Liverpool and Manchester City were engaged in a fight to the finish for the top spot in the English Premier League standings in May. Their supporters would have hardly guessed that just a few months later, in the unlikely setting of the South Indian city of Chennai, two former stars of the English clubs would be involved in a battle that would have a direct bearing on the points table of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Atletico de Kolkata's former Liverpool star Luis Garcia and Chennaiyin FC's former Manchester City midfielder Elano both converted penalties in an entertaining 1-1 draw on Nov.4.
Had Garcia missed in the 35th minute, Chennaiyin FC would have claimed all three points on the night and leapfrogged Atletico de Kolkata in the standings with a match in hand. Had Elano fluffed his lines in the 92nd minute, the visitors would have galloped to a lead of five points, a substantial difference with the group stage almost at halfway stage.
Believe it or not, there was a Manchester United subplot as well to this game. Mikael Silvestre, who won the Premier League five times in his stint at Old Trafford, was a rock at the heart of the Chennaiyin FC defence. Protecting Silvestre as the holding midfielder was his player-manager, Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning defender Marco Materazzi, who famously dueled with France captain Zinedine Zidane in the Berlin final.
The star power on show, therefore, was almost overwhelming for the nearly 25,000 who had turned up at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. They watched in an Indian city that lives and dies on cricket and which has produced many Indian tennis legends. Most went back elated after Elano's "Fergie time" heroics.
The Brazilian, who has scored six ISL goals, has been the brightest star so far in the inaugural tournament. With Garcia hitting form with a hero-of-the-match winning effort and Nicolas Anelka, another former Manchester City star, scoring in his second ISL game, Elano must be relishing the emerging competition.
ISL fans must be beginning to like the league for the actual football, and not just for the involvement of their favourite cricket icons and Bollywood stars.