ISL 2014: Can Anelka turn saviour for Mumbai City FC?

Nicolas Anelka’s return cannot come soon enough for Mumbai City FC. Touted as one of the favourites for the title, if not the favourite, the team has stuttered out of the gate with two losses in its first three games. The former French striker has served out his three-match ban for his quenelle gesture while playing for West Brom Albion, and Mumbai need him to provide the ruthlessness in the final third they have lacked, the 5-0 thrashing of FC Pune City aside. [caption id=“attachment_1774661” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mumbai City FC will be hoping the good Anelka shows up in Chennai so they can get their title challenge back on track. AFP[/caption] After Mumbai’s latest 2-0 defeat to NorthEast United FC, their manager Peter Reid said: “We didn’t play well today, we didn’t work their keeper, we didn’t create enough (chances), our passing was not incisive.” Having Anelka on the pitch would address all of those deficiencies. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who knows a thing or two about football, once described Anelka as having it all: “He’s a good jumper so strong in the air, he has technical qualities and shoots fantastically well, and he moves very well on the pitch.” Anelka is five years older now and might not move as well he once used to, but he is still by some distances among the best two or three footballers in the Indian Super League. While Anelka couldn’t play in Mumbai’s first three games, he did play a part in their practice matches. Against ONGC, a match Mumbai won 2-1, Reid deployed Anelka in a free role that highlighted the striker’s strengths and also the challenges posed by playing for a new team in a new league. “In a match which saw more than it’s share of robust challenges and flying tackles, Mumbai dominated parts thanks to Anelka being given a free role — but communication gaps and tactical understanding on the pitch — two issues which every new team faces initially — were clearly hampering their stride,” Firstpost’s Pulasta Dhar wrote at the time . “Anelka was often left asking for the ball into his feet and was offside three times in the first 30 minutes of the match. Once he got into the game though, Mumbai managed to get in behind the ONGC defence numerous times with the Frenchman spraying passes for the wingers to cut inside onto.” The main question is how quickly Anelka can get up to speed. The short ISL season and the absence of Freddie Ljungberg through injury means Mumbai can’t afford to let him bed in at his own pace. He has to hit the ground running, and preferably, hit the back of the net too. However, with Anelka there is also another risk. Not for nothing did he earn the nickname “Le Sulk”. He has had disagreements with many of the clubs he has played for and was was left out of France’s 2010 World Cup team for “comments directed against the national coach, Raymond Domenech, unacceptable to the FFF, French football, and the principles they uphold.” Anelka is a player who doesn’t do what he doesn’t want to do and lets everyone know it when he isn’t happy. His talent is why he has played for some of the biggest brands in world football, including Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. His attitude is why he also counts West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers among the 12 clubs who have employed him over the course of his career. Mumbai will be hoping the good Anelka shows up in Chennai so they can get their title challenge back on track.