2018 19 I-League

Template:Infobox football league season The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019.^[1] Unlike the Indian Super League, the I-League did not take a mid-season break during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[1]

Minerva Punjab was the defending champions having won the previous season. Real Kashmir joined as a promoted club from the I-League 2nd Division. Churchill Brothers, having been relegated the previous season, were given an exemption by the All India Football Federation for this season.

Chennai City FC were the champions for this season, winning the title on the last day. This was their first title win in the history of the club. The top scorer in the league was Chennai City FC’s Pedro Manzi, who finished the season with 21 goals.^[2]

Teams

Template:Location map+<section end=map />

Stadiums and locations

Team	City/State	Stadium	Capacity
Aizawl	Aizawl, Mizoram	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	25,000
Chennai City	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium	35,000
Churchill Brothers	Vasco da Gama, Goa	Tilak Maidan Stadium	15,000
East Bengal	Kolkata, West Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	85,000
Gokulam Kerala	Kozhikode, Kerala	EMS Stadium	80,000
Indian Arrows	Cuttack, Odisha Bhubaneswar, Odisha	Barabati Stadium Kalinga Stadium	60,000 30,000
Minerva Punjab	Panchkula, Chandigarh	Tau Devi Lal Stadium	15,000
Mohun Bagan	Kolkata, West Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	85,000
NEROCA	Imphal, Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	40,000
Real Kashmir	Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir	TRC Turf Ground	15,000
Shillong Lajong	Shillong, Meghalaya	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium	35,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head coach	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Aizawl	Template:Flagicon Stanley Rozario	Vamos	NECS Limited
Chennai City	Template:Flagicon Akbar Nawas	Penalty	Nippon Paint
Churchill Brothers	Template:Flagicon Petre Gigiu	Nivia	Churchill Group
East Bengal	Template:Flagicon Alejandro Menéndez	Perf	Quess Corp
Gokulam Kerala	Template:Flagicon Gift Raikhan	Kaizen	Aqualine
Indian Arrows	Template:Flagicon Floyd Pinto	Nike	Hero
Minerva Punjab	Template:Flagicon Sachin Badadhe	Astro	Apollo Tyres
Mohun Bagan	Template:Flagicon Khalid Jamil	Shiv Naresh	None
NEROCA	Template:Flagicon Manuel Retamero Fraile	Sqad Gear	Classic Group
Real Kashmir	Template:Flagicon David Robertson	Adidas	J&K Bank
Shillong Lajong	Template:Flagicon Alison Kharsyntiew	Lotto	McDowell's No.1

Head coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Chennai City	Template:Flagicon V. Soundararajan	Contract finished	Pre-season	Template:Flagicon Akbar Nawas	20 March 2018^[3]
Aizawl	Template:Flagicon Santosh Kashyap	Contract finished		Template:Flagicon Gift Raikhan	6 June 2018^[4]
NEROCA	Template:Flagicon Gift Raikhan	Contract finished		Template:Flagicon Manuel Retamero Fraile	6 July 2018^[5]
Indian Arrows	Template:Flagicon Luís Norton de Matos	Contract finished		Template:Flagicon Floyd Pinto	25 July 2018^[6]
Minerva Punjab	Template:Flagicon Khogen Singh	Contract finished		Template:Flagicon Paul Munster	9 August 2018^[7]
East Bengal	Template:Flagicon Khalid Jamil	Mutual consent		Template:Flagicon Alejandro Menéndez	20 August 2018^[8]
Mohun Bagan	Template:Flagicon Sankarlal Chakraborty	Resigned	6th(11 game in)	Template:Flagicon Khalid Jamil	7 January 2019^[9]
Aizawl	Template:Flagicon Gift Raikhan	Resigned	10th(11 game in)	Template:Flagicon Stanley Rozario	9 January 2019
Minerva Punjab	Template:Flagicon Paul Munster	Resigned	9th(16 game in)	Template:Flagicon Sachin Badadhe(interim)	12 February 2019
Gokulam Kerala	Template:Flagicon Bino George	Move To Technical Director	10th(18 game in)	Template:Flagicon Gift Raikhan	28 February 2019

Foreign players

On 20 June 2018, it was decided by the All India Football Federation that the number of foreigners for each I-League club will be kept six as previous season. Asian player quota is abolished. Clubs can sign maximum six players of any nationality.^[10]

Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.

