FOREIGN ASSETS: Tried & tested ATK imports form one of the most dangerous attacks in ISL

WHEN IT COMES to hiring foreign players, a lot of ISL franchises took a while to get it right.

Integrating foreigners into Indian domestic football has always been a tricky thing, with the question of a given foreign player adjusting to the conditions and tactics here being a hit-or-miss thing. And often, the difference in training and quality of the Indian players and the foreigners has resulted in a mis-match where they can't properly function as a unit. 

While the Indian Super League, having a higher number of foreigners, makes it easier to weave the overseas players into the system, but it's a short tournament that sometimes doesn't allow a player the time he needs to adjust to a new team and environment.

Finding the right balance in a situation like this is an issue that has seen many teams struggle. Mumbai City for example have had good teams on paper but couldn't make it work for various reasons. Here, Atletico de Kolkata have done remarkably well, and it has played a crucial role in them becoming one of the most successful ISL franchises so far.

Aided by the support of Atletico de Madrid and the sharp footballing mind of then head coach Antonio Habas Lopez, ATK got everything right: from putting together a host of foreign players who were stylistically compatible, could push through the gruelling ISL schedule and gel well with their Indian counterparts to organizing the best pre-season camps in order to get the whole team well-prepared. 

And once they found a model that works, they stuck to it. They went to great lengths to retain players who were effective for them and also took on foreign players who did well for other ISL franchises. And that consistency has helped them stay on course even though their successful head coach has left the franchise.

Which is why, it's unsurprising that among the best foreign players they have in the team for ISL 2016, most are familiar figures who have played for the franchise before with a considerable degree of success. ATK have successfully integrated them into a reliable core of the squad that promises stability even when the coach gets swapped.

Let's take a look at some of these remarkable players, who will be pulling most of the weight as ATK make their journey through the third edition of ISL.