavares Pinheiro, Youness Bengelloun, Miguel Bruno Pereira Herlein, Gregory Arnolin, Edgar Carvalho Figueira Marcelino. 

Delhi Dynamos FC: Mads Junker, Morten Skoubo, Bruno Herrero Arias, Gustavo Marmentini dos Santos, Marek Cech, Pavel Elias, Henrique Dinis Oliviera Dias.

Mid week Soccer Round Out

Pakistan tie the two match series with a convincing victory 20.08.2014 Bangalore Football Stadium, Bangalore India 0-2 Pakistan Pakistan: Kaleemullah(38th), Saddam Hussain(90th) An impressive Pakistan U-23 team defeated India U-23 convincingly with goals from captain Kaleemullah and Man of the Match Saddam Hussain coming in each half of the game. Thus the two match series ended in a draw with India clinching the first tie by 1-0.

India host Pakistan in the second friendly in Bangalore Posted: 19 Aug 2014 10:49 PM PDT Team India(U-23) host Pakistan(U-23) in the second friendly at the Bangalore Football Stadium today. The first match ended in India's favour thanks to a solitary goal from captain Sunil Chhetri. The visiting Pakistani team gave a good account of themselves with some good solid performance specially in the midfield but lacked composure in the final third. The match kicks off at 03.30 PM IST and will be telecasted live on DD Sports.

NorthEast United FC sign former New Zealand Coach Ricki Herbert Posted: 19 Aug 2014 09:33 PM PDT NorthEast United FC sign former Kiwi coach Ricki Herbert NorthEast United Football Club today announced former long-time New Zealand Men’s National Team Coach Ricki Herbert as their Manager for the forthcoming Indian Super League. Ricki managed the Kiwi ‘All Whites’ for 8 years from 2005-2013. He also represented the New Zealand National team at World Cup 1982. Ricki Llyod Herbert, 53 led the New Zealand team to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. New Zealand performed admirably at the World Cup and came out of it as the only unbeaten team at the World Cup. They battled much fancier opponents such as Italy, Paraguay & Slovakia in their group, eventually drawing the games. During his tenure with the ‘All Whites’, their FIFA ranking improved from 156 to 48. Ricki also coached A-League side Wellington Phoenix from 2007-2013 taking them to A-League Preliminary Finals in 2010. During his long coaching career Ricki has also overseen the New Zealand Olympic team preparation and was Technical Director of the country’s Technical development programme. He was appointed by FIFA to be a part of the 14 member Technical Development Studies group led by Gerard Houlier at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil. The group was responsible for tracking and studying technical strategies and trends employed by various teams at the World Cup. The club also announced Lajong FC Head-Coach Thangboi Singto will be working with Ricki Herbert at NorthEast United FC in the capacity of Coach. John Abraham, co-owner NorthEast United FC while announcing the appointment said “Ricki is the perfect fit for our plans at NorthEast United FC. His experience at the highest levels of competitive Football and his youth focussed philosophy matches the blue print of NorthEast United FC perfectly. With him on board we look forward to competing in the inaugural season of Indian Super League.” Expressing his delight at being handed over the technical reins at NorthEast United FC, Ricki said “The Indian Super League presents a great opportunity and challenge and with the Football crazy NorthEast fans backing us all the way, we’ll be putting out best foot forward. I look forward to this exciting journey.”