Club	Foreigner 1	Foreigner 2	Foreigner 3	Foreigner 4	Foreigner 5	Foreigner 6
Aizawl	Template:Flagicon Léonce Dodoz	Template:Flagicon Alfred Jaryan	Template:Flagicon Ansumana Kromah	Template:Flagicon Kareem Omolaja	Template:Flagicon Richard Kasagga
Chennai City	Template:Flagicon Mauro Boerchio	Template:Flagicon Jozef Kapláň	Template:Flagicon Roberto Eslava	Template:Flagicon Néstor Gordillo	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Template:Flagicon Sandro Rodríguez
Churchill Brothers	Template:Flagicon Nenad Novakovic	Template:Flagicon Lorougnon Christ Remi	Template:Flagicon Hussein Eldor	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Template:Flagicon Anthony Wolfe	Template:Flagicon Khalid Aucho
East Bengal	Template:Flagicon Jhonny Acosta	Template:Flagicon Enrique Esqueda	Template:Flagicon Kassim Aidara	Template:Flagicon Toni Dovale	Template:Flagicon Borja Gómez Pérez	Template:Flagicon Jaime Santos
Gokulam Kerala	Template:Flagicon Daniel Addo	Template:Flagicon Fabien Vorbe	Template:Flagicon Ejiogu Emmanual	Template:Flagicon Andre Ettienne	Template:Flagicon Marcus Joseph
Minerva Punjab	Template:Flagicon Jorge Caceido	Template:Flagicon Kalif Alhassan	Template:Flagicon Juan Quero	Template:Flagicon Mahmoud Amnah	Template:Flagicon Roland Bilala
Mohun Bagan	Template:Flagicon Aser Pierrick Dipanda	Template:Flagicon Omar Elhussieny	Template:Flagicon Sony Norde	Template:Flagicon Yuta Kinowaki	Template:Flagicon Kingsley Obumneme	Template:Flagicon Henry Kisekka
NEROCA	Template:Flagicon Aryn Williams	Template:Flagicon Chencho Gyeltshen	Template:Flagicon Eduardo Ferreira	Template:Flagicon Katsumi Yusa	Template:Flagicon Varney Kallon	Template:Flagicon Felix Chidi Odili
Real Kashmir	Template:Flagicon Abednego Tetteh	Template:Flagicon Bazie Armand	Template:Flagicon Gnohere Krizo	Template:Flagicon Loveday Enyinnaya	Template:Flagicon Mason Robertson	Template:Flagicon Aaron Katebe
Shillong Lajong

League table

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Results

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Season statistics

Scoring

Template:Updated^[11] Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers	21
1	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City	21
3	Template:Flagicon Enrique Esqueda	East Bengal	9
	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal
	Template:Flagicon Sandro Rodríguez	Chennai City
	Template:Flagicon Ansumana Kromah	Aizawl
7	Template:Flagicon Néstor Gordillo	Chennai City	8
	Template:Flagicon Aser Pierrick Dipanda	Mohun Bagan
	Template:Flagicon Felix Chidi Odili	NEROCA
	Template:Flagicon Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal
11	Template:Flagicon Marcus Joseph	Gokulam Kerala	7

Template:Col-2

Top Indian scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Jobby Justin	East Bengal	9
2	Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal	8
3	Lalkhawpuimawia	Aizawl	6
3	Phrangki Buam	Shillong Lajong	6
5	Samuel Kynshi	Shillong Lajong	5
6	Naorem Mahesh Singh	Shillong Lajong	4
	Rohit Danu	Indian Arrows
	Subhash Singh	NEROCA
9	Surchandra Singh	Real Kashmir	3
	Samuel Lalmuanpuia	Shillong Lajong
	Amarjit Singh Kiyam	Indian Arrows
	Rahul Kannoly Praveen	Indian Arrows

Template:Col-end

Hat-tricks

Template:Main

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	Chennai City	Indian Arrows	4–1 (H)	Template:Dts	^[12]
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	Churchill Brothers	Shillong Lajong	4–2 (H)	Template:Dts	^[13]
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	Chennai City	Shillong Lajong	6–1 (H)	Template:Dts	^[14]
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	Chennai City	Gokulam Kerala	3–2 (H)	Template:Dts	^[15]
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	Chennai City	NEROCA	3–3 (A)	Template:Dts	^[16]
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	East Bengal	Shillong Lajong	5–0 (H)	Template:Dts	^[17]

