ISL - INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE

Arata: 'The ISL was a great footballing event'

The Pune FC lynchpin was holding out for a call from the national team, sates he has no regrets over representing India and reveals his admiration of Garcia...

Arata Izumi, the Pune FC midfield has spoken on his admiration for Luis Garcia, who shone for the Indian Super League (ISL) winners Atletico de Kolkata in their inaugural campaign. He hopes to have a spectacular ISL himself, having missed the first edition as the Red Lizards refused to allow their players to leave.

He also threw down the gaunlet with regards to returning to the Indian national team in the near future, stating he has no regrets on donning the national jersey of India, despite having a Japanese father, and has expressed his intentions to prove himself again to coach Stephen Constantine. 

"I missed out on ISL last season. It was a great football event. I could see the quality (of the players) and the crowd response was amazing. As a football fan, I was delighted to see the crowd. I've never seen something like that in India," expressed the midfield lynchpin, to The Times of India, on his observations of the ISL. 

He further added, on his favourite player in the tournament, "Luis Garcia is such a great player. If you see his attitude (on the field), it's so impressive. I have heard from the players that off-the-field he is as hardworking and genuine as he is on it." 

With regards to if Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) should be able represent the country in football, the former East Bengal and Mahindra United medio revealed, "It all depends what the player wants. In my case, I wanted to represent the Indian national team."

Finally, 32-year-old Arata hoped to make it back to the Blue Tigers' fold, whom he represented nine times, concluding, "I have no regrets at all. My dream was to represent the national team and I am confident I will return to the side. I am willing to prove myself."

Players from the ISL draft with maximum I-League trophies

Goal's Anselm Noronha delves into the the accolades of the the Indian players ahead of the Indian Super League's (ISL) domestic player draft...

The Indian Super League's (ISL) domestic player draft, which is to be held on 10 July 2015, alongside the player auction, consists of 114 Indian players. Herein, we look at how many of these players have won or finished as a runner-up in their I-League careers.

GOALKEEPERS

Player	Season	Club	Position
Lalit Thapa	2012/2013 2008/2009	Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers	Winner Winner
Debjit Majumder	2014/2015 2011/2012	Mohun Bagan East Bengal	Winner Runner-up
Shilton Paul	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Abhra Mondal	2013/2014 2012/2013	East Bengal Pune FC	Runner-up Runner-up
Lalthuammawia Ralte	2014/2015	Bengaluru FC	Runner-up
Amrinder Singh	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up

DEFENDERS

Player	Season	Club	Position
Samir Naik	2011/2012 2009/2010 2007/2008	Dempo SC Dempo SC Dempo SC	Winner Winner Winner
Govin Singh	2010/2011 2008/2009	Salgaocar FC Churchill Brothers	Winner Winner
Naoba Singh	2008/2009 2013/2014 2011/2012	Churchill Brothers East Bengal East Bengal	Winner Runner-up Runner-up
Keegan Pereira	2013/2014 2014/2015	Bengaluru FC Bengaluru FC	Winner Runner-up
Deepak Devrani	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Shouvik Ghosh	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Sukhen Dey	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Raju Yumnam	2012/2013	Churchill Brothers	Winner
Satish Singh	2012/2013	Churchill Brothers	Winner
Augustin Fernandes	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Biswajit Saha	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Gilbert Oliveira	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Keenan Almeida	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Nicolau Colaco	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Lalchhuanmawia Fanai	2014/2015	Bengaluru FC	Runner-up

MIDFIELDERS

Player	Season	Club	Position
Peter Carvalho	2011/2012 2009/2010 2007/2008	Dempo SC Dempo SC Dempo SC	Winner Winner Winner
Jaison Vales	2012/2013 2008/2009	Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers	Winner Winner
Thangjam Saran Singh	2012/2013 2008/2009	Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers	Winner Winner
Reisangmei Vashum	2008/2009 2013/2014 2011/2012	Churchill Brothers East Bengal East Bengal	Winner Runner-up Runner-up
Shankar Sampingiraj	2013/2014 2014/2015	Bengaluru FC Bengaluru FC	Winner Runner-up
Siam Hanghal	2013/2014 2014/2015	Bengaluru FC Bengaluru FC	Winner Runner-up
Lalkamal Bhowmick	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Manish Bhargav	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Sehnaj Singh	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Tirthankar Sarkar	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Sampath Kuttymani	2013/2014	Bengaluru FC	Winner
Bineesh Balan	2012/2013	Churchill Brothers	Winner
Steven Dias	2012/2013	Churchill Brothers	Winner
Sushant Mathew	2011/2012	East Bengal	Winner
Beevan D'Mello	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Cajetan Fernandes	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner
Cavin Lobo	2013/2014	East Bengal	Runner-up
Gurjinder Kumar	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up
Fanai Lalrempuia	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up
Karma Tsewang	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up
Nikhil Kadam	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up
Velington Rocha	2012/2013	Pune FC	Runner-up

FORWARDS

Player	Season	Club	Position
Beikhokhei Beingaichho	2013/2014 2014/2015 2011/2012	Bengaluru FC Bengaluru FC East Bengal	Winner Runner-up Runner-up
CK Vineeth	2013/2014 2014/2015	Bengaluru FC Bengaluru FC	Winner Runner-up
Pankaj Moula	2014/2015	Mohun Bagan	Winner
Milagres Gonsalves	2010/2011	Salgaocar FC	Winner