# 2016 Indian Super League

The 2016 Indian Super League season was the third season of the Indian Super League, the football league, since its establishment in 2013. The season featured eight teams again, each playing 14 matches during the regular season before the finals. The regular season began on 1 October and ended on 4 December. The finals began on 10 December and concluded with the final on 18 December. The defending champions coming into the season were Chennaiyin.
At the end of the season, Atlético de Kolkata were crowned champions after defeating the Kerala Blasters in a penalty shootout, 4–3, during the final. The match had ended 1–1 after ninety minutes and extra time.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Team | City/State | Stadium | Capacity |
| Atlético de Kolkata | Kolkata, West Bengal | Rabindra Sarobar Stadium | 12,750 |
| Chennaiyin | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 26,976 |
| Delhi Dynamos | Delhi | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 34,230 |
| Goa | Margao, Goa | Fatorda Stadium | 19,088 |
| Kerala Blasters | Kochi, Kerala | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 61,148 |
| Mumbai City | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Mumbai Football Arena | 7,690 |
| NorthEast United | Guwahati, Assam | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium | 25,549 |
| Pune City | Pune, Maharashtra | Balewadi Stadium | 9,110 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlético de Kolkata | José Francisco Molina | Nivia | Birla Tyres |
| Chennaiyin | Marco Materazzi | Puma | TVS Tyres |
| Delhi Dynamos | Gianluca Zambrotta | Dryworld | GMS Leadership |
| Goa | Zico | Umbro | Deltin |
| Kerala Blasters | Steve Coppell | — | Muthoot |
| Mumbai City | Alexandre Guimarães | Puma | Ace Group |
| NorthEast United | Nelo Vingada | Performax | HTC |
| Pune City | Antonio López Habas | Adidas | DHFL |

### Head coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Mumbai City | Nicolas Anelka | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | Alexandre Guimarães | 19 April 2016 |
| Pune City | David Platt | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | Antonio López Habas | 25 April 2016 |
| Atlético de Kolkata | Antonio López Habas | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | José Francisco Molina | 5 May 2016 |
| NorthEast United | César Farías | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | Sérgio Farias | 13 May 2016 |
| Kerala Blasters | Terry Phelan | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | Steve Coppell | 21 June 2016 |
| Delhi Dynamos | Roberto Carlos | Contract finished | 20 December 2015 | Pre-season | Gianluca Zambrotta | 5 July 2016 |
| NorthEast United | Sérgio Farias | Moved to Suphanburi | 9 July 2016 | Pre-season | Nelo Vingada | 16 July 2016 |

### Marquee players

| Team | Marquee |
| Atlético de Kolkata | Hélder Postiga |
| Chennaiyin | John Arne Riise |
| Delhi Dynamos | Florent Malouda |
| Goa | Lúcio |
| Kerala Blasters | Aaron Hughes |
| Mumbai City | Diego Forlán |
| NorthEast United | Didier Zokora |
| Pune City | Mohamed Sissoko |

## Foreign players

Besides the marquee player, each Indian Super League side must sign at least eight foreign players with the maximum capped at 10.
| Atlético de Kolkata (10) | Chennaiyin (10) | Delhi Dynamos (10) | Goa (9) |
| Iain Hume Ofentse Nato Sameehg Doutie Tiri Stephen Pearson Dani Mallo Javi Lara Borja Fernández Juan Belencoso Henrique Sereno | Bernard Mendy Raphael Augusto Éder Manuele Blasi Hans Mulder Davide Succi Maurizio Peluso Eli Sabiá Duwayne Kerr Dudu Omagbemi | Toni Doblas Bruno Pelissari Marcelinho Marcos Tébar David Addy Rubén Memo Richard Gadze Ibrahima Niasse Badara Badji | Jofre Mateu Reinaldo Grégory Arnolin Luciano Sabrosa Rafael Coelho Rafael Dumas Matheus Goncalves Richarlyson Júlio César |
| Kerala Blasters (10) | Mumbai City (10) | NorthEast United (10) | Pune City (10) |
| Antonio German Josu Graham Stack Michael Chopra Elhadji Ndoye Kervens Belfort Cédric Hengbart Azrack Mahamat Didier Kadio Duckens Nazon | Sony Norde Matías Defederico Krisztián Vadócz Gerson Vieira Léo Costa Lucian Goian Roberto Volpato Cafu Facundo Cardozo Thiago Cunha | Katsumi Yusa Maílson Alves Sasha Aneff Nicolás Vélez Gustavo Lazzaretti Wellington Priori Romaric Wellington de Lima Gomes Emiliano Alfaro Robert Cullen | Pitu Jonatan Lucca Eduardo Ferreira Momar Ndoye Bruno Apoula Edel Aníbal Zurdo Gustavo Oberman Jesús Tato Dramane Traoré |

