ISL: FC Pune City bank on Italian touch

The full squad of FC Pune city only got together in early September where they trained at Serie 'A' club ACF Fiorentina's campus. Head coach Franco Colomba has gone about his task rather meticulously, knowing well the areas the team has to improve in.
FC Pune City had set off building their team without hype. Their only big-fish in the net was marquee player and World Cupper David Trezeguet.
Despite buying players from the draft, the hunt for two foreign players to fill the void in midfield and upfront continued. They saved their best for the last it seems. Bringing in Nigerian striker Dudu Omagbemi on loan from East Bengal and Greek midfielder Kostas Katsouranis at the last minute has given a more complete look to the squad.
Undoubtedly, the pressure of scoring will fall upon Trezeguet and the Frenchman has justified the hype surrounding him in practice matches and his form has improved with every game. Dudu's addition has added sting. The Nigerian wasted no time in fitting into the scheme of things. Italian Ivan Bolado is another handy striker.
Their strike force is not the only talking point. The defence is pretty beefed up too. Bruno Cirillo, the multi-tattooed lean Italian in central defence marshals that zone well. Compatriot Daniele Magliocchetti and Colombian Andres Gonzalez and India's Dharmaraj Ravanan together constitute a formidable wall.
Lately, they even experimented with the wall playing up which signifies their willingness to put pressure on the rivals with more number of raids.
However, chinks in the armour remain. The side's performance in the midfield needs improvement. They need to settle down quickly and get down to business. For, in this format, making allowance for errors can prove costly.
Another factor which has been worrying Colomba is fitness and stamina. The former Serie 'A' player knows the importance of these two elements in a compact three-month ISL tournament.
"As far as the format is concerned in Europe, with the Uefa Champions league and the domestic leagues, a team plays a game once every three days. Here too it will be same. A match every third day. It's going to be difficult for the players, but I have 26 players, so I will prepare and train the team accordingly," Colomba had said a month ago.
That, however, still remains a grey area as in every practice match the coach has spotted most of his players tapering off in the last twenty minutes and has expressed his concern about the same.
FIRST GAME: vs Mumbai City FC on October 18
TRAINING GROUND: Flame, LIFA-DSK-Shivajians ground
HOME STADIUM: Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi
CAPACITY: 22,000
1994: Year the stadium was built for the National Games
FRIENDLY RESULT: Drew with Deccan Rovers XI 1-1, beat ONGC 3-1, beat Pune FC 2-0, beat LIFA-DSK-Shivajians Under-19 8-1.
X-FACTOR: The coach is Italian and flavour of the side is mainly Italian. Hence, one can expect them to play in the 'Catenaccio' style. Recent practice outings have revealed that the team relies mostly on solid defence and counterattacks. The coach is preparing for all adversities and ensuring they don't get caught off-guard.
MARQUEE PLAYER: David Trezeguet
WATCH OUT FOR:
Bruno Cirillo: Don't let his lean physique deceive you. This veteran Italian stands up to any attack like a stone wall. He's like a crouching tiger and quick with his footwork and executes ball interception and clearance in a flash.
Dudu Omagbemi: Dudu takes to any team like a duck to water. He gelled with the side in his very first practice game and showed his voracious appetite to find the net. Expect him to rise to the occasion when the situation demands.
Kostas Katsouranis: The man who captained Greece during the 2014 Fifa World Cup has a gutsy attitude and refuses to be tied down. He's considered the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle and someone who is a strong playmaker and can play box to box.
Park Kwang-II: This Korean is a workaholic, like a worker bee in the hive. He hasn't allowed his diminutive physique to become a disadvantage.
THE TEAM
Domestic: Dharmaraj Ravanan, Anupam Sarkar, Pritam Kotal, Deepak Devrani, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Manish Maithani, Israil Gurung, Tapan Maity, Pratik Shinde, Joaquim Abranches, Arindam Bhattacharya, Lalit Thapa.
Foreign: Emanuele Belardi, David Trezeguet, Bruno Cirillo, Daniele Magliocchetti, Andres Felipe Gonzalez Ramirez, Kostas Katsouranis, Davide Colomba, Saidou Mady Panandetiguiri, Omar Andres Rodriguez Martinez, Park Kwang-II, Lenny Rodrigues, Ashutosh Mehta, Ivan Bolado Palacios, Dudu Omagbemi.