Delhi Dynamos FC sign Belgian goalkeeper Kristof Van Hout Posted: 20 Aug 2014 11:27 AM PDT Delhi Dynamos FC on Tuesday announced the signing of Belgian Kristof Van Hout for the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League. An accomplished goalkeeper, Van Hout played for Belgian powerhouse Racing Genk last season. Kristof Van Hout signs for Delhi Dynamos FC With the signing of Van Hout, the New Delhi based club has made a fine addition to one of the most vital positions in football. At 6ft10 (2.08m), he also has the distinction of being the tallest professional football player in the world, making him an imposing figure at the goalpost. At the age of 27, he is at the peak of his footballing prowess and will have plenty to offer to the club. Van Hout burst on to the scene in 2008, becoming the hero of Kortrijk after saving three penalties in the shootout against league champions Standard Liege to help his team progress to the Quarterfinals. This earned him a transfer to none other than Standard Liege itself, with whom he won the Belgian Cup in 2010-11. Van Hout was on the bench for Liege’s matches in the Champions League, including two games against Premier League giants Arsenal. In 2012, Van Hout made the move to another Belgian superclub, Racing Genk, one year after the club sold prodigious talent Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea. That season, Van Hout led Genk to a 3rd place finish in the Pro League, earning them a place in the Europa League. He also won his second Belgian Cup. Van Hout will arrive in Delhi fully fit and raring to go. He featured in the Europa League for Genk as recently as February 27 of this year, playing the full 90 minutes against Russian club, Anzhi Makhachkala. Commenting on his inclusion in the Delhi squad, Van Hout said, “I am eagerly looking forward to playing in India, which has a sizeable fan following for the game of football. I am confident that it will be an enjoyable and fruitful experience to play in Indian conditions.” On Van Hout joining the team, Delhi Dynamos FC Coach Harm van Veldhoven said, “Van Hout is a seasoned player, who has contributed immensely to his teams in the past due to his fine goalkeeping skills. We are sure that he will display the same alacrity and judgement when defending Delhi Dynamos’ goalpost. His height is a big advantage, especially in close games that go down to penalty shootouts.” Kristof Van Hout has added to the already impressive line up of international talent assembled at the Delhi Dynamos under the guidance of fellow countryman Harm van Veldhoven. The club has signed prolific strikers Mads Junker and Morten Skoubo, as well as experienced Belgian defender Wim Raymaekers following their strategic tie up with Feyenoord Rotterdam.

ISL: 49 International players to be auctioned on August 21st

Indian Super League - International Player draft on 21st August Hero Indian Super League(ISL) will feature 56 International players out of which 49 players will be auctioned while the remaining 7 players have already been snapped up by different clubs - FC Pune City (Emanuele Belardi & Bruno Cirillo), Delhi Dynamos FC (Mads Junker & Morten Skoubo), NorthEast United FC (Isaac Chansa & Cornell Glen), Atletico de Kolkata (Borja Fernandez). Here is the complete list of players to be auctioned under "International Players Pool" Striker : Michael Chopra (England), Arnal Llibert Conde Carbó (Spain), Diego Fernando Nadaya (Argentina), Eduardo Silva Lerma (Spain), Iain Hume (Canada), Iván Bolado Palacios (Spain), Luis Alfredo Yánes Padilla (Colombia), Miguel Bruno Pereira Herlein (Portugal), Miroslav Slepi?ka (Czech Republic), Pedro Adriano Veloso Gusmão (Brazil). Goalkeepers : André Matos Dias Pereira (Portugal); Apoula Edima Edel Bete (Cameroon); Gennaro Bracigliano (France); Jan Šeda (Czech Republic); Marek ?ech (Czech Republic). Defenders: Andrés Felipe González Ramírez (Colombia), Erwin Spitzner (Brazil), Henrique Dinis Oliveira Dias (Portugal), Ilias Pollalis (Greece), Massamba Lô Sambou (Senegal), Raphael Romey (France), Sylvain Monsoreau (France), Tomáš Josl (Czech Republic), Grégory Arnolin (France), Bernard Mendy (France), Pavel ?movš (Czech Republic), Youness Bengelloun (France), Johann Letzelter (France), Cédric Hengbart (France), Jairo Andrés Suarez Carvajal (Colombia), José Miguel González Rey (Spain). Midfielders: Park Kwang-Il (South Korea), Bojan Djordjic (Sweden), Bruno Augusto Pelissari de Lima (Brazil), Cristian Hidalgo González (Spain), Edgar Carvalho Figueira Marcelino (Portugal), Francisco Javier Fernández Luque (Spain), Gustavo Marmentini dos Santos (Brazil), Víctor Herrero Forcada (Spain), Jan Štohanzl (Czech Republic), Omar Andres Rodriguez Martinez (Colombia), Saïdou Mady Panandetiguiri (Burkina Faso), Bruno Herrero Arias (Spain), Bruno Filipe Tavares Pinheiro (Portugal), Guilherme Felipe de Castro (Brazil), Pavel Eliáš (Czech Republic), Jakub Podaný (Czech Republic), Jofre Mateu González (Spain), Do Dong-Hyun (South Korea).

Indian Super League Update

The full schedule of the inaugural edition of Indian Super League is expected to be finalised by the end of this month.

“The complete schedule is expected to be finalised after the international players draft (in Mumbai on August 21), and would be done, in all probability, by the end of this month,” ISL sources told PTI today.

The eight-team IPL-style football tournament, promoted jointly by IMG-Reliance and Star India and supported by the All India Football Federation, is tentatively slated to be held from October 12 to December 20, it was learnt.