## Regular season
### League table

Template:2016 Indian Super League points table

### Results table

| Home \ Away | ATK | CHE | DEL | GOA | KER | MUM | NEU | PUN |
| Atlético de Kolkata | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Chennaiyin | 1–1 | | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 |
| Delhi Dynamos | 2–2 | 4–1 | | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Goa | 1–2 | 5–4 | 0–2 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Kerala Blasters | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Mumbai City | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| NorthEast United | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 |
| Pune City | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |

## Playoffs

| Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Mumbai City | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Atlético de Kolkata | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Atlético de Kolkata | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Atlético de Kolkata | 1 (4) |
| | | | | | 2 | Kerala Blasters | 1 (3) |
| 2 | Kerala Blasters | 1 | 1 | 2 (3) | 2 | Kerala Blasters | 1 (3) |
| 3 | Delhi Dynamos | 0 | 2 | 2 (0) | | | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Diego Forlán | Mumbai City | Kerala Blasters | 5–0 | 19 November 2016 |
| Dudu Omagbemi | Chennaiyin | NorthEast United | 3–3 | 26 November 2016 |
| Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos | Goa | 5–1 | 27 November 2016 |

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists | Ref |
| 1 | Sameehg Doutie | Atlético de Kolkata | 12 | |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Amrinder Singh | Mumbai City | 5 |
| 2 | Karanjit Singh | Chennaiyin | 4 |
| 2 | Subrata Pal | NorthEast United | 4 |
| 2 | Sandip Nandy | Kerala Blasters | 4 |
| 5 | Toni Doblas | Delhi Dynamos | 3 |
| 5 | Debjit Majumder | Atlético de Kolkata | 3 |
| 7 | Roberto Volpato | Mumbai City | 2 |
| 7 | Albino Gomes | Mumbai City | 2 |
| 7 | Laxmikant Kattimani | Goa | 2 |
| 10 | Subhasish Roy Chowdhury | Goa | 1 |
| 10 | Apoula Edel | Pune City | 1 |
| 10 | Dani Mallo | Atlético de Kolkata | 1 |
| 10 | Arindam Bhattacharya | Pune City | 1 |
| 10 | Graham Stack | Kerala Blasters | 1 |

## Attendance
### Average home attendances

| Team | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Mean |
| Kerala Blasters | 9 | 444,087 | 82,224 | 54,574 | 60,256 |
| NorthEast United | 7 | 187,104 | 32,844 | 18,673 | 26,729 |
| Chennaiyin | 7 | 154,976 | 25,163 | 18,213 | 22,139 |
| Delhi Dynamos | 7 | 135,499 | 27,463 | 15,111 | 19,357 |
| Goa | 7 | 123,627 | 19,003 | 14,717 | 17,661 |
| Atlético de Kolkata | 8 | 93,627 | 12,575 | 10,589 | 11,703 |
| Pune City | 7 | 60,117 | 9,035 | 7,911 | 8,588 |
| Mumbai City | 8 | 59,171 | 7,690 | 6,147 | 7,396 |
| Total | 60 | 1,260,207 | 54,913 | 6,147 | 21,003 |

### Highest attendances

Regular season
| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium |
| 1 | Kerala Blasters | 1-1 | Atlético de Kolkata | 82,224 | 18 December 2016 (2016-12-18) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 2 | Kerala Blasters | 0–1 | Atlético de Kolkata | 54,900 | 5 October 2016 (2016-10-05) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 3 | Kerala Blasters | 1–0 | NorthEast United | 53,767 | 4 December 2016 (2016-12-04) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 4 | Kerala Blasters | 3–1 | Chennaiyin | 53,152 | 12 November 2016 (2016-11-12) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 5 | Kerala Blasters | 2–1 | Pune City | 51,341 | 25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 6 | Kerala Blasters | 1–0 | Mumbai City | 40,013 | 14 October 2016 (2016-10-14) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 7 | Kerala Blasters | 2–1 | Goa | 34,196 | 8 November 2016 (2016-11-08) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| 8 | NorthEast United | 0–1 | Chennaiyin | 32,844 | 20 October 2016 (2016-10-20) | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium |
| 9 | NorthEast United | 1–2 | Atlético de Kolkata | 30,033 | 28 October 2016 (2016-10-28) | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium |
| 10 | NorthEast United | 0–1 | Mumbai City | 29,989 | 5 November 2016 (2016-11-05) | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium |

