THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

Team Barasat fetches Hernan Crespo for $840,000

Premier League Soccer

Premier League Soccer

The new Indian Premier League Soccer (PLS) held its players’ and coaches’ auction in Kolkata earlier today. Former Argentine superstar Hernán Crespo became the hottest property in the auction with Team Barasat clinching the services of the striker for $840,000.

Italy’s 2006 FIFA World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro was sold to the Siliguri franchise for $830,000, while Frenchman Robert Pirès ($800,000), Nigerian Augustine “Jay-Jay” Okocha ($550,000) and former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler ($530,000) went to Howrah, Durgapur and Kolkata respectively.

The auction began with the bidding for the foreign coaches. All franchises had their favourites, but Englishman Peter Reid generated the most number of bids. Reid was sold to Kolkata for $200,000, while Portugal’s Fernando Couto ($240,000), Nigerian Samson Siasia ($210,000) and Icelandic coach Teitur Thordarson ($210,000) were sold to Howrah, Durgapur and Barasat respectively. Team Siliguri had to settle with Marco Etcheverry, as the Bolivian found no taker in the bidding.

The Premier League Soccer was originally scheduled to kick-off with six franchised city teams competing in a seven week long league tournament in the Indian state of West Bengal. Team Haldia was unable to find a taker and they were left out of the auction today. The Celebrity Management Group (CWG), organisers of the PLS, are hopeful to find a taker for Haldia in the coming days.

Each PLS franchise will have one icon player, one icon coach, two overseas players and one overseas player of Asian origin in their ranks. The remaining spots in the squads will be filled-up with nine to 14 Indian star players (auction to be held in the first week of February), six Indian U21 players and six local players respectively.

The Indian players’ auction won’t feature any players, who are on a contract with clubs in the I-League,  India’s professional national football league. The PLS won’t be a replacement for the I-League as some sections of the international media wrongly reported.

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More news and details on the Premier League Soccer (PLS) will be available here at www.chrispd.de and www.facebook.com/cpd81.

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THE TEAMS

Team Barasat
Franchise Owner: Uro Infra Reality India Ltd
Coach: Teitur Thordarson ($210,000)
Icon: Hernan Crespo ($840,000)
Overseas: Christian Lara ($200,000), Joaquin Botero ($180,000)
Asian: Park Byoung-Gyu ($90,000)

Team Durgapur
Franchise Owner: Tulip Infonet
Coach: Samson Siasia ($210,000)
Icon: Augustine “Jay Jay” Okocha ($550,000)
Jose Carlos Castillo ($80,000), Alonso Solis ($200,000)
Asian: Kim Bong Kyeom ($150,000)

Team Howrah
Franchise Owner: Syncsys Infotech
Coach: Fernando Couto ($240,000)
Icon: Robert Pires ($800,000)
Overseas: Jose Gabriel Rios ($180,000), Diego Madrigal ($120,000)
Asian: Byun Yoon Chui ($115,000)

Team Kolkata
Franchise Owner: Camelia Group
Coach: Peter Reid ($200,000)
Icon: Robbie Fowler (v530,000)
Overseas: Robert Egbeto ($350,000), Daniel Varela ($120,000)
Asian: Park Ji-Seung ($140,000)

Team Siliguri
Franchise Owner: Aajay Consultants
Coach: Marco Etcheverry ($200,000)
Icon: Fabio Cannavaro ($830,000)
Overseas: Santino Quaranta ($180,000), Limberg Gutierrez ($180,000)
Asian: Hwang Gyu Hwan ($90,000)

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More news and details on the Premier League Soccer (PLS) will be available here at www.chrispd.de and www.facebook.com/cpd81.