Cleansheets

Template:Updated

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Template:Flagicon Bilal Khan	Real Kashmir	9
2	Template:Flagicon James Kithan	Churchill Brothers	5
	Template:Flagicon Prabhsukhan Singh Gill	Indian Arrows
	Template:Flagicon Rakshit Dagar	East Bengal
5	Template:Flagicon Shilton Paul	Mohun Bagan	4
6	Template:Flagicon Bhaskar Roy	Minerva Punjab	3
	Template:Flagicon Lalit Thapa	NEROCA
	Template:Flagicon Lalawmpuia	Aizawl
9	Template:Flagicon Nauzet Santana	Chennai City	2
	Template:Flagicon Mauro Boerchio	NEROCA
	Template:Flagicon Arshdeep Singh	Minerva Punjab
	Template:Flagicon Shankar Roy	Mohun Bagan
	Template:Flagicon Gurpreet Singh Chabal	Aizawl

Average home attendances

Template:Updated^[18]^[19] Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Team	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
East Bengal	10	272,699	64,867	9,952	27,270
NEROCA	10	191,383	29,932	6,135	19,139
Mohun Bagan	10	176,486	62,628	3,388	17,649
Gokulam Kerala	10	148,230	30,246	2,136	14,823
Real Kashmir	9	92,440	12,857	2,792	11,206
Chennai City	10	61,381	9,856	3,253	6,138
Minerva Punjab	10	56,239	8,591	3,470	5,624
Shillong Lajong	10	41,231	14,697	1,107	4,123
Churchill Brothers	10	33,867	3,796	2,417	3,387
Aizawl	10	28,801	5,324	863	2,881
Indian Arrows	10	16,497	4,520	100	1,640
Total	109	11,14,349	64,867	100	10,223