## Awards

* Source: Indian Super League website

### Hero of the Match

| Match | Hero of the Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | Hero of the Match |
| Match | Player | Club | Match | Player | Club |
| Match 1 | Katsumi Yusa | NorthEast United | Match 31 | Lucian Goian | Mumbai City |
| Match 2 | Mehrajuddin Wadoo | Chennaiyin | Match 32 | Aníbal Zurdo | Pune City |
| Match 3 | Matías Defederico | Mumbai City | Match 33 | Mehtab Hossain | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 4 | Emiliano Alfaro | NorthEast United | Match 34 | Florent Malouda | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 5 | Javi Lara | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 35 | Eugeneson Lyngdoh | Pune City |
| Match 6 | Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos | Match 36 | Laxmikant Kattimani | Goa |
| Match 7 | Krisztián Vadócz | Mumbai City | Match 37 | C.K. Vineeth | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 8 | Jonatan Lucca | Pune City | Match 38 | Milan Singh | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 9 | Sandesh Jhingan | Kerala Blasters | Match 39 | Raphael Augusto | Chennaiyin |
| Match 10 | Javi Lara | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 40 | Rafael Coelho | Goa |
| Match 11 | Emiliano Alfaro | NorthEast United | Match 41 | Nicolás Vélez | NorthEast United |
| Match 12 | Hans Mulder | Chennaiyin | Match 42 | Aníbal Zurdo | Pune City |
| Match 13 | Michael Chopra | Kerala Blasters | Match 43 | Diego Forlán | Mumbai City |
| Match 14 | Emiliano Alfaro | NorthEast United | Match 44 | Davide Succi | Chennaiyin |
| Match 15 | Sameehg Doutie | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 45 | Romaric | NorthEast United |
| Match 16 | Cédric Hengbart | Kerala Blasters | Match 46 | Krisztián Vadócz | Mumbai City |
| Match 17 | Richard Gadze | Delhi Dynamos | Match 47 | Mandar Rao Desai | Goa |
| Match 18 | Bernard Mendy | Chennaiyin | Match 48 | Aaron Hughes | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 19 | Richarlyson | Goa | Match 49 | Dudu Omagbemi | Chennaiyin |
| Match 20 | Iain Hume | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 50 | Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 21 | Jeje Lalpekhlua | Chennaiyin | Match 51 | Stephen Pearson | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 22 | Kervens Belfort | Kerala Blasters | Match 52 | Seityasen Singh | NorthEast United |
| Match 23 | Lucian Goian | Mumbai City | Match 53 | Rafael Coelho | Goa |
| Match 24 | Apoula Edel | Pune City | Match 54 | Prabir Das | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 25 | Hélder Postiga | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 55 | Gerson Vieira | Mumbai City |
| Match 26 | Cédric Hengbart | Kerala Blasters | Match 56 | C.K. Vineeth | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 27 | Anas Edathodika | Delhi Dynamos | Match 57 | Iain Hume | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 28 | Jeje Lalpekhlua | Chennaiyin | Match 58 | Cédric Hengbart | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 29 | Richarlyson | Goa | Match 59 | Javi Lara | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 30 | Anas Edathodika | Delhi Dynamos | Match 60 | Rubén Rocha | Delhi Dynamos |
| | | | Match 61 | Henrique Sereno | Atlético de Kolkata |

