Can football really rival cricket in India? Yes, says Michael Chopra

Former Newcastle United and Sunderland striker Michael Chopra has told the BBC that he thinks football could become the number one sport in cricket-mad India in the next 10 years.

Crazy talk or a valid view? BBC Asian Network takes a closer look at the hugely popular Indian Super League, which reaches its climax this weekend.

Who is Chopra?

The 32-year-old striker currently plays for the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL), football's version of IPL cricket.
He began his career with English side Newcastle United and also enjoyed spells with Barnsley, Cardiff City, Sunderland, Ipswich and Blackpool.
Chopra, who has an Indian father, is in his second stint with the Blasters.
The former England youth international played for them in 2014 and then returned in 2016 after a stint with Scottish club Alloa Athletic.

Who are the Blasters?

They are one of eight teams competing in the ISL, which started in 2014.
They are managed by former Reading boss and England international Steve Coppell and possess players like Chopra, former Northern Ireland defender Aaron Hughes and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Graham Stack.
They are mainly made up of Indian players but also have a Frenchman, a Spaniard as well as players from Haiti, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
More significantly, they are part-owned by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and have reached this year's final, which will be played on Sunday.

What about the other teams?

There are seven other sides, based in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati and Margoa.
Legendary Brazilian Zico and Italian World Cup-winning duo Marco Materrazi and Gianluca Zambrotta are among the other managers.
There are numerous players fans will have heard of, too, notably John Arne Riise, Florent Malouda, Lucio, Diego Forlan and Mohamed Sissoko.
Among the other owners are Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham and Salman Khan, retired Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly, current Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Spanish football giants Atletico Madrid.

What's the standard like?

A quota system means that the majority of squads have to be made up of Indian-born players, but Chopra says standards have improved significantly.
"When I first came, the standard was poor," he says. "But this season you can see a total difference in the players. It's benefiting Indian football."
Some Indian players have started to make their way to decent clubs.
Ishan Pandita, 18, has just been signed for La Liga side Leganes, while 19-year-old Ashique Kuruniyan now plays for Villareal's academy side.

What's the attraction for foreign players?

 Money is clearly a factor. In the first season of the ISL, recently retired players like Alessandro Del Piero and Robert Pires were signed up to raise the profile of the league and were given big-money contracts.

Del Piero was paid around £1.17m in the first season. Not bad for three months of work. Each team's salary cap for foreign players this season is £1.81m.
Baljit Rihal is a British football agent who represents Blasters head coach Coppell and goalkeeper Stack.
"The initial attraction is the money," says Rihal. "I think a lot of it is to do with the fact that India speaks English. It's a lifestyle choice."

What about the calibre of foreign players?

Del Piero and Pires were joined by fellow international stars David Trezeguet, Nicolas Anelka, David James, Luis Garcia, Freddie Ljungberg and Joan Capdevila for the first season of the ISL.
Ex-Chelsea star Malouda and former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan have been stand-out players this season.
Aged 36 and 37 respectively, they are much closer to their best years than some of the so-called 'marquee' players in the first season of the league.

So how much interest is there in the ISL?

There has seen significant growth in audiences since its inaugural season.
According to host broadcaster Star Sports India, more than 200 million unique viewers have tuned in to watch the action on television in India.
Those numbers are expected to rise significantly in the run-up to Sunday's final.
Attendances are impressive, too. The average crowd last season was just over 27,000, up from around 24,300 in 2014, while the biggest crowd was 68,340, up from 65,000 in 2014.
The numbers of younger players appears to be growing. The I-League, which is an under-18 competition, now has 37 teams after starting with 16 back in 2011.

How do these numbers compare with cricket?

The IPL, which is the richest cricket league in the world, was watched by just over 350 million people in India last year.
It also attracted an average crowd of 31,000.
Cricket remains very popular in the parks of India's big cities, although you'll see kids kicking a ball around in the street in places like Goa and West Bengal.

Has the ISL helped Indian football?

Critics have accused the ISL of being just another cash rich league, with no benefit for the national side.
But India, who have never been close to qualifying for a World Cup, have seen a marked improvement in their results.
They have won five out of seven games in 2016, including an impressive 4-1 victory over Puerto Rico on 3 September.
As a result, the national side is now up to 137 in the Fifa world rankings.

So how will Sunday's final go?

 The Blasters, who finished second in the table after 14 games, take on Atletico de Kolkata, who finished fourth.

It's a repeat of the 2014 final, which Kolkata won.
Kerala will be hoping striker C.K. Vineeth continues his scoring form after bagging five so far this season. They will also have home advantage, given the final takes place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Former Portugal and Tottenham striker Helder Postiga is the star player for Kolkata, who are part-owned by Ganguly and Atletico Madrid.
They can also call on former Tranmere, Leicester City, Barnsley and Preston forward Iain Hume, who was previously at Kerala and is the ISL's all time leading scorer with 23 goals. He has seven this season.

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John Stones: Manchester City defender 'ahead of where he should be'

Roberto Martinez says England's John Stones can become one of Europe's best defenders - if given time to learn.

The 22-year-old has been criticised for making costly mistakes since a £47m move to Manchester City from Everton.
But his former Everton manager Martinez - now boss at Belgium - says he should not be under so much pressure.
"You're talking about one of the best footballing centre-halves in European football - but that's potential," the Spaniard told BBC Radio 5 live.
"We're very, very quick to judge people and not to understand that he's still a very young man, probably ahead of where he should be."