Awards

Hero of the Match

Match	Hero of the Match		Match	Hero of the Match		Match	Hero of the Match
Match	Player	Club	Match	Player	Club	Match	Player	Club
Match 1	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City	Match 38	Template:Flagicon Nagen Tamang	Real Kashmir	Match 75	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal
Match 2	Template:Flagicon Enrique Esqueda	East Bengal	Match 39	Template:Flagicon Amarjit Singh Kiyam	Indian Arrows	Match 76	Template:Flagicon Gnohere Krizo	Real Kashmir
Match 3	Template:Flagicon Arjun Jayaraj	Gokulam Kerala	Match 40	Template:Flagicon Khalid Aucho	Churchill Brothers	Match 77	Template:Flagicon Arnab Das Sharma	Gokulam Kerala
Match 4	Template:Flagicon Philip Njoku	Minerva Punjab	Match 41	Template:Flagicon Ningthoujam Pritam Singh	Gokulam Kerala	Match 78	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers
Match 5	Template:Flagicon Naorem Mahesh Singh	Shillong Lajong	Match 42	Template:Flagicon Alexander Romario	Chennai City	Match 79	Template:Flagicon Boris Singh Thangjam	Indian Arrows
Match 6	Template:Flagicon Bilal Khan	Real Kashmir	Match 43	Template:Flagicon Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal	Match 80	Template:Flagicon Lalrinchhana	Aizawl
Match 7	Template:Flagicon Ronald Singh	NEROCA	Match 44	Template:Flagicon Henry Kisekka	Mohun Bagan	Match 81	Template:Flagicon Rahim Ali	Indian Arrows
Match 8	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal	Match 45	Template:Flagicon Jaime Santos	East Bengal	Match 82	Template:Flagicon Naorem Mahesh Singh	Shillong Lajong
Match 9	Template:Flagicon Nenad Novaković	Churchill Brothers	Match 46	Template:Flagicon Amarjit Singh Kiyam	Indian Arrows	Match 83	Template:Flagicon Loveday Enyinnaya	Real Kashmir
Match 10	Template:Flagicon Sony Norde	Mohun Bagan	Match 47	Template:Flagicon Roberto Eslava	Chennai City	Match 84	Template:Flagicon Enrique Esqueda	East Bengal
Match 11	Template:Flagicon Ajith Kumar	Chennai City	Match 48	Template:Flagicon Malemngamba Meitei	NEROCA	Match 85	Template:Flagicon Sandro Rodríguez	Chennai City
Match 12	Template:Flagicon Ashish Rai	Indian Arrows	Match 49	Template:Flagicon Henry Kisekka	Mohun Bagan	Match 86	Template:Flagicon Nenad Novaković	Churchill Brothers
Match 13	Template:Flagicon Danish Farooq	Real Kashmir	Match 50	Template:Flagicon Eduardo Ferreira	NEROCA	Match 87	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City
Match 14	Template:Flagicon Malemngamba Meitei	NEROCA	Match 51	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal	Match 88	Template:Flagicon Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal
Match 15	Template:Flagicon Lancine Touré	Minerva Punjab	Match 52	Template:Flagicon Alfred Jaryan	Aizawl	Match 89	Template:Flagicon Henry Kisekka	Mohun Bagan
Match 16	Template:Flagicon Aser Pierrick Dipanda	Mohun Bagan	Match 53	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City	Match 90	Template:Flagicon Marcus Joseph	Gokulam Kerala
Match 17	Template:Flagicon Felix Chidi Odili	NEROCA	Match 54	Template:Flagicon Nickson Castanha	Churchill Brothers	Match 91	Template:Flagicon Lalrindika Ralte	East Bengal
Match 18	Template:Flagicon Gani Nigam	Gokulam Kerala	Match 55	Template:Flagicon Subhash Singh	NEROCA	Match 92	match not held
Match 19	Template:Flagicon Edwin Sydney Vanspaul	Chennai City	Match 56	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City	Match 93	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi	Chennai City
Match 20	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers	Match 57	Template:Flagicon Anwar Ali	Indian Arrows	Match 94	Template:Flagicon Naorem Mahesh Singh	Shillong Lajong
Match 21	Template:Flagicon Kabir Thaufiq	Chennai City	Match 58	Template:Flagicon Anthony Wolfe	Churchill Brothers	Match 95	Template:Flagicon Juan Quero	Minerva Punjab
Match 22	Template:Flagicon Rajesh S	Gokulam Kerala	Match 59	Template:Flagicon Mason Robertson	Real Kashmir	Match 96	Template:Flagicon Suresh Singh Wangjam	Indian Arrows
Match 23	Template:Flagicon Aser Pierrick Dipanda	Mohun Bagan	Match 60	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal	Match 97	Template:Flagicon Néstor Gordillo	Chennai City
Match 24	Template:Flagicon Novin Gurung	Shillong Lajong	Match 61	Template:Flagicon Omar Elhussieny	Mohun Bagan	Match 98	Template:Flagicon Léonce Dodoz	Aizawl
Match 25	Template:Flagicon Léonce Dodoz Zikahi	Aizawl	Match 62	Template:Flagicon Dawda Ceesay	Churchill Brothers	Match 99	Template:Flagicon Enrique Esqueda	East Bengal
Match 26	Template:Flagicon Néstor Gordillo	Chennai City	Match 63	Template:Flagicon Alfred Jaryan	Aizawl	Match 100	Template:Flagicon Lalkhawpuimawia	Aizawl
Match 27	Template:Flagicon Bazie Armand	Real Kashmir	Match 64	Template:Flagicon Shilton Paul	Mohun Bagan	Match 101	Template:Flagicon Rahul Kannoly Praveen	Indian Arrows
Match 28	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers	Match 65	Template:Flagicon Lalengmawia	Indian Arrows	Match 102	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers
Match 29	Template:Flagicon Arjun Jayaraj	Gokulam Kerala	Match 66	Template:Flagicon Alexander Romario	Chennai City	Match 103	Template:Flagicon Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal
Match 30	Template:Flagicon Philip Njoku	Minerva Punjab	Match 67	Template:Flagicon Borja Gómez Pérez	East Bengal	Match 104	Template:Flagicon Daniel Addo	Gokulam Kerala
Match 31	Template:Flagicon Sony Norde	Mohun Bagan	Match 68	Template:Flagicon Sandro Rodríguez	Chennai City	Match 105	Template:Flagicon Paul Ramfangzauva	Aizawl
Match 32	Template:Flagicon Subhash Singh	NEROCA	Match 69	Template:Flagicon Marcus Joseph	Gokulam Kerala	Match 106	Template:Flagicon Phrangki Buam	Shillong Lajong
Match 33	Template:Flagicon William Opoku	Minerva Punjab	Match 70	Template:Flagicon Phurba Lachenpa	Shillong Lajong	Match 107	Template:Flagicon Lalawmpuia	Aizawl
Match 34	Template:Flagicon Bazie Armand	Real Kashmir	Match 71	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers	Match 108	Template:Flagicon Danish Farooq	Real Kashmir
Match 35	Template:Flagicon Felix Chidi Odili	NEROCA	Match 72	Template:Flagicon Phurba Lachenpa	Shillong Lajong	Match 109	Template:Flagicon Laldanmawia Ralte	East Bengal
Match 36	Template:Flagicon Jobby Justin	East Bengal	Match 73	Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza	Churchill Brothers	Match 110	Template:Flagicon Gaurav Bora	Chennai City
Match 37	Template:Flagicon Israil Gurung	Churchill Brothers	Match 74	Template:Flagicon Malemngamba Meitei	NEROCA