The international players draft is to feature 49 players hailing from Spain (9 players), France (8), Czech Republic (8), Brazil (5), Portugal (5), Colombia (4), South Korea (2), and one each from Argentina, Canada, Serbia, Senegal, England, Greece, Cameroon and West Africa nation Burkina Faso.

Already seven foreign players, from a total of 56 needed to play in the League, have been directly picked by the ISL franchises.

The domestic players’ draft was held last month here and a total of 84 players were picked by the franchises

This week's soccer news round-up

AIFF U-16 boys script a memorable victory over FC Dordrecht colts Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:00 PM PDT 06.08.2014 FC Dordrecht Academy 0-1 AIFF U-16 Regional Academy AIFF U-16: Nijwm(80th) AIFF U-16 Academy team script a memorable victory in Netherlands, Courtesy: AIFF Media Team AIFF U-16 Regional Academy boys recorded a historic victory over U-17 Academy Boys of Dutch Eredivisie newcomers FC Dordrecht by a goal, played in Netherlands. The U-16 boys scripted the victory thanks to a second half strike from striker Nijwm, who struck a sweet grounded shot past the FC Dordrecht custodian. AIFF XI: Dheeraj Singh (Subrata Das – 80th), Jayananda Singh, Amit Tudu, Amey Ranawade, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Prosenjit Chakraborty (Keke – 79th), Anirudh Thapa (Kishan Singh – 80+4), Deependra Singh Negi (Bodo Baoringdao – 54th), Surya Tirkey (Edmund Lalrindika – 79th), Bedashwor Singh (Krishna Pandit – 79th), Nijwm Muchahary.

Delhi Dynamos sign Danish duo of Junker and Skoubo Posted: 06 Aug 2014 12:41 PM PDT Delhi Dynamos sign Danish striking duo of Junker and Skoubo Delhi Dynamos FC, the national capital’s Football Team for the Hero Indian Super League, announced the signing of Danish international strikers, Mads Junker and Morten Skoubo today. Both Junker and Skoubo have in the past excelled under the team’s coach, Harm Van Veldhoven, at Roda JC in the Dutch Eredivisie, and  share a great understanding which is critical for a strike partnership. Mads Junker has scored over 130 goals at the highest level in European football. A true team player, he is tactically strong, and can play either as a #9 or a #10 in attack formation. Junker has been part of the Denmark national team setup from youth level onwards. He has featured in Euro Cup Qualifying games, and has even scored a goal against European powerhouse Germany in 2010. Junker has won the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup with Brond by FC. A prolific goal scorer, he has scored 68 goals at the top level of Dutch football – a league that has boasted the likes of Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez. In fact, in Luis Suarez’s record breaking 2009-10 season (35 goals), Junker scored 21 goals in the Eredevisie. Morten Skoubo has over 15 years of experience playing in the very top leagues in European football. Tall and physically strong, Skoubo has great heading ability. He is one of the few players who can boast of experience in most of the major leagues in Europe including England, Spain, Germany and Netherlands. Commanding 5.46 Mn. GBP in career transfer fees, Skoubo has featured for Real Sociedad in Spain, West Brom in England and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany. During the 2005-06 season, Skoubo scored 5 goals in La Liga, 3 goals in the UEFA Cup, as well as a goal in Champions League Qualifying. In February 2006, he scored the fifth fastest goal in La Liga history in just 11 seconds against Valencia. Skoubo has been part of the Denmark national team setup at both U21 and senior levels. With the two international strikers coming on board, this is another major step for Delhi Dynamos FC as they continue with the process of building a world-class team for the inaugural session of Hero Indian Super League. With an experienced coach in Harm and an alliance with Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord Rotterdam, Delhi Dynamos is working towards its mission of building a strong, credible team and developing football into a leading sport across Delhi and Northern India. Piyush Goyal, the Head New Initiatives DEN Networks and Director DEN Soccer said “We are extremely pleased to have Mads Junker and Morten Skoubo in the Delhi team, they have rich and extensive experience of playing at the top level in the world of professional football. We are confident that the two players will form a great strike partnership for the club, steer Delhi Dynamos to the top, and give Delhi fans a lot to cheer about during the tournament.” Harm van Veldhoven, Coach, Delhi Dynamos FC, said, "It’s great to coach Morten and Mads again, who are key acquisitions for us. It is our endeavour to have talented & experienced players to build a strong team."