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He added young centre-halves were "rare" - and so was the number of managers willing to play youngsters in such an important position.
"You're the last man and when you make a mistake in those areas you are going to get punished," Martinez explained.
In last week's Premier League game against Leicester City, Stones played a back-pass to Foxes striker Jamie Vardy, who rounded the goalkeeper and scored.
The defender was then left out of Manchester City's starting line-up for their midweek win against Watford.
"He's someone who needs to learn many aspects of his play," Martinez said.
"The value in the market proves to me he's got the potential to be one of the best centre-halves in Europe but he's not ready yet - his decision making, he needs to learn certain aspects to make sure he doesn't make mistakes in areas you don't get away with in football."
Martinez also expects another of his former Everton players, midfielder Ross Barkley, to come good.
The 23-year-old has been in and out of the Everton side under new boss Ronald Koeman but Martinez said: "The first time I took my first session at Everton I saw a player that could do things I've very rarely seen players do. Ross Barkley has a special natural talent and I'm sure he'll come through and show his real potential."

Since taking over the Belgium national team in August, Martinez has guided the Red Devils to four wins from four 2018 World Cup qualifying matches - scoring 21 goals and conceding just one in the process.
He was appointed only three months after getting sacked by Everton, where he had spent three years.
Martinez led Everton to fifth in the Premier League in his first season and Europa League qualification.
Last season the Merseysiders appeared in the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions - but he lost his job with the Toffees lying mid-table in the Premier League with five home wins all season.
Martinez says he accepts results were not good enough to keep him in a job given the short-term demands of the modern game, but added: "I will always treasure my memories as an Everton manager - reaching the Europa League, getting 72 points, and then last campaign we were so so close to getting to the finals of both domestic cups.
"I still get satisfaction with our long-term project that we had in hand, seeing players that we invested in heavily, giving them big roles like the level of investment in young players like John Stones, Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku, that they have taken the football club to a different level."
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Antonio Conte: Chelsea manager says Chinese football is a 'danger for all teams'

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes the huge money being spent on players by Chinese clubs is a "danger for all teams in the world".

Blues midfielder Oscar, 25, is close to a £60m move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG in January and is expected to receive an estimated £400,000 a week.
Conte said it would be "difficult" to manage a player on such a high salary.
Chinese clubs spent £200m before the start of the 2016 season.
The Chinese transfer record was broken three times in 10 days, as Chelsea's Brazil midfielder Ramires was signed by Jiangsu Suning for £25m, followed by Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao buying Colombia striker Jackson Martinez for £31m from Atletico Madrid.
Jiangsu then paid Shakhtar Donetsk £38.4m for Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira.
However, the fee for Teixeira was eclipsed by the £46.1m paid by Shanghai SIPG for Zenit St Petersburg's Brazil forward Hulk during the mid-season summer window.
The next Chinese transfer window opens on 1 January and closes on 28 February.
Arsenal midfielder Alexis Sanchez has been linked with a reported £500,000-a-week contract at Hebei China Fortune, managed by former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
"The Chinese market is a danger for all teams in the world, not only for Chelsea," said Conte.
But speaking about the Premier League, he added: "This league is fantastic, a great opportunity [for players], a great honour and we should be very proud we play in this league."
Conte refused to confirm Oscar's move, saying: "I don't know exactly the amount, or the situation. Now we have to wait - when it is the moment you will know."

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Celtic v Rangers: Brendan Rodgers relishing first Old Firm derby

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hopes his first Old Firm derby will live up to expectations and bring him success.

The Premiership leaders welcome Rangers to the east end of Glasgow on Saturday at 12:00 BST.
"It was one of the first fixtures I looked for," said Rodgers, who took charge in May. "It's another game but it's a special game.
"There's a uniqueness to each derby and this is one that is iconic throughout the world."

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Celtic lead second-placed Rangers by one point at the top of the table with a game in hand.
Although the sides have met in the Scottish FA Cup and League Cup in the past two seasons, they have not played each other in the Premiership since 2012.
Rodgers, who has never attended an Old Firm derby, said: "I don't think anything will prepare you from watching it on the telly to actually being there.
"This being the first time in a number of years there's been a Celtic-Rangers game at Celtic Park, that will add that little bit of spice to it. The atmosphere will be incredible."

'This is a special game'

Former Liverpool and Swansea boss Rodgers added: "Every derby is different. The Merseyside derby was a fantastic game, the South Wales derby being different in its own way - great games to be involved in. And Liverpool against Manchester United is a real inter-city rivalry.
"But this again is a special game. I'm really looking forward to it and I know the team are.
"From where they were a few months ago it's a different team and a different identity within it. I've got huge confidence in the team."
Rangers beat Celtic 5-4 on penalties the last time the sides met, in the Scottish FA Cup semi-final last season.
But Rodgers, named Premiership manager of the month in August, accepts Celtic's tag as favourites.
"When you are Celtic and when you play a game at home that is what's expected of you," he said.
"We're not running away from it to say we don't want to be the favourite for the game, because whether we were playing Rangers, Aberdeen, St Johnstone or Hearts - whoever we play at home - our objective is to win.
"There was disappointment the last time Celtic played Rangers in the cup so this will be a good measure to see what level the team is at. But it'll be a tough game."

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