Template:Clear

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 I-League 2018-19: When does it start, fixture schedule & how to watch. Goal.com(25 October 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ Chennai City Triumph in Photo-Finish to Lift Maiden I-League Title. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
↑ Chennai City FC appoint Nawas as coach, Barcelona's Villa named assistant. Times of India(20 March 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ Aizawl FC snap up Gift Raikhan from NEROCA FC. Goal.com(6 June 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ Manuel Retamero returns to India as head coach of NEROCA FC. Goal.com(6 July 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ De Matos’s assistant Floyd Pinto appointed coach of I-League side Indian Arrows. Scroll.in(25 July 2018). Retrieved 27 August 2018.
↑ Paul Munster appointed new technical director of Minerva FC. Tribune India(9 August 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ Alejandro Menendez's appointment marks the beginning of new era in East Bengal. Goal.com(20 August 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
↑ Khalid Jamil joins Mohun Bagan as head coach. The Indian Express(7 January 2019). Retrieved 7 January 2019.
↑ AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE(20 June 2018). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
↑ Players–Goals. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
↑ Manzi Hat trick 26 October 2018. Soccerway.
↑ Plaza Hat trick 15 November 2018. Soccerway.
↑ Manzi Hat trick 29 December 2018. Soccerway.
↑ Manzi Hat trick 4 January 2019. Soccerway.
↑ Manzi Hat trick 12 February 2019. Soccerway.
↑ Ralte Hat trick 14 February 2019. Soccerway.
↑ Attendance. worldfootball.net.
↑ Attendance I-League.org. i-league.org. I-League. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

External links

Official website

Template:I-League Template:2018–19 in Indian football Template:2018 in Asian football (AFC) Template:2019 in Asian football (AFC)

[Goal-1] 1.0 ^1.1 I-League 2018-19: When does it start, fixture schedule & how to watch. Goal.com(25 October 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[2] Chennai City Triumph in Photo-Finish to Lift Maiden I-League Title. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

[3] Chennai City FC appoint Nawas as coach, Barcelona's Villa named assistant. Times of India(20 March 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[4] Aizawl FC snap up Gift Raikhan from NEROCA FC. Goal.com(6 June 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[5] Manuel Retamero returns to India as head coach of NEROCA FC. Goal.com(6 July 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[6] De Matos’s assistant Floyd Pinto appointed coach of I-League side Indian Arrows. Scroll.in(25 July 2018). Retrieved 27 August 2018.

[7] Paul Munster appointed new technical director of Minerva FC. Tribune India(9 August 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[8] Alejandro Menendez's appointment marks the beginning of new era in East Bengal. Goal.com(20 August 2018). Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[9] Khalid Jamil joins Mohun Bagan as head coach. The Indian Express(7 January 2019). Retrieved 7 January 2019.

[league_committee-10] AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE(20 June 2018). Retrieved 23 June 2018.

[11] Players–Goals. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[12] Manzi Hat trick 26 October 2018. Soccerway.

[13] Plaza Hat trick 15 November 2018. Soccerway.

[14] Manzi Hat trick 29 December 2018. Soccerway.

[15] Manzi Hat trick 4 January 2019. Soccerway.

[16] Manzi Hat trick 12 February 2019. Soccerway.

[17] Ralte Hat trick 14 February 2019. Soccerway.

[18] Attendance. worldfootball.net.

[19] Attendance I-League.org. i-league.org. I-League. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

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