Delhi Dynamos have been decent in the Indian Super League for the past two season and going by their achievements, one can only say that the Indian football side are a work in progress. They came fifth in the inaugural edition of the football tournament in 2014 and then made it to the knockouts in the following season.
The previous results only keep the fans of Delhi Dynamos hopeful ahead of ISL 2016.
Continuing their trend of roping in big names, the Delhi-side, who have boasted of legendary names like Alessandro del Piero and Roberto Carlos, brought in World Cup winning Italy right-back Gianluca Zambrotta this time around as their head coach. Also, Dynamos managed to retain former Chelsea star Florent Malouda for this season as well and made some key foreign player signings.
"We had a very good squad last season and it was sad that we had to bow out of the tournament in the semis. It's a different squad this year, I hope that we can build on what we achieved last season and together aim to lift the trophy this season." said the 36-year-old Malouda.
The question remains now whether Delhi Dynamos can go all the way now. Good news is we don't have to wait too long to get the answer. Let's look into certain key aspects of Delhi Dynamos ahead of ISL 2016.
Preseason performances
Zambrotta's men have had a successful three-week long pre-season in England and Sweden this time around. They became the first ISL team in the competition's history to play against a Premier League outfit when they took on West Brom at the Hawthorns earlier this month. Here are their pre-season results:
Delhi Dynamos 2-1 Skene
Delhi Dynamos 0-1 West Brom
Delhi Dynamos 2-2 BK Hacken
Delhi Dynamos 3-2 Assyriska BK
Key additions
Coach - Gianluca Zambrotta (replaces Roberto Carlos).
Key players
Florent Malouda, Bruno Pelissari (midfielders), Toni Doblas (goalkeeper), Souvik Chakraborty (defender), Richard Gadze (forward).
What to expect in ISL 2016
With consistency, the Delhi side can really be a force to reckon with in the ISL 2016. Zambrotta knows that he has a great deal of work to do to bring out the proper team chemistry and the perfect combinations.
With the likes of Robin Singh and John Arne Riise having left the team, Dynamos have to depend on highly-rated Indian players like Arjun Tudu, Milan Singh, Anas Edathodika and Chinglensana Singh to get their job done.
Richard Gadze is back with Delhi Dynamos for another season and his motivation to perform once again in front of familiar crowds will hold a key.
Opening match
October 6 - Against Chennaiyin FC at JLN Stadium, Chennai.