### ISL Emerging Player of the Match

| Match | Emerging Player of the Match | Emerging Player of the Match | Match | Emerging Player of the Match | Emerging Player of the Match |
| Match | Player | Club | Match | Player | Club |
| Match 1 | Holicharan Narzary | NorthEast United | Match 31 | Jackichand Singh | Mumbai City |
| Match 2 | Jayesh Rane | Chennaiyin | Match 32 | Narayan Das | Pune City |
| Match 3 | Lalhmangaihsanga | Mumbai City | Match 33 | Pratik Chowdhary | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 4 | Robin Gurung | NorthEast United | Match 34 | Kean Lewis | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 5 | Pratik Chowdhary | Kerala Blasters | Match 35 | Rahul Bheke | Pune City |
| Match 6 | Kean Lewis | Delhi Dynamos | Match 36 | Seityasen Singh | NorthEast United |
| Match 7 | Sehnaj Singh | Mumbai City | Match 37 | Jayesh Rane | Chennaiyin |
| Match 8 | Arata Izumi | Pune City | Match 38 | Lalchhawnkima | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 9 | Mohammed Rafique | Kerala Blasters | Match 39 | Jerry Lalrinzuala | Chennaiyin |
| Match 10 | Boithang Haokip | Mumbai City | Match 40 | Romeo Fernandes | Goa |
| Match 11 | Francis Fernandes | Pune City | Match 41 | Seityasen Singh | NorthEast United |
| Match 12 | Jerry Lalrinzuala | Chennaiyin | Match 42 | Kean Lewis | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 13 | Aiborlang Khongjee | Mumbai City | Match 43 | Sehnaj Singh | Mumbai City |
| Match 14 | Kean Lewis | Delhi Dynamos | Match 44 | Zakeer Mundampara | Chennaiyin |
| Match 15 | Abhinas Ruidas | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 45 | Lenny Rodrigues | Pune City |
| Match 16 | Dharmaraj Ravanan | Pune City | Match 46 | Sena Ralte | Mumbai City |
| Match 17 | Chinglensana Singh | Delhi Dynamos | Match 47 | Abhinas Ruidas | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 18 | Siam Hanghal | Chennaiyin | Match 48 | Sandesh Jhingan | Kerala Blasters |
| Match 19 | Raju Gaikwad | Goa | Match 49 | Siam Hanghal | Chennaiyin |
| Match 20 | Prabir Das | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 50 | Sahil Tavora | Goa |
| Match 21 | Narayan Das | Pune City | Match 51 | Abhinas Ruidas | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 22 | Keenan Almeida | Goa | Match 52 | Robin Gurung | NorthEast United |
| Match 23 | Sena Ralte | Mumbai City | Match 53 | Jerry Lalrinzuala | Chennaiyin |
| Match 24 | Milan Singh | Delhi Dynamos | Match 54 | Bidyananda Singh | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 25 | Lalrindika Ralte | Atlético de Kolkata | Match 55 | Udanta Singh | Mumbai City |
| Match 26 | Jerry Lalrinzuala | Chennaiyin | Match 56 | Seityasen Singh | NorthEast United |
| Match 27 | Chinglensana Singh | Delhi Dynamos | Match 57 | Lalrindika Ralte | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 28 | Lalhmangaihsanga | Mumbai City | Match 58 | Souvik Chakraborty | Delhi Dynamos |
| Match 29 | Rahul Bheke | Pune City | Match 59 | Pritam Kotal | Atlético de Kolkata |
| Match 30 | Souvik Chakraborty | Delhi Dynamos | Match 60 | Lalchhawnkima | Delhi Dynamos |
| | | | Match 61 | Lalrindika Ralte | Atlético de Kolkata |

### ISL Player of the Week award

Awarded weekly to the player that was chosen by fan voting on google.co.in
| Week | Player | Club | Votes |
| 1 | Subrata Pal | NorthEast United | 28.16% |
| 2 | Michael Chopra | Kerala Blasters | 45.09% |
| 3 | Cédric Hengbart | Kerala Blasters | 82.04% |
| 4 | Kervens Belfort | Kerala Blasters | 86.95% |
| 5 | Anas Edathodika | Delhi Dynamos | 59.63% |
| 6 | Mehtab Hossain | Kerala Blasters | 82.87% |
| 7 | C.K. Vineeth | Kerala Blasters | 81.40% |
| 8 | Aaron Hughes | Kerala Blasters | 89.20% |
| 9 | Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos | 40.86% |

### ISL Team of the Season

| Position | Player | Club |
| GK | Subrata Pal | NorthEast United |
| RB | Souvik Chakraborty | Delhi Dynamos |
| CB | Lucian Goian | Mumbai City |
| CB | Cédric Hengbart | Kerala Blasters |
| LB | Sena Ralte | Mumbai City |
| LM | Florent Malouda | Delhi Dynamos |
| CM | Javi Lara | Atlético de Kolkata |
| RM | C.K. Vineeth | Kerala Blasters |
| LW | Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos |
| RW | Kean Lewis | Delhi Dynamos |
| ST | Iain Hume | Atlético de Kolkata |

### End-of-season awards

| Award | Player | Club |
| Hero of the League | Florent Malouda | Delhi Dynamos |
| Emerging Player of the League | Jerry Lalrinzuala | Chennaiyin |
| Golden Glove | Amrinder Singh | Mumbai City |
| Winning Pass Award | Sameehg Doutie | Atletico de Kolkata |
| Swift Golden Boot | Marcelinho | Delhi Dynamos |
| Fittest Player of the League | Borja Fernández | Atletico de Kolkata |
| Fair Play Award | Chennaiyin | Chennaiyin |
| Best Pitch of the Season | NorthEast United | NorthEast United |